22 MAY: WEEKLY MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY SHARE PRICES

A snapshot of global bike and ATV industry share performance at the trading week closure on Friday 22 May 2015.

Evidence of rising core inflation in the US — making a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike more likely — along with falling crude oil prices, took the edge off otherwise solid share price performances in America over the past week. The dollar strengthened and New York’s S&P 500 index fell back from a record high to finish up positive by only 0.26%. Harley-Davidson posted a modest weekly recovery but Polaris surged by 4.5%.

Europe, on the other hand, was boosted by a weakening euro against the dollar, bringing smiles to exporters’ faces. The Eurofirst 300 boasted a weekly climb of 2.85% and all three big German automotives added value, as did Italy’s Piaggio — up by 2.2%.

Dollar supremacy also held the yen in check, cheering up Japanese investors too. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose by 2.69%. Suzuki and Kawasaki both benefited while Yamaha remained essentially flat, falling back only very slightly. However, Honda lost more ground thanks to its presence at the sharp end of a global car airbag recall, which now extends to a staggering 34 million vehicles. (Suzuki, which also makes lots of cars, apparently doesn’t use the offending Takata killer airbags…)

And business confidence is apparently recovering in India, where the BSE Sensex 30 has now risen tentatively over the past month despite a studied lack of commercial credibility from that country’s government. Almost every major Indian motorcycling stock improved on a weekly basis. The only exception was Royal Enfield parent Eicher, with a minor retreat from recent magnificent gains.

As for China, the bubble has yet to burst. Its Shanghai Composite index just keeps stacking on good news with double-digit weekly gains for leading motorcycle manufacturers now almost taken for granted. Superstar of the week was BMW Motorrad and Kawasaki associate Loncin, which flaunted a headline-grabbing 27% value growth over five days of trading. Benelli brand owner Qianjiang was in second spot with an 18.6% price spike.

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

USA (US dollar)

Harley-Davidson    P 56.95  C -0.09%  R 72.78 – 53.04  Y -18.07%

Polaris    P 146.32  C -0.04%  R 159.33 – 125.35  Y +13.63%

Arctic Cat    P 34.15  C +1.16%  R 40.59 – 26.00  Y -7.09%

US Highland    P 1.05  C +72.13%  R 1.05 – 0.13  Y N/A

Viper    P 0.0033  C +120%  R 0.02 – 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 27.08  C -0.7%  R 29.81 – 20.67  Y -6.27%

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 25.75  C -0.39%  R 33.60 – 25.20  Y -4.98%

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

VIETNAM (Hong Kong dollar)

VMEPH    P 0.76  C -1.3%  R 0.85 – 0.40  Y +87.65%

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

INDONESIA (rupiah)

Astra    P 7575  C -3.19%  R 8575 – 6325  Y +4.16%

Indomobil    P 3950  C -0.75%  R 5025 – 3050  Y -17.1%

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 104.897  C -0.2%  R 123.75 – 74.74  Y +20.19%

Daimler    P 89.602  C -0.34%  R 96.07 – 55.10  Y +35.34%

VW    P 229.39  C -0.03%  R 254.99 – 147.35  Y +22.5%

KTM    P 119.85  C +2.44%  R 141.00 – 83.00  Y +42.78%

Piaggio    P 2.916  C +0.55%  R 3.00 – 1.93  Y +15.14%

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 356.00  C +0.56%  R 409.00 – 209.00  Y N/A

Pak Suzuki    P 408.00  C -0.47%  R 450.85 – 201.99  Y N/A

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

INDIA (rupee)

Hero    P 2603.45  C +0.04%  R 3271.80 – 2251.30  Y +14.92%

Bajaj    P 2307.45  C +0.31%  R 2695.00 – 1912.50  Y +19.3%

TVS    P 227.20  C -1.07%  R 322.30 – 113.40  Y +73.32% 

Eicher    P 18,696.75  C +1.54%  R 19,115.00 – 6601.15  Y +151.99%

Mahindra    P 1255.65  C +0.54%  R 1433.70 – 1102.00  Y +9.59%

Maharashtra    P 1022.40  C -1.4%  R 1124.00 – 496.05  Y +102.79%

Scooters India    P 26.50  C -2.03%  R 38.85 – 24.00  Y +2.51%

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 4124  C -0.75%  R 4400 – 3239  Y +20.58%

Yamaha    P 2946  C +0.55%  R 3145 – 1541  Y +93.04%

Suzuki    P 4203.5  C -0.54%  R 4264 – 2931  Y +41.01%

Kawasaki    P 612  C -0.97%  R 647 – 368  Y +68.44%

CHINA (yuan)

Qianjiang    P 12.09  C +1.17%  R 12.88 – 5.29  Y +126.4%

Zongshen    P 28.29  C -1.77%  R 29.87 – 4.37  Y +463.57% 

Sundiro    P 8.65  C +3.97%  R 8.66 – 3.67  Y +133.16%

Jialing    P 11.83  C +6.29%  R 11.95 – 4.16  Y +163.47% 

Lifan    P 14.65  C N/A  R 15.03 – 6.39  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

Loncin    P 29.84  C -1.16%  R 31.09 – 8.30  Y +254.31%

Linhai    P 13.37  C N/A  R 14.29 – 5.65  Y N/A [Trading suspended]

CHINA (Hong Kong dollar)

Jianshe    P 14.10  C -1.12%  R 16.44 – 5.41  Y +146.07% 

Guangzhou Auto    P 7.91  C +0.13%  R 9.87 – 6.58  Y +7.96%

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 7.85  C N/A  R 8.10 – 6.48  Y +4.64%

Hong Leong    P 4.80  C +0.42%  R 7.543 – 3.95  Y -10.29%

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

SOUTH KOREA (won)

KR    P 1185  C +0.85%  R 1600 – 780  Y +9.22%

Daelim    P 83,600  C +0.72%  R 94,300 – 50,400  Y +1.49%

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.)