The news headlines last week were understandably dominated by the worsening coronavirus situation in Europe.
Despite this ominous backdrop, no less than five European automotive websites featured reviews of Super Soco motorcycles in the past week, most of them French. It would seem that even viral pandemics won't dull their enthusiasm for Super Soco bikes.
I like this one, because it features a video which showcases the Super Soco CPX Scooter. Bear in mind that while it is in French, it isn't too hard to tell what is going on.
The CPX is comparable to the Super Soco CUX, but with more muscle. It is set to be released in France in May.
The video starts with the reporter wandering into a Paris Super Soco shop, where the features of the CPX are highlighted by the dealer.
The seat of the CPX is lifted, to reveal the battery pack inside.
One particularly interesting feature about this model that is mentioned in the video is that you can fit two battery packs at the same time, effectively doubling the range of the scooter. However, if you are just taking the scooter down the road to the shops, you can just insert one battery, and store your shopping in the empty space. Each battery pack weighs 18 kilos, so it is light enough to carry it inside to charge up in your home. It takes just over 3 hours to recharge the battery.
After the demonstration of the features of the CPX, the reporter goes for a test ride on the scooter, passing various Paris landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Luxor Obelsik.
It is encouraging that the COVID-19 outbreak in France doesn't seem to have done much to dampen local interest in the brand.
Indeed, more broadly there is some reason to suspect that the current coronavirus situation may be proving to be a boon for the electric motorcycle industry.
A little while back Zaac raised the prospect here that the food and parcel delivery services would see a rise in demand as a result of the current pandemic situation. Certainly, there seems to have been a surge in demand for delivery services in Wuhan in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, as illustrated in this report.
But is there any concrete evidence of a similar trend outside of China?. Since I last posted here I've been keeping an eye out for any reports detailing such a phenomenon outside of China, and I stumbled across one gem at the end of last week.
It was published on the website of the Daily Sabah, a Turkish news outlet which is published in English as well as Turkish, under
For convenience, I've pasted the relevant extracts from the article below:
...The coronavirus has prompted a change in shopping behavior that sparked soaring increases in online sales in Turkey, a trend that is compelling companies to embark on a quest for new couriers and purchase additional motorbikes
Recommendations that citizens avoid crowded areas amid the coronavirus outbreak has brought along a change in consumer behavior, with many citizens turning to digital options as a means to circumvent physical shopping environments.
The trend has provided opportunities for e-commerce businesses, enabling them to double, even triple their sales. Consumers are said to prefer mostly basic food and hygiene products during this time. On the other hand, all this has forced companies to look for extra couriers to be able to meet orders on time, as a result of which they have also increased their orders for new motorcycles...
The Daily Saba has faced accusations in the past of being a propaganda mouthpiece for the Turkish government, and this might explain some of the subsequent paragraphs in the article, which go off on a bit of an unusual tangent, highlighting the strong action the Turkish government has taken to prevent the virus taking hold in the country.
But the concluding paragraph gets back to the topic of interest:
Demand for motorcycles
The surging demand has forced e-commerce sites to seek new couriers. That said, the increasing need for couriers has also mobilized the motorcycle market. Some companies are said to have made orders for up to 2,000 motorbikes.
Remzi Öztürk, general coordinator of the Motorcycle Industry Association, confirmed that the rapid surge in the number of people making orders from their homes has reflected on motorcycle sales, indicating that companies mostly purchase 110cc and 125cc motorbikes.
“The average prices of these vehicles vary between TL 9,000 and TL 15,000. Looking at the orders in recent months and even the new orders, there seems to be a serious increase. There is a motorcycle demand of nearly 4,000 units. If this number increases, there may be a problem in the product supply,” Öztürk noted.
Food Retailers Association Chairman Galip Aykaç stated that they do not expect any interruption in meeting consumer needs.
"We went to increase our stock to some extent, considering the tendency of the surging demand for basic needs, such as cologne, wet wipes, hand soaps and staple products such as water, milk, flour, oil, sugar, pasta and legumes products, diapers and baby food,” Aykaç emphasized.
Propaganda aside, there is no reason doubt the basic details of this report.
The suggestion above by the Turkish Motorcycle Industry spokesperson about the possibility of a motorcycle shortage in the country is particularly intriguing.
All things considered, you'd have to conclude that the coronavirus-driven courier boom is indeed a real thing, and that this in turn is leading to increased demand for motorcycles.
This trend certainly isn't being priced into the Vmoto share price at current, although I have some difficulty believing that this is likely to remain the case for long.
(20min delay)
