The motorcycle industry’s safety strategy covers advanced safety technology and future connectivity. It also goes beyond the vehicle, covering high quality post-licence training and seeking cooperating with all important stakeholders at European and national level.
Today, the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, ACEM, presented “The safe ride to the future 2.0”, the motorcycle industry’s safety strategy.
“The safe ride to the future 2.0” sets the motorcycle sector’s vision for Horizon 2030 in areas such as advanced safety technology and connectivity. It also elaborates on the industry’s initiative to increase the quality of post-licence motorcycle training in Europe through a European Training Quality Label.
The policy document also describes how the motorcycle sector is working with other European and national stakeholders to promote the implementation of transport policies that encompass motorcycle safety.
The motorcycle industry supports the adoption, by policymakers, of a Safe System approach towards motorcycling, simultaneously addressing human, vehicle and road infrastructure factors. This, combined with a stronger engagement with civil society and the public and private sectors, will result in further improvements in motorcycle safety.
Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General, said: “There are more than 34 million motorcycles, scooters and mopeds in use across Europe. These bring considerable benefits, such as affordable mobility, reduced traffic congestion levels, access to jobs and services, as well as enjoyment through activities such as leisure mobility, sports and tourism. The motorcycle industry calls upon national, regional and local policymakers to embrace inclusive motorcycle mobility and safety policies, benefiting users as well as the rest of society.”.
Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, welcomed the industry strategy: “We commend the commitment of ACEM, and I welcome the motorcycle industry’s road safety strategy. The EU committed to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2030. To reach this ambitious target, we are implementing the Safe System approach which addresses all important areas for road safety: infrastructure, vehicles, driving behaviour and post-crash care. The European Motorcycle Training Quality Label has been strongly supported by the European Commission. Indeed, high-quality safety training is a fundamental element in the Safe System approach. We must continue working together towards better road safety for all on Europe’s roads”.
Matthew Baldwin, European Coordinator for Road Safety, said: “This is great work from ACEM and we need more strong stakeholder involvement like this at all levels. This is an efficient way to deliver well-tailored safety initiatives that are relevant to the motorcycle community. We will continue to work closely with the industry and are very grateful for their determination to help us meet the safety targets agreed within the EU and of course now set globally at UN level for the next decade”.
For more information on this initiative and to read the full strategy, please visit the dedicated brand-new website: https://roadsafetystrategy.acem.eu.
For further information please contact:
Ilaria Balloni. ACEM communications assistant
E.
P. +32 22 30 97 32
On Monday 21st September, a coalition of 40 industry organisations wrote a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for decisive action to solve implementation issues within the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD), specifically the Substances of Concern in Products (SCIP)database.
The signatories representing a very significant part of the European Economy request urgent resolution of implementation issues in a database designed to support the circular economy as expressed in the European Green Deal. This “SCIP” database is required by Article 9.1 of the updated Waste Framework Directive.
The signatories of this letter ask President von der Leyen to take immediate action to:
ECHA failed to finalize the database development to the required timescale of January 2020, preventing companies from developing, testing and adapting their own systems to meet the January 2021 notification deadline.
Signatories have serious concerns regarding the workability, proportionality and value of the SCIP database, expressed repeatedly for the last two years, but their concerns have not been resolved by the European Commission, nor by ECHA.
Contrary to the EU Better Regulation principles, Article 9.1 was added to the revised WFD during the final stage of the co-decision process without any prior stakeholder consultation or impact assessment. A proper impact study should help shape the way forward to deliver on the EU ambition for a circular European Economy.
For 20 years, the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive has considerably improved the way in which cars are dismantled, recycled and disposed of. In the context of the current evaluation of the Directive by the European Commission, ACEM is actively promoting the inclusion of L-category vehicles in the scope of a future version of the Directive, in order to contribute to achieving circular economy goals, in line with the objectives of the European Commission’s recent communication on the European Green Deal.
ACEM position paper - Evaluation of the Vehicle End-of-Life (ELV) Directive [pdf]
Between January and June 2020, motorcycle registrations in the five largest European markets (i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, i.e. about 80% of the EU + UK motorcycle market) reached 413,200 units. This volume of registrations represents a decrease of 17% in comparison to the first six months of 2019.
The current registration trends in the motorcycle segment, however, can be considered a relative improvement in comparison to the first four months of the year. Indeed, during that period motorcycle registrations in the main European markets had fallen on average by 32.7% as a result of the paralysis of commercial activity that followed the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus (see the previous press release here).
Looking at the moped segment, registrations in the largest European markets (i.e. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) during the first 6 months of 2020 reached a total of 110,600 units. This represents a decrease of 6.9% in comparison to the same period of 2019.
Commenting on the current situation of the sector, Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General, said: “Motorcycle and moped registration volumes remain considerably below 2019 levels, due to the impact of Spring lockdown measures. The partial rebounding of the market since the restart of activities shows that consumers consider our vehicles as excellent mobility and leisure options, in the current context”.
“Nevertheless, it is still early to draw any meaningful conclusions about the short-term evolution of the market and operations within the sector, especially given the unforeseeable evolution of COVID-19. The second half of the year will be crucial - the fact remains that a large number of dealers across Europe, in particular in most hit markets, still experience considerable financial pressure. They also face the challenge of handling excess inventory of Euro 4 models which, should there be no decisive action from the EU institutions, will become unsellable due to regulatory changes”.
“This is why the motorcycle industry in Europe renews its call on policy-makers to support OEMs, dealerships, and suppliers in these difficult times, through an extension of the deadline to sell Euro 4 vehicles, and targeted financial measures at national level”.
ACEM - Statistical press release - January - June 2020 [xls]
ACEM - Statistical press release - January - June 2020 - EN [pdf]
ACEM - Statistical releases - FAQ [pdf]
ACEM - Statistical releases - Glossary [pdf]
Manuel Ordonez de Barraicua
ACEM communications manager
+32 496 52 65 17
Statistical releases in 2020
As of 2020 ACEM statistical releases will cover:
About ACEM
The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) represents manufacturers of mopeds, motorcycles, three-wheelers, and quadricycles (L-category vehicles) in Europe.
ACEM members include 18 manufacturing companies: BMW Motorrad, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, KYMCO, MV Agusta, Peugeot Scooters, Piaggio, Polaris Industries, Qooder, Renault, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph Motorcycles and Yamaha.
ACEM also represents 17 motorcycle industry associations in 16 different European countries.
PIONEERS (Protective Innovations of New Equipment for Enhanced Rider Safety) is a Horizon 2020 project that aims at reducing the number of motorcycle fatalities and severely injured by increasing the safety, performance, comfort and usage rate of personal protective equipment and the development of new on-board safety devices.
It involves universities and research institutes, industrial partners, protective equipment manufacturers, motorcycle manufacturers and automobile clubs.
Now a video, available on PIONEERS YouTube channel, provides a complete overview of the project’s activities and targets.
The total European L-category vehicle market in 2019 amounted to 1,382,000 vehicles, of which 107,300 were sold in the UK. In 2019, the value of EU motorcycle exports to the UK was €425 million, and the value of UK motorcycle exports to the EU was €239 million.
Of the total of approximately 713,000 L-category vehicles produced in Europe, about 9,500 are produced in the UK (2018 figures). The motorcycle sector in Europe, including manufacturing, upstream and downstream activities, is estimated to employ around 300,000 people, of which over 40,000 are employed in the UK.
In terms of structure, the European motorcycle sector is characterised by a large number of companies active in vehicle, parts, components, sales, maintenance and repair – 8% of these companies are based in the UK.
Agreement of a deep and comprehensive trade deal between the EU and the UK is the greatest priority of the motorcycle industry.
Motorcycle registrations across Europe dropped steeply in March and April in comparison to the same period in 2019 as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. With dealerships closed and economies under lockdown, commercial activity has been virtually paralysed.
Total registrations in the 5 largest motorcycle markets (i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) fell by 39.6% in March 2020, compared to the same month of 2019. The situation deteriorated even further in April 2020, when combined registrations in the largest markets fell by 74.9%, with some countries contracting by 84% to 96%.
The moped segment was equally impacted. The largest European moped markets (i.e. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain) fell by 37.9% in March 2020 on a year-on-year basis. In April 2020, moped registrations in the same markets decreased 55.1%.
Due to the seasonal nature of the market with sales concentrated in the spring, this impact of the outbreak in March and April has placed European dealerships under considerable financial pressure. In addition dealers are now holding an excess of Euro 4 vehicles, which were being readied for the Spring season but which may become unsellable due to regulatory changes.
Europe’s motorcycle industry welcomes the various economy wide support measures that Member States and the Commission have put in place. The only additional request from the sector is for the Commission to extend the period in which Euro 4 vehicles can be sold, to avoid dealers being left with hundreds of thousands of unsellable products.
Commenting on the current situation of the sector, Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General, said:
“With the progressive restart of activity, data for the next three months will give us a clearer overview of the final impact of the COVID-19 virus. Nevertheless, it is already clear that 2020 will be a very difficult year for the sector, with extraordinary disruptions on the activity of manufacturers, dealerships and suppliers”.
“ACEM and its members are working together with EU and national administrations to find a solution to the problem of hundreds of thousands of Euro 4 vehicles excess stock. This will require reviewing relevant legislation to ensure that motorcycle dealerships across Europe can recover from the effect of the COVID-19 crisis as soon as possible”.
ACEM - Statistical press release - January - April 2020 [xls]
ACEM - Statistical press release - January - April 2020 - EN [pdf]
ACEM - Statistical releases - FAQ [pdf]
ACEM - Statistical releases - Glossary [pdf]
Manuel Ordonez de Barraicua
ACEM communications manager
+32 496 52 65 17
Statistical releases in 2020
As of 2020 ACEM statistical releases will cover:
• The largest European markets for motorcycles (i.e. Italy, France, Germany Spain, UK). These countries account for about 80% of motorcycle registrations in the EU + UK block.
• The largest European moped markets (i.e. France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Spain). These countries account about 87% of moped registrations in the EU.
About ACEM
The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) represents manufacturers of mopeds, motorcycles, three-wheelers and quadricycles (L-category vehicles) in Europe.
ACEM members include 18 manufacturing companies: BMW Motorrad, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, KYMCO, MV Agusta, Peugeot Scooters, Piaggio, Polaris Industries, Qooder, Renault, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph Motorcycles and Yamaha.
ACEM also represents 17 motorcycle industry associations in 16 different European countries.
European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers
Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée, 1 B1040
Brussels Belgium
+32 (0)22 30 97 32
VAT BE0740.931.926
Transparency register - 02480451230-88
![Photo - Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General , and Matthew Baldwin, European Coordinator for Road Safety [JPG]](/images/publiq/2020/IMG_0688.jpg){kind=link}