The Piaggio Group releases 2018 first quarter results
The Piaggio Group released its first quarter results for 2018, which were highlighted by a strong start to the year in emerging countries, an upward trend that offset general weakness in European sales.
In Western countries, Piaggio demand ended down versus the prior year. European two-wheelers declined affected by extremely unfavorable weather conditions and challenging comparison base for 50cc vehicles; scooters declined about 11 percent, dragged down by 50cc plummeting 35 percent after an unusually strong Q4 2017 which saw a 93 percent increase year over year. Spain was the only major country ending up versus the prior eyar. Overall, bikes ended slightly up at about three percent, with positive trends spread across all major countries.
North America continued its decline in scooters, trending downward and ending in a double-digit decline, the eighth-straight quarter of decline.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam had positive momentum which was continually driven by scooters, which ended up seeing high single-digit growth.
In India, demand surged across all segments. Demand for three-wheelers rallied by about 90 percent, although helped by easy comparison base and the release of new licenses, the market extended above the 2016 level too, thus confirming improving underlying demand trend. Two wheelers confirmed the unabated upwards trend, namely with scooters ending up about 24 percent.
Overall, net sales grew by about three-million euros, compared to Q1 2017.
