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BMW Worldwide Sales Up 21% Through May

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BMW Motorrad is reporting that worldwide motorcycle sales were up 21% for the first five months of 2010, compared to 2009’s numbers. Sales were up 19.3% for the month of May alone, with 12,139 units sold, making for 45,431 units sold thus far in 2010. The newly revised BMW R1200GS/Adventure models account for 3,705 of the motorcycles sold in May, which is up almost 34% from last year.

While the GS comprises almost a third of BMW’s total sales in May, BMW reported that the F and K series motorcycles also showed strong demand in the month as well. Also making a strong showing is the all new S1000RR superbike, which sold 1,345 units in last month for a total of 5,236 units sold this year so far.

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Yamaha Posts Q1 2010 Profit after Q1 2009 Loss

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Yamaha Motor Company is reporting a ¥7.5 billion ($80.9 million) net profit for its Q1 2010 numbers, which is a marked improvement over the tuning fork brand’s ¥15.8 billion ($169 million) loss in Q1 of last year. Sales for Q1 this year were up 16% compared to last year, for a total of ¥309.9 billion ($3.3 billion) in sales. Volume was also up for the brand by 26%, with Yamaha selling 1.6 million units worldwide. Despite these strong numbers, both sales in Japan (-14%)and the United States (-57.5%) fell for Yamaha in Q1 of 2010.

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BMW Posts 21% Sales Boost in Q1 2010

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BMW continues to buck the trend, releasing sales data that shows the Bavarian company getting a 21% sales boost last quarter when compared to Q1 of 2009. The company made €351 million in sales revenue (also up 21%), which came to €32 million EBIT, up 14.3% from Q1 of last year as well. BMW cites strong sales from the S1000RR, and the newly revised R1200GS/RT as being the reason for the strong sales numbers.

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Piaggio Group Sales Up 11% in Q1 2010

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The Piaggio Group is reporting an 11.2% increase in its first quarter 2010 sales across its motorcycle and scooter subsidiaries compared to last year’s numbers. The group netted  €2.9 million for Q1, which is noticable increase from its €4.7 million loss in Q1 of 2009. For motorcycle sales alone, the company saw a 12.4% increase unit sales, with the European market leading the charge.

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First Quarter 2010 Motorcycle Sales Down 21% – March 2010 Sales Down 5%

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The Motorcycle Industry Council has released the latest figures on motorcycle and industry sales for the first quarter of 2010, and the figures show a 21% decrease in motorcycle sales compared to 2009, with the industry as a whole posting a 23% loss. These statistics paint a continued doom and gloom scenario for the motorcycle industry, but there is a silver lining in the March 2010 numbers, which show an increase in some segments, and a slowing decline in the rest. Check after the jump for a full breakdown.

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Motorcycle Fatalities Drop 10% – Economy to Blame?

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In a report released by the AMA, which used data collected by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), on-road motorcycle falatities dropped by at least 10% during 2009 when compared to the year before. In 2008 there were 5,290 motorcycle deaths on US highways,  but in 2009 this figure dropped to 4,762 deaths.

2008 was a record setting year not only in motorcycle sales, but also in motorcycle fatalities. Conversely, 2009 saw a massive reduction in motorcycle sales, and a 180° turn in motorcycle fatalities. With the upward trend of total deaths mirroring the trend of increasing motorcycle sales, and now also mirroring the recent downward trend in motorcycle sales, the correlation would seem obvious, if not logical.

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Harley-Davidson Returns to Profitability

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Harley-Davidson has announced its Q1 quarterly earnings today, and the Milwaukee-based company posted a $68.7 million profit. This news comes after Harley-Davidson posted a $218 million loss last quarter, and finished in the hole over $55 million for the 2009 year. Harley’s return to profitability is partially due to the company’s restructuring of its financial services, which are once again generating money for the iconic American brand. Harley-Davidson Financial Services posted a profit of $26.7 million this past quarter, almost a third of HD’s net income in Q1.

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Yamaha Raising Money for Electrics

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Yamaha Motors is set to raise $812 million in capital in order to pursue development and production of fuel-efficient engines, which includes hybrid and electric models. The focus of this new range of Yamahas seems to be destined for emerging markets, but may include technologies that could trickle into more established markets like the United States. Yamaha plans on raising this money by making 63.25 million more corporate shares publicly available for investment.

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MV Agusta Claims 50% Boost in Sales

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MV Agusta has issued a press release stating that the Italian brand has seen a 50% increase in unit sales the last three months when compared to the first quarter of 2009. Unfortunately Asphalt & Rubber has no way of verifying if these numbers are accurate, but their release is certainly well-timed with the added talk in the business world surrounding MV Agusta’s divesture from Harley-Davidson.

Was Harley able to turn the brand around? Are the new F4 and Brutale selling like hotcakes? Or is this carefully seeded information to help a deal along? Only time will tell. Photos of the new MV’s after the jump.

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Racing

2010 Is Last WSBK Season For South African Track

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Kyalami Grand Prix circuit is likely to host its last World Superbike race for a while this season. Located in Gauteng, South Africa, the Gauteng provincial government has bought out the track’s remaining contract with WSBK in an effort to “re-prioritize” the local government’s budget of local programs. Kyalami was set to host WSBK through 2013, but instead it looks like this will be the South African’s track last season until the Gauteng government becomes financially stable again.

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Dainese No Longer “Made in Italy” – Moves Remaining Italian Production to Tunisia

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Italian apparel manufacturer Dainese, (who also owns Mavet and AGV) is shutting down its Molvena, Italy plant, and moving the bulk of its production to Tunisia. The move is presumably to help lower costs to the Italian brand, as sales have slumpped during the industry-wide economic slowdown. It’s unclear whether Dainese will open a new factory in Tunisia, or add the capacity to one of its two factories already in the North African country.

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