2011 Aprilia's in very short supply

[potere]

Maybe you already knew this, well ignore the post if you did.

Aprilia is making NO MORE 2011 bikes! They made all the 2011's already and shipped them. If your dealer wants to order ANY new bike, it will be the 2012 bikes which arrive next year in the Spring probably.

Dealers apparently have to order their best guess for inventory for the whole friggin' year up front. There's no way to order more later. So if you want a V4 you better go find one and get it now. That is life in the little city of Noale.

The dealers of course ordered light due to the piss poor sales from the last 2 years. Most had to dump '09 and '10 inventory at a loss. Well, better than going out of business I guess as a friend did. Of course he tried hanging on for many months paying staff and ending up being in debt to his ears. (please leave the pontificating out of how he can go bankrupt and not be personally liable, OK??? since you don't have any idea what it's like to be broke and without any way to start your business up again)

[Jaguar]

Can I ask what your authority for this is? I ask because, as an economist, it makes no sense to me.

OK, Ed confirms that dealers have been asked to place a single order for their annual supply - but that doesn't necessarily imply all of the year's stocks are made in the first few months. It could just mean they want an accurate idea of production requirements for planning purposes.

The question is, what are the production facilities doing for the rest of the year? Making Vespas? Or other Aprilia products?

Presumably something, anyway, because no production facility is likely to survive unless it is working pretty much constantly - unused productive capacity costs $$. And I just can't see that it makes much sense to spend, say 3 months having the whole factory making V4s, then switch to Shivers for 2 months, then Manas for a month, etc.

[igotyofire]

This move could also been seen as a way of protecting dealers from owe-ing the bank too much money.

What i want to know is how does my dealer clear its show-room floor of marked down RSV4's then a month later there is another left over new 2010 sitting there for sale. Does Aprilia sell left over production at discounted rates to the dealer? Or are bikes being moved around to strategically to where they sell best? Seems like for 2010 some dealers were able to aquire additional models while others told me they were only getting them in once for the year.

[Chris_Mag]

Aprilia has a shipment of 2011's coming in July. The initial order which arrived in April/May were pre-sold to dealers. As of 4 weeks ago, Piaggio had some remaining 2010 R versions available in inventory, but no 2010 Factories.

[modulo_s]

i was told the same thing by two different dealers! no more 2011's left to be purchased or ordered!

[SlamDunK]

My nearest dealer (Rocket Centre for you in the NW) is a BIG dealership and they had only 1 2011 'R' on the floor, one factory in the workshop for PDI and my newly ordered factory (which was on the system with a build date when I initialy went in) now en route from Italy.

I'll ask the guy what the deal is next time I speak to him.

[Jaguar]

Lots of different stories. No authorities cited.

[jgos929]

Lots of different stories. No authorities cited.

I have to agree.



It sounds like what everyone is saying is that each Aprilia dealer only got like 2 or 3 bikes thats it. How many Aprilia dealers are in the USA that sell RSV4's maybe 50 if not less??? So that would mean for the entire run of 2011 only 100-150 bikes were produced for the states??? That just doesn't make a lot of sense.

[amauri]

The Aprilia factory in Noale builds the different models in batches.

They setup the assembly line and tooling to build enough V4s to meet projected sales figures worldwide.
Once the bikes are all built, they teardown the V4 tooling and setup the tooling to build the next model, like the Shiver, Dorso, etc.

They will not start the V4 line again until all the other models are built.

This is what was explained to me when I toured the factory back in March 2007, I assume they are still doing it like that.

[potere]

you're missing the crucial point, Noale asks dealers "how many do you want for next year?", they make that many, that's it

due to the poor years of '08-'10, dealers ratcheted way down out of fear of losing out yet another year having to sell AT A LOSS, how many bikes would you order for '11 given you had to give away $1,000 on each bike from '09 and '10, more bikes or less bikes?

If Noale can put the tooling back together for the V4's then they'll do it, if they can't due to time/cost constraints, they won't. Many dealers I called for a V4 did not order ANY V4's for '11.

[Chris_Mag]

Lots of different stories. No authorities cited.

My comment about the July shipment is information which came from Aprilia USA in NY (the customer service number on the Aprilia website). It's possible those bikes are pre-sold to dealers also.

[jgos929]

you're missing the crucial point, Noale asks dealers "how many do you want for next year?", they make that many, that's it

due to the poor years of '08-'10, dealers ratcheted way down out of fear of losing out yet another year having to sell AT A LOSS, how many bikes would you order for '11 given you had to give away $1,000 on each bike from '09 and '10, more bikes or less bikes?

If Noale can put the tooling back together for the V4's then they'll do it, if they can't due to time/cost constraints, they won't. Many dealers I called for a V4 did not order ANY V4's for '11.

Yeah but how can you possibly know what 2011 sales are going to be like? I wouldn't even count 2009 because the bike really wasn't mainstream yet and the multitude of owners have 2010's. So if you ordered 10 bikes in 2010 and only sold 5 and had to give the others away but you only ordered 5 in 2011 and sold them all then what $$$ could you possibly be losing out on if you would have ordered more? Probably a good amount. That is the exact reason there will be more to order in the future. Dealers will sell their 2 or 3 and call Noale wanting 2 or 3 more.

Also doesn't an Aprilia dealer have to have a certified RSV4 mechanic to even sell them???

[Antihero]

Doesn't take a genius to figure out why a dealer told him this. It's called a compelling event--and any good salesperson tries to make one in an effort to increase the chance of making a sale. Unfortunately, a bad salesperson will lie to make the compelling event and this seems to be one of those cases.

Car and bike dealers pull this shit all the time. And I guess they will continue pulling this kind of crap as long as it keeps workin'.

[Miticale]

Lots of different stories. No authorities cited.

As an educated guess (although in the business, I've had no personal contact with Piaggio offices) I'm very confident whatever order there is coming in from Europe will be enough to cover ordered models by dealers as well as general available inventory accessible to be ordered by dealers. Unless we starting see posts to the extent of "POCKET FULL OF CASH, LOOKING FOR '11 RSV4 APRC FULL PRICE ANY COLOR WILL TRAVEL ANY DISTANCE" I'm sure there'll be enough units out there to accommodate demand.

[Ed / AF1 Racing]

Hopefully, the factory is building the V4 Tuonos now....I cant wait to get one.

I think its good they are only building what dealers order. Keeps the USA warehouse from being full of 1-2-3 year old models (they still have 09 Tuonos and RSVRs in the warehouse they have to sell at a big discount).

This is better for consumers too, resale values will hold higher, longer. Builds demand for the brand.

For the first time I can remember it seems like Aprilia (certain models) demand is exceeding supply....awesome!!!

I wish we'd had ordered a few more V4s, but who can predict the future especially when we had piles of 2010s in stock at the time? I know our last 2011 Factory SE ships soon, should arrive late June, first week of July.

[illtal]

I think that the economy tanking in 08' did this to the brand... the RSV1000R was grossly underpowered for the last couple of years it was produced and only Aprilia enthusiasts would still spend that type of loot for one. For the most part Ducati/KTM had the better twin with the 1098 and now the 1198. Ed is right being different here with the RSV4R and it's power helps us keep a good value on it, ESPECIALLY if it is true that 2011's are hard to come by.

[Chris_Mag]

Hopefully, the factory is building the V4 Tuonos now....I cant wait to get one.



:plus:

I think that the Tuono could be a real boon to Aprilia if they can get enough of them onto showroom floors before the end of summer.

[zgriders]

Sounds like a basic economic "supply and demand"...maybe this will help maintain the price of our bikes.

[MarkyPancake]

My dealer had two 2011 RSV4 Factory aPRC models in much sooner than I expected and a race team bought both of them within a week. I have to say, I haven't noticed anymore 2011 RSV4s on their shop floor since these two were sold.

Having spent a lot of money on my 2010 RSV4 Factory, in fact it's the most I've ever spent on any two- or four-wheeled vehicle, it's nice to know there isn't an abundance of them out there.

[zgriders]

It's so much fun riding the RSV4 Factory...it would be difficult to sell it, even at the original price. :peace:

[2000mille]

Doesn't take a genius to figure out why a dealer told him this. It's called a compelling event--and any good salesperson tries to make one in an effort to increase the chance of making a sale. Unfortunately, a bad salesperson will lie to make the compelling event and this seems to be one of those cases.

Car and bike dealers pull this shit all the time. And I guess they will continue pulling this kind of crap as long as it keeps workin'.

Correct! just some people fall for it.. some where buying the machine anyways and didnt care what the salesmen was saying.. and others call bullshit why in the world would aprilia send only 100 v4s to the US for a year and thats it no more ordering for 2011 have to wait till next year buddy! ??? no thats bs give it about 3 months if not less after a dealer sells his last v4 and there will be 3 more to replace them if they see the sales did good enough and quick enough maybe order more or less but i can almost promise they will have more sooner or later if they run out of inventory.. its all about them making money and how do they do that with no more bikes to sell?

[Jaguar]

The Aprilia factory in Noale builds the different models in batches.

They setup the assembly line and tooling to build enough V4s to meet projected sales figures worldwide.
Once the bikes are all built, they teardown the V4 tooling and setup the tooling to build the next model, like the Shiver, Dorso, etc.

They will not start the V4 line again until all the other models are built.

This is what was explained to me when I toured the factory back in March 2007, I assume they are still doing it like that.

Thanks Amauri - factual info as always.

I have to wonder why they do it this way - there are obviously substantial costs involved in setting up & dismantling the tooling - & can only conclude that the facility is too small, or demand too low, to enable parallel lines to be run.

That said, Aprilia's pricing - at least in Oz - doesn't seem consistent with the Ferrari model of keeping the product scarce relative to demand and charging a premium. I got a left over 2010 Factory for far less than a leftover 2010 1198S would have cost me & the new APRC Factory is selling here for several thousand less than the SP.

I still see lots more Ducs on the street though. I guess the "brand value" is still lacking.

[fastmike]

I still see lots more Ducs on the street though. I guess the "brand value" is still lacking.

You have to remember a lotta people buy a Ducati for the WOW factor and don't really ride it for it's intended purpose. Most Ducati's never even get close to the edge of the tire. I'm speaking of their sport bikes. Some do though. Most are bought by rich people for the brand recognition.

Kinda like a Harley is nowa days. You used to see the gnarliest dudes riding those and now it's business guys in 3 piece suits.

[mike p]

You have to remember a lotta people buy a Ducati for the WOW factor and don't really ride it for it's intended purpose. Most Ducati's never even get close to the edge of the tire. I'm speaking of their sport bikes. Some do though. Most are bought by rich people for the brand recognition.

Kinda like a Harley is nowa days. You used to see the gnarliest dudes riding those and now it's business guys in 3 piece suits. I'm guessing you have never been to Kansas lol.

[spoonz]

Part of the issue is that the Aprilia's production facility was only working a 50% week (hours wise). The production facility is in Scorze (Noale is largely R&D).

When things turned bad (2008) Aprilia/Piaggio fell back on CGI for the Scorze facility. For those unfamiliar with CGI it is the Italian form of National insurance and a means to have a government scheme pay your workforces wages or part of. As of March last year CGI/Aprilia and the unions entered into an agreement to work a 50% week for most of the Scorze workforce to reduce costs/redundancy etc.

it's not uncommon, Aprilia did it in 2004 when they had issues. Italian governements don't allow large companies to fail or lay off large numbers of staff if they can help it.
The agreement for the 50% week was up for review in March but have not heard if it was renewed.

That is possibly why models have been fewer in number and Aprilia asked for an idea of demand so they could plan it into the available worktime. Remember 2011 models probably were built from Sept 2010 onwards

Not many manufacturers have escaped some sort of contraction and the last thing you want is inventory you cannot shift. I have heard (but it is hearsay) that Piaggio USA had a lot of stock in dealers on buy back schemes. With a few closing they have got caught with old stock and so also may not be keen to have another situation of stock sitting in a warehouse that may or may not sell.

It's just the economic climate that dictates it rather than Aprilia wanting it that way.

[potere]

Talk to Ed or other top 5 shops, they all wish they'd ordered more and they could have gotten them, too. If your info is accurate, I suppose Piaggio would have enjoyed employees working more than 50%.

[Jaguar]

Yes, but Ed has made the point that they had left over bikes last year. I think what we're seeing is the usual lag effect when economic conditions change: in 2009, there was a lag in perceiving declining demand and adjusting production down to suit. Now that demand is rising again, there will be a lag before production & imports ramp up to accommodate it.

[fastmike]

Talk to Ed or other top 5 shops, they all wish they'd ordered more and they could have gotten them, too. If your info is accurate, I suppose Piaggio would have enjoyed employees working more than 50%.

I wish I could work 50%, but get paid for full time! Ah, that would be the life. I could then have the time to ride full time too.

[spoonz]

Demand has been and is falling generally. That is just the way it is and no manufacturer can build bikes and pay staff if the potential purchasers are not there. Piaggio's growth sector is Asia and they don't buy many big bikes, mostly commuters/Scooters.

Piaggio also own Derbi who have gone from winning 125 gp's and a 10m euro profit in the very recent past to the whole factory being closed this year. They are a doing phased close down starting 31 july finishing December laying off the 200 production staff.

The 50% working week and CGI is fact. Because CGI is using public money to support a business it has to be made public just like bailing out banks etc. The documents are out there if you look in the right places. No CGI in Spain so Derbi get the chop.

You also have a new Aprilia/Piaggio CEO in the USA as the last one walked/was pushed in March so there may also be a different sales strategy appearing as a result.

CGI also doesn't pay your full wage by the way. It's a percentage, usually around 60% but only for the hours you work. 60% per hour and 50% of your normal hours, but preferable to being layed off.

[Steve / AF1 Racing]

Piaggio's growth sector is Asia and they don't buy many big bikes, mostly commuters/Scooters.

Bold this, then read it again.

Then read it a 3rd time.

Spoonz, hat's off to you sir. Assuming you are not a dealer employee or on staff of Piaggio UK, you are impressivley well researched.

[colacin]

Piaggio's growth sector is Asia and they don't buy many big bikes, mostly commuters/Scooters.

Which is also why both Honda and Yamaha factory Motogp teams have slogans in Bahasa Indonesia on riders' leathers...

Fear not, I'm still buying (and evangelizing) Aprilia V4s in Asia :)

(and parts from AF1) :)