Triumph for UK manufacturing as motorbike firm overtakes rivals
• Sales rise 1.5% in shrinking market for motorbikes
• Industrial production data shows output up 0.6%
Triumph, the Leicestershire-based motorcycle manufacturer, claims to be powering ahead of rivals in the rapidly shrinking market for motorbikes – a further fillip for British manufacturing on a day that saw the sector boosted by more strong data.
The Midlands firm said sales rose by 1.5% to 7,562 bikes last year as the overall industry suffered a slump of 14% – allowing the company to boast that it sells more bikes with engines over 500cc than any other manufacturer in the UK.
The slight acceleration in business, as the performance of rivals has slowed, means that the British group increased its share of the overall motorcycle market from 13% to 16% in 2010, according to data prepared by the Motor Cycle Industry Association.
The performance cements two years of market share gains, which have seen the historic British firm outsell the big four Japanese motorbike manufacturers in the UK – Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki – an outcome unthinkable when the marque went bust in the 1980s.
Guy Masters, general manager of Triumph UK, insisted: “The overall market continues to decline and, although we’ve bucked the trend over the past 12 months, we’re far from complacent.”
However, a slight note of caution came as further data from the MCIA showed UK motorcycle registrations slumping by 31% last month compared with December 2009. Meanwhile, in its financial year to June 2010, Triumph said UK registrations grew by 13% – implying a squeeze towards latter part of last year. However, the group also reported that it had turned losses into a £4.7m pre-tax profit in its year to June, as well as increasing margins, partly due to a favourable exchange rate.
Triumph – which is owned by the housebuilding tycoon John Bloor and has the former trade minister and champion of British manufacturers Lord Jones on its board – was bought out of receivership 27 years ago.
It has established a reputation as a success story of British manufacturing – albeit while producing half its output in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and the other half in Chonburi in Thailand – and has made inroads in the US. There, its big-engined £10,000 Thunderbird cruiser competes with Harley-Davidson, while last year it also launched the Tiger 800 Adventure trail bike and a revamped version of its long-established Speed Triple sports model.
The news of Triumph’s market share gains came on a day when UK manufacturing was feted as the Office for National Statistics said output rose by 0.6% on the previous month – a larger rise than the consensus forecast of 0.4%.
Samuel Tombs, of Capital Economics, said: “November’s industrial production figures confirmed that the manufacturing recovery remains in rude health. But the sector’s strong recovery is unlikely to prevent the overall economic recovery from slowing.”
The strong manufacturing figures chime with recent industry surveys showing exports gave the sector a strong boost at the end of last year, although leading indicators suggest the economy is now slowing sharply.
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