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wbrownell9
New member
Hack into the corporate servers. BMW press releases have some information. For example, the linked press release says how many 1200/1250 GS/GSAs they sold but not what countries they went to, or the breakdown between regular and adventure models. They say how many total R bikes they sold so backing out GS/GSA sales gives RT, RS, and R (including R9T, probably) sales, but not the actual numbers of each model. They say how many total bikes they sold into each market, but not how many of each model.
I have no doubt these press releases are carefully sanitized to avoid giving competitors actionable marketing information.
I have no doubt these press releases are carefully sanitized to avoid giving competitors actionable marketing information.
bigjohnsd
'21 R1250 GS Adv
The data you seek is compiled and published by the Motorcycle Industry Council.
It is available but not cheap. Motorcycle Industry Statistics
"MIC members have access to monthly, annual, periodical and custom reports that provide the latest market intelligence and industry knowledge. To access these reports, members can go to MIC Resources to view or download. Some reports are made available to non-members to purchase through the MIC Store online."
If you know someone in the "Business" most likely an accessory manufacturer you might gain access without buying it yourself.
It is available but not cheap. Motorcycle Industry Statistics
"MIC members have access to monthly, annual, periodical and custom reports that provide the latest market intelligence and industry knowledge. To access these reports, members can go to MIC Resources to view or download. Some reports are made available to non-members to purchase through the MIC Store online."
If you know someone in the "Business" most likely an accessory manufacturer you might gain access without buying it yourself.
Nice link... "planned sales target of 200,000 units in the year 2020"
Good luck with that. What could be good news for some of us is that if BMW produced enough new motorcycles to fill their forecast, and then sales dropped suddenly, then the dealer showrooms may be flooded with unsold bikes. And that will force BMW to offer deep discounts at some point.
Several years ago, I had a wild idea to take a naked sport bike, the Suzuki B-King, and make it over into a sports-touring bike. That model was introduced and only sold one year, 2008. You might recall that our last big financial meltdown started in 2008, and most B-Kings sat in the dealerships for several years. I waited until 2011 and bought one of the last B-Kings in stock for about half of the original list price. I don't imagine that BMW dealers will end up offering discounts that large, but having patience may pay off if you are in the market for a new bike at some point within the next year or so.
Oh, and that B-King ST was an awesome bike.
wbrownell9
New member
The B-King was basically an unfaired Hayabusa, right?
Yes, 1340cc having a mild tune to ~200 hp, and weighing about 500 lbs.
Not quite that simple. There are lots of bikes in the pipeline, lots of parts on order, lots of contracts in place. You can't shut it off like a switch. And, the bikes are worth more when completed than the sum of the value of the parts. One of the challenges with just-in-time deliveries is finding a place to store the parts if you shut down an assembly line. So, they don't do that. Rather, they slow or stop reordering parts, and then continue to manufacture finished goods until the pipeline is cleared out.
wbrownell9
New member
JIT inventory has its downsides as the recent pandemic has shown. Even if your factory is open, if the supplier of some part you need is shut down - you're unable to build anything. These days it relies on predictable transportation and a reliable transnational supply chain. There is a possibility that companies may revisit some of their outsourcing decisions in the months and years ahead.
36654
New member
But, that's a lot different than the days of massive inventories and planned monthly production levels. The classic example of VW in the early 1980's, being somewhat funded by the state government, VW production was pegged to maintain employment. IIRC, a healthy supply of unsold 1981 models were available well into 1983.
Today, you might find an unsold 2019 sedan at some modest discount, but I haven't been overwhelmed.
36654
New member
Excluding some medical products (maybe), inventory will come from the cheapest supplier. Quarterly profit margin drives the stock market and CEO pay.
In the car and vehicle world, it will be interesting to watch the possible production shift from BMW MFG SC to the new plant in Mexico.
pglaves
#13338
I actually suspect a paradigm shift for some categories in the coming years. Now that we have proven that long complicated supply chains depending on foreign good-will are unreliable to the point of destroying businesses we may rethink their value. It is likely to become more apparent as we struggle to get medicines in the short term and then the even longer term. We could debate this notion forever but only time will tell.
36654
New member
Nope. Just look at the Stock Market. This is the best of all possible worlds
pglaves
#13338
Any relationship between the stock market and the real economy at the present moment is delusional except for the folks who have figured out how to profit on both upturns and downturns. So the current volatility serves their purposes well. You know, the folks like Pharma Bro, Bernie Madoff, and the folks at Enron. They may be your heroes. They are not mine.
wbrownell9
New member
In my old job there was a constant battle between Quality (which wanted material to come from the best value supplier), and Procurement (which wanted stuff from the cheapest supplier). What gets measured, happens. Once Quality got extra inspection costs, return of defective product costs, and cost of production delays included in the total procurement cost, things improved.
pglaves
#13338
Indeed. And some companies actually value their reputations.
