Has the scooter sales surge run out of gas? – February 12, 2007

By Dan Kouba
Contributing writer
Although there was some good news at the end of 2006, the latest year-end industry figures point to a declining scooter market.
December sales showed nearly a 17 percent increase over last year, but Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) data shows the overall year was down 4.6 percent, pointing to the possibility that the U.S. scooter market has hit a ceiling.
The last major sales spike occurred during fall 2005, when gasoline prices approached $4 in some parts of the country. Scooter sales were up the first half of 2006, but with current fuel prices falling, could the U.S. consumer no longer be thinking of the economical scooter as a form of daily transportation?
American Honda spokesman Jon Seidel
doesn’t think so.
“Honda has experienced 30 percent growth in scooter sales since 2002,” Seidel said, “and total sales the past two years have remained consistent and strong.”
The worldwide leader in scooter sales, with 10 models ranging from its 50cc Metropolitan to the 600cc Silver Wing available with ABS, Seidel said more than 80 percent of Honda motorcycle dealers sell Honda scooters, and that this percentage has remained constant the past several years. Asked if Honda’s sales numbers are rising because of an increase in the number of dealers carrying scooters, resulting in a lower sales-per-dealer output, Seidel says that is not the case.
“Most Honda scooter dealers continue to experience increased interest and sales,” he said.
Along with the other OEM representatives interviewed, Seidel did not want to guess at what the total new unit market number would be if all Asian companies reported. The MIC new unit sales total for 2006 was slightly more than 54,000.
E-ton USA Vice President Steve Murphy says his company’s scooter sales have been on the rise the past two years. But he admits this year’s U.S. growth is slower than last year in part because of market saturation from the Chinese and lower fuel prices.
“The overall size of the market has increased, but the Chinese are taking a bigger part of that increase,” he said. “Although everyone is going up, the Chinese are going up more because of their cheaper pricing.”
According to E-ton’s Web site, the company makes two 50cc scooters — the Beamer III and Beamer Matrix II. Murphy says the company has a new 150cc scooter that is currently going through DOT brake testing. Though it has no official name yet, the scooter will have a $2,399 MSRP and will be released in May. Murphy says E-ton sees the need for a larger scooter because there are so many states that do not have favorable laws for slower mopeds, and because his company’s market studies have shown perspective buyers want more for their money.
“They’re willing to pay more because (the scooter) is not something they’re going to throw on the back of an RV for six months or just ride until they get their license back,” he said.
“If someone is going to spend that much money, then they’ll spend good money to go more than 65mph on the highways. Those are the states we are missing with the scooter market. We are going at any niche markets. The 125cc to 250cc category accounts for about 8 percent of the market. It’s not a large-selling (category), but I think all the home runs are gone. We are going to have to be creative, going to the niche markets to provide the customer what they want. The mass numbers of under 50cc has gone to the Chinese because of their pricing. “
Like Seidel and Murphy, American Suzuki Corp.’s Glenn Hansen does not think the U.S. scooter market has topped out.
“Our growth has been good. For the 2006 calendar year, we were up 30 percent with our scooter sales,” he said. “We did not increase our dealer body by that much. Definitely, on average, per dealer scooter sales are up.”
Hansen refers to his company’s 400cc and 650cc U.S. offerings as more “motorcycle” than scooter because of the look and step-through chassis.
Suzuki’s typical U.S. buyer is not the stereotypical urban college kid. They are older, more experienced motorcyclists in their 50s with 12 or more years of motorcycle ownership. Worldwide, the company has scooters from 50cc to 650cc, and has plans to bring more to the States.
“Yes, we definitely will bring the smaller scooters here that are priced to compete with a lot more of the scooters that are out there,” he said. “We haven’t announced that it will be out next year, but we are definitely bringing more scooters to the United States. We see a good opportunity for growth in the scooter market.”