1 MAY: WEEKLY MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY SHARE PRICES

A snapshot of global bike and ATV industry share performance at the trading week closure on Friday 1 May 2015.

Gloom pervaded developed markets due to a cocktail of poor economic data and political uncertainties. A Federal Reserve admission of faltering recovery in the US spannered confidence on Wall Street and the S&P 500 index dropped by 1.05%. Both Harley-Davidson and Polaris suffered weekly retreats.

In London, with our fraught general election looming, there were ominous signs of things to come should the Tories lose power. Sterling plummeted against the dollar and the FTSE 100 sank by 1.2%. Should a Miliband/Sturgeon alliance triumph, be frightened, very frightened…

Fading enthusiasm for the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (money printing) programme pushed most stocks in the Eurozone down too. The Eurofirst 300 index took a substantial hit, down by 3.43% on a weekly basis. All three big German automotives with biking sidelines lost value, as did KTM in Austria. Only Piaggio bucked the bears, thanks to a very marginal 0.3% gain in Milan.

US and global economy issues also promoted jitters in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 fell by 2.44%. All four Japanese motorcycle brands were victims of that negative trend.

As for emerging markets, India was a mixed bag with a downwards consensus from the BSE Sensex 30 index deteriorating further. Its two largest bike manufacturers Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto felt the pain price-wise although TVS and Eicher managed minor improvements.

Reasons to be cheerful could only be found in China. Some bike stocks weakened but there appears to be no end in sight to an overall bull run. Once again, Zongshen was the megastar performer, adding a stupendous weekly share price rise of 24.7% to a succession of large recent gains. However, Lifan joined Linhai in the twilight zone of trading suspension as Chinese regulators increasingly flex their muscles.      

Price (P) Daily change (C) 52-week range (R) One-year investment return (Y) 

USA (US dollar)

Harley-Davidson    P 56.59  C +0.68%  R 74.05 – 54.22  Y -20.8%

Polaris    P 139.51  C +1.86%  R 159.33 – 124.73  Y +3.66%

Arctic Cat    P 35.46  C -0.08%  R 42.35 – 26.00  Y -13.45%

US Highland    P 0.61  C +1.67%  R 0.61 – 0.13  Y N/A

Viper    P 0.0015  C N/A  R 0.026 – 0.0012  Y N/A

Notes: Polaris makes Victory and Indian bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles, quadricycles and EVs. Arctic Cat makes ATVs and snowmobiles. US Highland makes off-road bikes. Viper Powersports makes the Diamondback Super Cruiser.

CANADA (Canadian dollar)

BRP    P 27.15  C +1.42%  R 30.15 – 20.67  Y -7.5%

Notes: Bombardier Recreational Products makes Can-Am ATVs, Spyder road trikes, Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo PWCs and Rotax proprietary engines.

TAIWAN (Taiwanese dollar)

Sanyang    P 27.25  C +0.18%  R 33.60 – 25.20  Y +5.83%

Notes: Sanyang Motor (SYM) is the leading Taiwanese bike manufacturer.

VIETNAM (Hong Kong dollar)

VMEPH    P 0.55  C -11.29%  R 0.74 – 0.40  Y +15.79%

Notes: Vietnam Manufacturing & Export Processing Holdings, a JV partner of SYM, is the third-largest Vietnamese bike manufacturer. 

INDONESIA (rupiah)

Astra    P 6850  C -3.52%  R 8575 – 6325  Y -4.93%

Indomobil    P 4200  C +12.75%  R 5025 – 3050  Y -12.5%

Notes: Astra International is a Honda JV partner. Its controlling shareholder is British conglomerate Jardine Matheson. Indomobil Sukses Internasional is a Suzuki JV partner.

EUROPE (euro)

BMW    P 105.26  C -1.31%  R 123.75 – 74.74  Y +21.69%

Daimler    P 85.709  C -1.48%  R 96.07 – 55.10  Y +33.26%

VW    P 225.73  C -1.68%  R 254.99 – 147.35  Y +22.44%

KTM    P 124.00  C N/A  R 141.00 – 79.00  Y +51.36%

Piaggio    P 2.704  C +1.73%  R 3.00 – 1.93  Y -5.17%

Notes: Daimler’s AMG-Mercedes subsidiary has a 25% stake in MV Agusta. Volkswagen owns Ducati and a 20% stake in Suzuki.

PAKISTAN (Pakistani rupee)

Atlas Honda    P 362.00  C -4.34%  R 409.00 – 209.00  Y N/A

Pak Suzuki    P 426.20  C +0.16%  R 450.85 – 187.00  Y N/A

Notes: Atlas Honda and Pak Suzuki are JV assembly partners.

INDIA (rupee)

Hero    P 2328.90  C -1.82%  R 3271.80 – 2110.00  Y +9.84%

Bajaj    P 1948.65  C -1.52%  R 2695.00 – 1840.10  Y +4.42%

TVS    P 235.65  C -0.55%  R 322.30 – 99.00  Y +133.22% 

Eicher    P 15,191.60  C -0.31%  R 17,200.00 – 6151.15  Y +143.89%

Mahindra    P 1145.00  C -2.36%  R 1433.70 – 1049.57  Y +9.52%

Maharashtra    P 857.85  C -0.57%  R 1124.00 – 466.00  Y +87.4% 

Scooters India    P 30.00  C +3.45%  R 38.85 – 17.05  Y +62.16%

Notes: Hero MotoCorp is a former Honda JV partner. Bajaj a major shareholding in KTM and ties with it and Kawasaki. TVS is a former Suzuki JV partner. Eicher makes the Royal Enfield brand. Mahindra & Mahindra has an own-brand bike range and a majority stake in French scooter brand Peugeot. Maharashtra Scooters assembles CKD scooter kits manufactured by Bajaj. Scooters India makes Vikram three-wheeled taxis and light trucks. The Indian government has a majority stake.

JAPAN (yen)

Honda    P 4099.5  C +1.44%  R 4400 – 3239  Y +20.9%

Yamaha    P 2822  C -0.32%  R 3145 – 1506  Y +75.11%

Suzuki    P 3867  C -0.4%  R 4100 – 2526  Y +47.43%

Kawasaki    P 615  C -0.49%  R 647 – 351  Y +62.25%

CHINA (yuan)

Qianjiang    P 9.58  C +3.79%  R 9.92 – 5.09  Y +87.84%

Zongshen    P 19.93  C +6.93%  R 25.30 – 4.37  Y +385.43%  

Sundiro    P 7.40  C -2.5%  R 7.95 – 3.64  Y +96.83%

Jialing    P 10.61  C -3.72%  R 11.86 – 4.03  Y +118.76%

Lifan    P 14.65  C +3.83%  R 15.03 – 6.33  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

Loncin    P 22.45  C +6.5%  R 24.25 – 8.24  Y +152.25%

Linhai    P 13.37  C N/A  R 14.29 – 5.47  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

CHINA (Hong Kong dollar)

Jianshe    P 10.26  C +1.99%  R 11.98 – 5.41  Y +75.09% 

Guangzhou Auto    P 8.45  C -0.71%  R 9.87 – 6.58  Y +7.07%

Notes: Qianjiang owns Keeway and formerly Italian Benelli. Zongshen makes own-brand bikes and proprietary engines, and has JV partnerships with Piaggio, (scooters), and Harley-Davidson (parts). Sundiro is a Honda JV partner. Jialing makes own-brand bikes using Honda licensed technology. Lifan makes own-brand bikes and distributes MV Agusta 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. 

MALAYSIA (ringgit)

Oriental Holdings    P 7.81  C +0.13%  R 8.10 – 6.48  Y +1.44%

Hong Leong    P 4.98  C -0.4%  R 7.543 – 3.95  Y -8.9%

Notes: Oriental Holdings is a Honda JV partner. Hong Leong Industries is a Yamaha JV partner.

SOUTH KOREA (won)

KR    P 1235  C -0.8%  R 1600 – 780  Y -3.89%

Daelim    P 83,000  C +1.97%  R 94,300 – 50,400  Y -0.69%

Notes: KR Motors makes Hyosung bikes and ATVs. Daelim Industrial retains a controlling 59% stake in Daelim Motor, the largest bike manufacturer in Korea. (The remainder is British, owned by Standard Chartered Bank.)