A snapshot of global bike and ATV industry share performance at the trading closure on Friday 5 December 2014.
Mainland Chinese exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen were the perkiest global trading platforms this week as a tremendous surge of investor activity caused wild equity price fluctuations. These markets traded a record £260bn-worth of stock in the first five working days of December, more than half of November’s entirety.
The effect on China’s listed motorcycle manufacturers was typical of this volatility, with some spectacular roller-coaster rides. Qianjiang finished the week almost eight per cent up, despite a profit-taking drop of more than two per cent on Friday. Jialing did even better, stacking on a weekly gain exceeding eight per cent, although most of that (seven per cent) was due to Friday trading. And Qingqi was four per cent to the good, thanks to a similar six per cent Friday rise. Conversely, Sundiro ended on a flat note, following a final-day plunge of more than five per cent, and Lifan dropped more than three per cent on the week after a six per cent Friday loss.
Ebullience was to be found elsewhere in the Far East too. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index grew by 2.6 per cent week-on-week to its highest level for seven years, as the yen continued an export-friendly slide. All four indigenous bike brands improved on that. Honda gained slightly more than four per cent and Yamaha slightly less. Suzuki and Kawasaki outgunned them both to a considerable degree, both posting improvements in excess of seven per cent.
Behaviour in India was more restrained, as two of the five biking majors (Bajaj and Mahindra) flagged marginal retreats. However, Hero stood its ground with a one per cent rise while TVS clearly profited from imminent realisation of BMW Motorrad’s contract manufacturing tie-up, as its share price soared by nearly 11 per cent. Eicher, meanwhile, was in a world of its own, adding another five per cent growth to a now truly stratospheric capitalisation.
Moving westwards into developed markets, healthy US employment and economic growth data provided the driving forces. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up by one per cent week-on-week and Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax climbed by 2.4 per cent on Friday to a record close. That ensured solid gains for the three big German automotive brands with motorcycling sideshows, although Piaggio flatlined and KTM dithered with a marginally upwards movement based on tiny quantities of shares changing hands.
In New York, the S&P 500 gently rose by half a percentage point to kiss yet another record high, pushing Harley-Davidson back up past the 70-buck mark for the first time in several months. But Polaris, surprisingly, lost a little.
Price (P) High (H) Low (L) Change (C) 52-week range (R) One-year return (Y)
USA (US dollar)
Harley-Davidson P 70.15 H 70.41 L 69.54 C +0.66% R 74.13 – 54.22 Y +3.96%
Polaris P 154.32 H 154.62 L 152.92 C +0.65% R 159.33 – 118.80 Y +15.05%
Arctic Cat P 33.72 H 33.93 L 33.10 C +1.26% R 59.73 – 30.11 Y -39.18%
US Highland P 0.13 H 0.13 L 0.13 C N/A R 0.59 – 0.13 Y N/A
Viper P 0.0012 H 0.0012 L 0.0012 C N/A R 0.05 – 0.0012 Y -96%
Notes: Polaris makes Victory and Indian motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, quadricycles and EVs. Arctic Cat makes ATVs and snowmobiles. US Highland makes a range of four-stroke dirt bikes. Viper Powersports produces the Diamondback Super Cruiser with a British-built 2490cc Ilmor engine.
CANADA (Canadian dollar)
BRP P 26.38 H 26.51 L 26.01 C +1.15% R 31.98 – 23.51 Y -5.79%
Notes: Bombardier Recreational Products makes Can-Am ATVs and Spyder road trikes, as well as Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo personal watercraft and Rotax engines for a range of applications including motorcycles — most recently Buell’s EBR superbike.
EUROPE (euro)
BMW P 91.861 H 92.49 L 90.00 C +1.88% R 96.10 – 74.74 Y +14.58%
Daimler P 69.776 H 70.00 L 67.831 C +2.82% R 71.27 – 55.10 Y +21.16%
Piaggio P 2.36 H 2.40 L 2.342 C +0.43% R 3.092 – 1.93 Y +2.25%
KTM P 133.00 H 133.20 L 132.00 C +1.1% R 138.30 – 59.76 Y +124.31%
VW P 184.456 H 185.50 L 179.71 C +2.46% R 198.43 – 147.35 Y +1.23%
Notes: Daimler has a 25 per cent stake in MV Agusta through its AMG-Mercedes subsidiary. Volkswagen is the owner of Ducati Motor Holding
INDIA (rupee)
Hero P 3187.00 H 3233.90 L 3176.70 C -0.96% R 3271.80 – 1907.00 Y +57.74%
Bajaj P 2619.90 H 2637.95 L 2611.25 C -0.2% R 2695.00 – 1793.20 Y +37.27%
TVS P 253.85 H 258.80 L 250.10 C +0.06% R 266.70 – 52.05 Y +364.96%
Eicher P 15,213.50 H 15,619.95 L 15,140.00 C -1.42% R 15,785.00 – 4401.10 Y +216.78%
Mahindra P 1294.05 H 1300.00 L 1267.50 C +2.29% R 1433.70 – 846.25 Y +38.51%
Maharashtra P 1028.60 H 1060.90 L 1014.00 C -2.39% R 1124.00 – 393.70 Y +161.33%
Scooters India P 31.30 H 31.50 L 29.70 C +4.33% R 38.85 – 14.20 Y +115.12%
Notes: Hero MotoCorp is a former Honda JV partner. Bajaj has technical partnerships with KTM and Kawasaki. TVS is a former Suzuki JV partner. Bajaj and TVS also both export. Eicher makes the Royal Enfield brand. Mahindra & Mahindra has a technical partnership with Taiwanese brand SYM and an own-brand motorcycle range. Maharashtra Scooters assembles CKD scooter kits manufactured by Bajaj, which is also a substantial shareholder in the company. Scooters India manufactured Lambretta scooters until 1997 but now only makes Vikram three-wheeled taxis and light trucks. The Indian government has a majority stake.
PAKISTAN (Pakistani rupee)
Atlas Honda P 310.00 H 317.89 L 310.00 C -1.73% R 355.57 – 209.00 Y N/A
Pak Suzuki P 381.99 H 395.80 L 378.40 C -2.09% R 401.00 – 134.00 Y N/A
Notes: Atlas Honda and Pak Suzuki are JV motorcycle assembly and distribution partners.
JAPAN (yen)
Honda P 3738 H 3754 L 3713.5 C +0.35% R 4330 – 3239 Y -9.9%
Yamaha P 2617 H 2618 L 2571 C +0.73% R 2646 – 1265 Y +68.74%
Suzuki P 4020 H 4024 L 3940 C +1.28% R 4036 – 2497 Y +58.29%
Kawasaki P 560 H 561 L 550 C +1.27% R 565 – 350 Y +39.03%
CHINA (yuan)
Qianjiang P 7.61 H 7.78 L 7.30 C -2.19% R 7.89 – 4.67 Y +57.56%
Qingqi P 6.96 H 7.04 L 6.14 C +5.94% R 7.04 – 3.34 Y N/A
Zongshen P 9.74 H 10.05 L 9.11 C -1.52% R 10.82 – 3.92 Y +108.48%
Sundiro P 5.48 H 5.85 L 5.35 C -5.35% R 5.95 – 3.48 Y +38.79%
Jialing P 8.46 H 8.64 L 7.68 C +6.95% R 8.64 – 3.01 Y +135%
Lifan P 9.90 H 10.45 L 9.55 C -5.98% R 10.64 – 5.65 Y +54.94%
Loncin P 16.48 H N/A L N/A C N/A R 18.81 – 8.24 Y N/A [Trading suspended]
Linhai P 9.08 H 9.39 L 8.91 C -3.2% R 11.39 – 4.80 Y +69.3%
CHINA (Hong Kong dollar)
Jianshe P 8.28 H 8.50 L 8.18 C -0.48% R 9.40 – 5.28 Y +53.33%
Guangzhou Auto P 7.15 H 7.25 L 7.01 C +0.85% R 10.20 – 6.72 Y -25.42%
Notes: Qianjiang owns both the exported Keeway brand and the formerly Italian Benelli brand. Qingqi is a Suzuki JV partner, a Peugeot scooter contractor and also makes Qingqi and Sinnis branded bikes. Zongshen produces own-brand bikes and proprietary engines, and has JV partnerships with Piaggio, producing scooters, and Harley-Davidson, making parts. Sundiro is the biggest Honda JV bike partner in China. Jialing makes and exports own-brand bikes using Honda licensed technology and is a Honda JV power products partner. Lifan makes and exports own-brand bikes, and distributes MV Agusta products in China. Loncin is a Kawasaki JV partner and OEM engine contractor to BMW Motorrad. Linhai and Jianshe are Yamaha JV partners. Guangzhou Automobile Group is the parent of Honda JV partner and own-brand bike manufacturer Wuyang. It also has JV car production partnerships with Honda and Toyota.
VIETNAM (Hong Kong dollar)
VMEPH P 0.465 H 0.47 L 0.465 C N/A R 0.69 – 0.40 Y -22.5%
Notes: Vietnam Manufacturing & Export Processing Holdings is the third-largest Vietnamese scooter and motorcycle manufacturer. It is a JV partnership with Taiwanese brand SYM. VMEPH is headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on both the HK and Taipei stock exchanges.
TAIWAN (Taiwanese dollar)
Sanyang P 29.20 H 29.70 L 29.15 C +1.02% R 63.00 – 25.20 Y -42.18%
Notes: Sanyang Industry is the leading Taiwanese powered two-wheeler manufacturer through its widely-exported SYM brand.
MALAYSIA (ringgit)
Oriental Holdings P 7.05 H 7.05 L 6.90 C +2.17% R 8.61 – 6.89 Y -16.7%
Hong Leong P 4.25 H 4.30 L 4.20 C +0.47% R 7.543 – 3.95 Y +1.74%
Notes: Oriental Holdings is a Honda JV partner. Hong Leong Industries is a Yamaha JV partner and former owner of the German MZ concern.
INDONESIA (rupiah)
Astra P 7100 H 7150 L 6975 C +1.79% R 8050 – 6050 Y +18.96%
Notes: Astra International is a Honda JV partner. Its controlling shareholder is Jardine Matheson Holdings, a British-managed conglomerate domiciled in Hong Kong.
SOUTH KOREA (won)
KR P 1020 H 1030 L 997 C -0.97% R 1495 – 425 Y +125.66%
Daelim P 69,100 H 69,800 L 68,500 C -1% R 96,400 – 62,700 Y -26.95%
Notes: KR Motors (formerly S&T) manufactures Hyosung-branded bikes and ATVs, exporting to the US, Europe including the UK and elsewhere. Daelim Industrial is a diversified conglomerate which retains a controlling 59 per cent stake in Daelim Motor, the largest motorcycle and scooter manufacturer in Korea. (The remainder is British-owned, by the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank.)