Motorcycles

Better, faster, data-driven results

About the industry

The Motorcycle industry has a huge opportunity to improve in the coming years. The many members of this industry including motorcycle manufacturers, distributors, dealers and retailers all have the opportunity to increase efficiency through the adoption and integration of advanced analytics and business intelligence.

IbisWorld gives a brief overview of the industry, explaining, “Growth for the Motorcycle, Bike and Parts Manufacturing industry has slowed over the past five years, largely because the aging of the population has reduced demand for motorcycles, the industry’s largest revenue source. Additionally, import competition has intensified, leading many industry companies to relocate production abroad, where they are also able to tap into rising demand for motorcycles from emerging markets. Through 2020, industry operators are expected to counteract these trends by increasing the efficiency of their production facilities and marketing their products to younger, previously untapped demographics in light of declining sales to baby boomers, who have long comprised the industry’s primary customer group.”

Demographic trends in the industry

According to an article written for Manufacturing Engineering, a publication for advanced manufacturing media, there is an interesting demographic trend causing dramatic shifts within the motorcycle industry. The article explains, “For well over a decade, the biggest market for motorcycles in the US has been white, male, middle-aged consumers. This trend is especially evident in sales of Harley-Davidson products. The percentage of motorcycle owners over 40 years of age is currently well over 50%, compared to about 20% in the 1980s. The trend of baby boomers taking up riding appears to have slowed over the past five years: In 2012, Harley-Davidson claimed that for the first time in its history, its average rider was born after 1964. The sharply reduced spending power of the baby-boomer demographic caused by the recession is one of the main reasons for reduced sales of motorcycles over the past five years. As these consumers continue to age and their physical abilities diminish, motorcycles are less likely to be a convenient transport option. For this reason, motorcycle manufacturers are increasingly focusing on previously untapped demographic segments, including young people, women and minorities. This effort to diversify the customer base is expected to help industry revenue over the next five years as manufacturers rely less on their traditional core markets for growth.”

How do we serve your industry?

Competitive Analytics serves the motorcycle industry by providing comprehensive business intelligence solutions, what-if forecasting, predictive modeling, supply chain optimization, sales analytics, performance analytics, demand forecasting, cost minimization, and Keynote presentations for the industry. Organizations within the motorcycle industry including manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and retailers have unique needs which require custom analytics. There is vast opportunity to benefit from integrating Competitive Analytics’ advanced analytics and unique methodologies for improved decision making and profit maximization. Moreover, Competitive Analytics is a partner with the Motorcycle Industry Council and has advised companies such as Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, and Yamaha. Advanced Analytics focus on both short term tactical decision making and long term strategic/predictive modeling by every product segment offered to the public. This empowers motorcycle executives with concrete evidence and confidence that they are making well-informed and profitable decisions about manufacturing the right products and services, developing the most profitable product segments, deciphering and predicting consumer behavior, and creating (and sustaining) competitive advantages via big data and advanced analytics.