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May 12, 2008 – Yamaha’s cycle sales drop in North America

Yamaha Motor Corp. reported a sharp decrease in North American motorcycle sales for its first quarter.
Yamaha sold 43,000 motorcycles in North America in the quarter that ended March 31, a nearly 37 percent decrease from the previous year period.
The manufacturer also reported sales decreases in its ATV and marine segments in North America.
Overall, Yamaha’s revenue fell 9 percent for the quarter compared to a year ago to 412.9 billion yen ($3.9 billion). The decrease in sales was attributed to poor results in North America, lower motorcycle sales in Europe and currency impacts.
Yamaha’s power products division, which includes ATVs, side-by-sides and snowmobiles, accounted for more than 32.8 billion yen ($314 million) in new unit sales for its North American market. That’s a decline from last year when the company reported more than 40.5 billion yen ($388 million) in first-quarter sales.
The company’s marine division, which includes PWC, also was down compared to the last year. Yamaha said its North American marine sales decreased 28 percent vs. last year’s first quarter.
Motorcycle sales fell in North America and Europe, with the latter falling 15.6 percent. However, Yamaha did see sales gains elsewhere, including in Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand. The growth of those markets helped Yamaha’s overall motorcycle sales of more than 1.3 million units grow by nearly 15 percent although revenue from that segment dropped 6.4 percent.
North America wound up accounting for roughly 11 percent of Yamaha’s overall motorcycle sales, a dip of more than 7 percentage points from a year ago. psb

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