A snapshot of motorcycle and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 7 March 2025. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OUTLOOKS ABOUND
Wall Street continued to be on the receiving end of Trumpesque battering’s, as the US president constantly changed his mind about when and if tariff impositions on Canada, Mexico, China and eventually Europe will be further delayed or suddenly applied. Health-check data for the world’s largest economy was therefore all over the place.
New York equities trading was likened to “ping-pong” by confused investors as market indices finished in the red once more. Blue-chip S&P 500 stocks closed 3.1% down and the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered a 2.4% weekly loss. Both S&P’s MidCap 400 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite dropped in parallel by 3.5%. A typical MidCap victim, Harley-Davidson’s share price staggered around, clinging desperately to a 25-buck marker. Its woefully weakened LiveWire electric bike spin-off plunged to just two bucks.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 25.44 | -1.2% | -5.1% |
| Polaris Industries | 47.51 | +5.8% | +7.1% |
| Textron | 75.42 | +0.9% | 1.2% |
| Niu Technologies | 2.41 | -3.2% | -9.4% |
| LiveWire | 2.00 | -13% | -24.8% |
EUROPE — LET’S GET PANZERED!
New German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz announced a monster deal reputedly worth hundreds of billions of euros for defence rearmament and infrastructure. This overwhelmed a tariff-scare tumble for Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax earlier in the week, as this key index celebrated a 2% gain by Friday’s close. Although Teutonic automotive stocks were mixed, BMW and Volkswagen hung onto sound monthly advances, as their full-year results revelations approached.
Milan’s FTSE MIB index wasn’t invited to the party, though, 0.2% in arrears at the weekend’s close of play. Italian scooter giant Piaggio was punished for lamentable full-year results released on 4 March, its share price finishing 6.5% down on just 2 euros. The price had fallen even lower to a mere 1.9 euros on 5 March.
In Austria, the Wiener Börse ATX surge engendered by KTM’s restructuring pushed the index even higher to a 3.4% hike. However, Pierer Mobility shares didn’t really benefit, sliding back towards 20 euros.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 83.62 | -0.3% | +9.5% |
| Volkswagen | 111.00 | +3.6% | +15.1% |
| Pierer Mobility | 20.10 | -1.5% | +12.3% |
| Piaggio Group | 2.00 | -6.5% | -5.2% |
JAPAN — RAW NERVES WERE STILL EVIDENT
Tokyo and Osaka’s key Nikkei 225 market index got over its recent bout of Trump-induced jitters and recovered to 0.7% positivity. However, the big biker-related brands were mixed. Honda marked time comfortably and Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ widespread portfolio spurred it onwards and upwards. Yamaha and Suzuki were investor also-rans.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 1431 | +2.7% | -0.4% |
| Yamaha | 1215 | -1.2% | N/A |
| Suzuki | 1802 | -1% | -6.1% |
| Kawasaki | 8740 | +16.7% | +22.4% |
INDIA — PUNTERS PERK UP
Mumbai’s S&P BSE Sensex 30 and NSE Nifty 50 market indices staged a modest recovery, respectively posting gains of 1.5% and 1.9%, after several desultory weeks of losses. This mood-swing, driven by small-fry retail investors, boosted share prices for three out of the five Indian motorcycle manufacturing majors — led by Royal Enfield parent Eicher. Inexplicably, domestic market toffs Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto missed the bus.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 3652.50 | -0.8% | -14.6% |
| Bajaj Auto | 7574.75 | -4.2% | -15.7% |
| TVS Motor | 2332.90 | +4.8% | -10.5% |
| Eicher Motors | 5100.70 | +6.9% | -5.1% |
| Mahindra | 2727.85 | +5.5% | -14.7% |
CHINA — WHO DARES, WINS
Temporary tariff reprieves from Trump have elicited plenty of sneering from the Chinese, particularly because the US economy is obviously losing momentum as self-inflicted trade tensions rise. Beijing is already planning its retaliation in spades.
It’s interesting to note that China’s Shanghai SSE Composite and CSI 300 market indices have swung back from a dose of negativity to respective advances of 1.6% and 1.4% in the past week. Only three of the ten listed Chinese motorcycle producers lost value within this time-frame. What does Xi Jinping know that Donald Trump doesn’t?
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 18.32 | +1.5% | -6.7% |
| Zongshen | 24.22 | +3.9% | -5% |
| Sundiro | 3.95 | +3.7% | +12.5% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 12.92 | +3.1% | -2.7% |
| Qianli (Lifan) | 9.11 | -4.8% | +22.6% |
| Loncin | 10.29 | -3.6% | +3.8% |
| Linhai | 9.64 | +4.1% | +2.2% |
| Guangzhou Auto Group | 8.75 | +0.1% | -4.3% |
| CFMoto | 174.40 | -3.6% | -14.5% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 10.93 | +7.5% | +3.8% |