Suzuki Motorcycles’ latest scooter, the Burgman Street, has been reporting month-on-month increase in its sales. But, at the same time, Suzuki’s money-spinner, the Access 125 has been losing steam.
The interesting thing is, the Burgman is gaining only as much as the Access is losing, which indicates that there’s serious cannibalisation within the showroom confines. Looking at sales figures for August, September and October this year, the total sales for the Access and the Burgman have hovered around the 56,000 units a month mark.
Separately, Burgman sold 7,365 units in August, while the Access sold 48,436 units. In September, the figures stood at 9,598 and 46,931, respectively. And, in October, the figures read 10,894 for the Burgman and 45,090 for the Access.
But, Suzuki dealers are actually happy with this movement. Their reasoning is simple. The Burgman is more expensive. So, the more they sell, the higher the turnover. Also, the customer for the Burgman is younger, and isn’t as tight-fisted. And that means, he or she is more willing to buy into accessories and other products, thereby giving the dealer another source of income.
It’s good news for the company too. Burgman is a newer scooter, and it ushers in a new genre in scootering. To get more buyers to buy into a new concept is always an uphill task. But, with the Burgman, its styling is actually helping the scooter sell itself. The success of the Burgman would also indicate that there’s an appetite among scooter buyers to spend more on premium offerings.
We won’t be surprised, as a result, if more bike makers launch maxi-scooters thanks to the Burgman’s success. And, these new scooters might not be limited to just 125cc. But, we could also see more 150cc plus scooters in this genre in the near future. And that can’t be bad news.
