why dont they assemble bikes in europe then !
whereas jap cars aint so overpriced as against the opposition.
Jap cars ain't just assembled here, they are built here. And the reason is to get round trade limits. If you manufacture in the EU, you can sell as much as you want within the EU. That's why they came here.
I don't think there's any limits on what any bike manufacturer can sell within the EU. The volume of sales is too small for anybody to take much interest in. And it's probably too small, and nor is it a great idea to move factories based on short term currency fluctuations. I don't think it's a great time for outside manufactures to invest in Europe right now in any case, they'll wanna see what happens with the Euro, and they won't want to invest in the UK while there's talk of pulling out of the common market. One word - Stability. Not to mention, as I've pointed out new bike prices are not that expensive in historical terms. Sales volumes probably ain't that bad either - in recent historical terms (last 3 decades).
I think Yam have done their sums, can make their target profit by selling much fewer high price bikes to a smaller market.
I dunno what their sales figures are. But I'll take an educated guess that their sales are down and their profits are way down in the UK market. In reality the price is the same, Yamaha sell for the same price or probably a wee bit less to Yamaha UK, Yamaha UK set the price, but we cant get away from the reality of exchange rates. It's the importers problem, Yamaha probably won't loose any sleep over the UK, they've got big oppertunites in other markets right now.
Ducati, Triumph and of course BMW are doing allright by such.
This is a great opportunity for Triumph to increase market share in the UK, at least with the stuff they build here. Ducati and BMW have been hit by the weak pound in the UK, but not to the extent that the Japanese have. Triumph can sell cheaper and make more profit at the same time.
with Geo White gone, dont see anyone will try to pick up the baton and try punting out cheap bikes.
The bottom line is you can't sell a bike for less than it costs to build it. If you wanna see where pricing is going watch the exchange rates. I wouldn't make any prediction that the days of cheap bikes are over, now that we are in the post global capitalistic age it's a brave man who tries to predict long term exchange rates.
And meanwhile in the UK, for those of us who have managed to hold onto our jobs, and homes,we are still forking out for loans bigger than the houses they are based on. Tying money up in credit and property is not good for the economy.
The Japanese manufacturers generally have other business interests
Indeed! As far as bikes are concerned they probably ain't that worried at all about their loss of income from the EU. Sales are booming in China, India, Brazil etc etc.
That Bandit deal is still amazing! Is it still made in Japan? How do they do it?