Japanese motorcycle production hit hard

Motorcycle production in Japan has felt the full wrath of the nation’s devastating earthquake, with just 37,841 units coming off assembly lines in March – a decrease of 26,870 units or 41.5 percent from the same period in 2010.

The four main segments – 50cc and under, 51-125cc, 126-250cc and over 250cc – were all gutted, with the 51-125cc sector taking the biggest hit by falling 50.9 percent.

But the result doesn’t come as a surprise, with temporary plant closures announced immediately after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, in addition to issues with supplies of vital componentry.

Across the big Japanese four, Suzuki manufactured 13,419 units in March (92.3 percent of its March, 2010 result), followed by Yamaha (9719, 54.1 percent), Honda (8860, 38.5 percent) and Kawasaki (5838, 63.4 percent).

But according to the official figures just released by Japan’s peak automobile association, the motorcycle market has improved markedly over the last year, even allowing for last month’s plunge.

The end of March denotes the conclusion of the Japanese fiscal year, and during the last 12 months motorcycle production increased 4.8 percent, or 29,102 units. During that period, only the 126-250cc segment slipped, and Honda was the only manufacturer to dip below its 2009-2010 result.

But the level of exports increased across the board for 2010-2011, with Oceania accounting for 50,827 units, or 10.8 percent of the total share. That makes Oceania the third biggest export market for Japanese-produced machinery behind Europe and North America, and ahead of Asia, South America and Africa.