São Paulo – Over 41,000 motorcycles were shipped abroad from Brazil in H1 2018, up 26.6% from H1 2017, Brazilian Association of Motorcycle, Moped, and Bicycle Manufacturers (Abraciclo) reported this Thursday (11).
June saw 4,404 units exported, down 42.4% from June 2017 and 33.6% from May 2018. Abraciclo chairman Marcos Fermanian said the drop last month was connected with weaker sales to Argentina, which takes in 70% of Brazilian motorcycle exports.
“[The results] reflect the impact of the market in Argentina, which is struggling with a weakening currency. This had already led to a decline in June,” the executive said.
Domestically, wholesale motorcycle sales amounted to 451,311 units in H1, up 12.2% year-on-year. Motorcycle output was up 16.7% year-on-year in H1 to 494.685 units.
Abraciclo changed up its production growth forecast for this year from 5.9% to 11%. Wholesale sales projections were also revised, from 4.3% to 10.5%. The export forecast, on the other hand, changed down from 3.9% growth to a 2.2% drop due to the Argentina issue.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
