Bike RPM Bike Industry News and Reviews

13Apr/090

Honda Sold F1 Team For £1

Honda is "frustrated" to have abandoned Formula One on the eve of almost guaranteed success, new team owner Ross Brawn insists. The Briton is now leading the Brackley-based camp following a management buyout, having bought it from the struggling Honda Motor Co. for a symbolic 1 British pound.

"I'm sure they were very frustrated at having to withdraw," Brawn, 54, told the Bloomberg news agency. "I've had many notes from senior people at Honda, so they are frustrated because obviously the team has moved forward, but it was a necessity for their business."

The team netted embarrassing results in the last two years, but during 2008 invested millions of Honda dollars setting the groundwork for the current BGP 001 chassis. With Mercedes power, the 'Brawn GP' car collected both poles and both wins from the opening two Grand Prix of 2009.

[Via: motorbeam]

20Mar/090

Bike sales grows, but at snail’s pace

Motorcycle sales have managed a modest growth between April-08 to Feb-09 despite the entry-level segment registering a decline. The on-going global economic slowdown played a key role in the slowing down of two-wheeler sales.

Adding fuel to the fire were the existing vehicle repossession norms and the lack of easy finance. The entry-level bike segment which accounts for around 70% of the two-wheeler market registered a decline in sales by almost 2%. A sales decline in this major segment should have caused a slump in the overall sales of the bike segment.

However, as per the latest figures from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) the overall bike sales managed to grow by 51,687 units to a total of 53,13,145 units compared to 52,61,458 units in the last financial year. The overall two-wheeler sales were up marginally to 67,83,653 units from 66,18,302 units in the last financial year.

The entry-level market leader, Hero Honda was the sole manufacturer to register a gain by around 3 lakh units in the segment. Bajaj Auto sold around 2.75 lakh units less compared to the last fiscal year. TVS Motor Co sold 84,299 units less while India Yamaha Motor sold 23,353 units less compared to the same period last year.

Even in the executive segment Hero Honda registered a marginal gain while Bajaj Auto still sold lesser number of units compared to the last fiscal year. Overall sales in the executive segment increased to 15,29,362 units compared to14,09,380 units in the same period last year. The scooter segment grew overall to 10,59,054 units compared to 9,67,087 units in the same period last year. The sales of bigger scooters fell to 41,331 units compared to 58,880 units in the same period last year.

[Via: BIKE]

   
 

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