Yamaha is having a bit of an off year so far, too. We mentioned Harley Davidson's first quarter results a few days ago and now it looks like Yamaha sales are down 9 percent and profits are off 12 percent. Yamaha's unit sales in the U.S., where they earn a quarter of their revenue, dropped 37 percent.
The usual suspects were cited, strong yen, weak dollar, mortgage foreclosures all adding up to fewer sales.
Rising sales of lower-priced motorcycles in growing markets such as Indonesia and Thailand are not enough to make up for sagging demand in North America and Europe, Sasaki said. Asia sales, excluding Japan, rose 24 percent to 1.1 million units.
North American sales fell to 43,000 motorcycles in the first quarter and European sales fell 9 percent to 100,000.
Although things could be better for the manufacturers, this creates a buying opportunity for anyone looking for a new bike, and if you still can't quite swing a new one, there are loads of used motorcycles on the market.
Link: Bloomberg Asia
Related: Harley Davidson First Quarter Sales Down
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Isn’t everybody’s sales down right now?
NO.
I’m making more money this year than last year and I’m prepared to drop 10K (or more) on something new and interesting. I would buy the Yamaha Sakura right now if it was offered with a clutchless thumb-shift like the FJR or an ECVT system.