Superbike Planet is reporting a rumor that Honda is set to pull completely out of AMA/DMG road racing for 2010. If true, it’s hard to tell if this move is centered around an every decreasing budget for racing, or if Honda has finally given up dealing with AMA race organizer, Daytona Motorsports Group.
With its second quarter sales dropping 35%, Harley-Davidson is going to be trimming its ranks in order to stay afloat. The Milwaukee based company will inject 700 hourly-wage workers, and 300 salaried workers into the ranks of the unemployed, with possibly more joining them in the future. These reductions come after Harley-Davidson earlier this year announced it was eliminating 1,400-1,500 hourly production positions in 2009-2010 along with 300 salary positions.
About half of KTM’s 1,500 full-time employees will be shifting to part-time positions between May and August of this year says the . KTM said the measure would apply to all categories of employees, including white-collar employees as well as manual laborers. The move effectively eliminates two months of production, but retains the company’s workforce and manufacturing capacity in hopes of an economic rebound next year.
The move comes after KTM’s announcement a few months ago in January, which said the Austrian company would lay off 150 workers in its leasing division, and 150 core employees by April this year. KTM chief Stefan Pierer added that the company was planning to decrease production by 25 %, but said he expected business to get slightly better next year. On the positive side of the news, Pierer also claimed the motorcycle industry was in better shape to survive the recession than the car industry since more people would opt for motorcycles during a recession.
Source: Austrian Time via Hell for Leather
It would appear that nobody is immune from the wrath of the recession. Senior management at previously-healthy Ducati have just swallowed a ‘voluntary’10% pay decrease, and have agreed to give up their future bonuses.
Yamaha Motors is announcing that it will be closing down 11 facilities, thus halting production, for two-weeks in order to cut on costs. The shutdown is expected to occur sometime in February or March, and will include lines for Yamaha’s motorcycles, recreational vehicles, atvs, watercraft, and spare parts.
In similar news, Honda has announced that it will be cutting production worldwide and across the board: cars, bikes, generators, you name it.
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The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) started MotoGP in 1949 with the idea to establish a premiere prototype racing series. In 1992, FIM transfered the commercial rights to Dorna Sports, who have since been the business end of the racing series. This however, does not mean that the FIM is content to standby idly while the economic brouhaha plays havoc with MotoGP’s championship status. Continue reading to see FIM President Vito Ippolito response, and outlook on the future of MotoGP.
Early indications are pointing that Suzuki has halted any further development of its 2009 MotoGP race bike. While Suzuki is not pulling out of the series like some other manufacturers, this is another sign that companies are finding motorsports as an expense they can do without in the tough economic climate. The 2008 season saw the signature Rizla blue riders on the podium several times, but with the freeze on development we can only imagine that the boys in powder blue will have an even harder times of things.
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Harley-Davidson is getting creative with selling motorcycles, and we here at Asphalt & Rubber like it. HD must really want to capitalize on those sales, as it’s just announced a unique incentive to purchase a new Sportster, or alternatively to trade in your recently purchased model.
All new 2008 and 2008 Sportsters, bought between December 26, 2008 and March 31, 2009, will be sold with a guarantee that Harley-Davidson will offer the full MSRP of the bike when traded in for a larger bike, within on year of the original purchase. The offer does not apply to the new XR1200, and the bike bought after the trade-in must be a Dyna, Softail, VRSC, or Touring model.
Economically, this is an interesting deal. Harley-Davidsons, unlike most other marquees, generally appreciate in value over-time. This is mostly a function of long-waiting lists, and difficulty of purchasing abroad. Regardless, its a bonus point for buying the Milwaukee brand. The Sportster line, being at the bottom of the Harley totem pole, is the most susceptible to having this trend end with the economic crisis. This promotion, effectively squashes that possibility for the time being. Anyways, for the average consumer, revile in the fact that an otherwise depreciating object will hold its value for the next year minus the rate of inflation, and in the event of deflation in the value of the dollar, will actually be a decent investment. Booyaca!
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Last week we speculated , Honda has now announced that it will be withdrawing from all of the AMA’s road racing series.
This news really only affects Neil Hodgson, who is currently the only factory signed onto the 2009 season. HRC’s move will not affect Jake Zemke, who won last year’s AMA Formula Xtreme Championship, because all signs point to him riding for the Erion Honda team, which Honda will still be offering support to, as well as the Corona Honda team.
Honda again cites the current economic situation as the reason behind their announcement. We’ll let you discuss if you think factors like Suzuki’s dominance in AMA Superbike, or the new ownership by the Daytona Motorsports Group could be aggravating circumstances.
With the Senate squashing the Detroit bailout loan last night, tougher economic times are surely ahead for us, not only in the States, but also abroad. Last week Honda announced that it was pulling out of Formula1 racing because of the extraordinary costs and tight fiscal situations. Could the same happen in MotoGP? Find out after the jump.
Honda Motorcycle’s COO, Tatsuhiro Oyama is forecasting that there will be worldwide industry drop in bike sales as the credit fiasco finally rears its ugly head in motorcycling. Like the car industry, the motorcycle industry helps move product by offering financing options and extending credit to the purchasers of their bikes. Typically these credit liabilities are flipped to third-party creditors, who handle the debt from there (all unbeknownst to us the consumer), but with the state of economy and the meltdown of the credit industry, many of these creditors are either no long amongst the living, or not taking on any more debt.
Oyama was credited as saying, “There’s been a bit of a lag, but credit is being squeezed. I think if we have flat sales next (business) year we’d be lucky,” adding that forecasts for this year might need adjusting too.
This news leaves companies like GMAC, and in this case Honda, in a lurch. Unable to swiftly exchange the credit liability, they have to be more cautious on who they extend money too. This means more credit refusals, and higher interest rates, which in turn means more people who can’t afford a motorcycle purchase.
At the end of the day, it is Honda and the other manufacturers (except perhaps Ducati) who are left holding the bag with excess product sitting on the showroom floor come December.
There is some good news. Oyama went on to say that the motorcycle business as a whole was holding up better than the car side. So no government bail outs…yet.
Source: visordown