Sundown will offer flex fuel motorcycle in Brazil until the end of 2008
Gazeta Mercantil - 07/04/2008
Ozires Silva, one of the founders of the Brazilian Aeronautics Company (Embraer), affirms that he has no doubts that one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary world is to ease displacements. In this context, the electric engine not only will become something feasible, but rather a valorous exchange currency. As president of the board of Brasil & Movimento - the controller of the motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer Sundown - , he is decided to put his convictions in practice. In an exclusive interview to Gazeta Mercantil, he affirmed that Sundown will give the first step in the search for new "displacement solutions" until the end of the year. It is the offer of the flex fuel motorcycle (alcohol and gas), an innovation in the Brazilian market. In a second stage it will be the time for the electric motorcyle and the electric bicycle. In the future, it will be time for the electric car. "The launching of the flex fuel motorcycle will be in 2008, but the production will start in 2009". One of the possible partners in the undertaking is Renault, which is developing researches in this area. As an innovation in the Brazilian motorcycle market, the flex fuel system will be launched in the Max line. This motorcycle will be commercialized by the same value as the conventional product today, available between R$ 5 thousand (US$ 3.13 thousand) and R$ 6 thousand (US$ 3.75 thousand) in the market. Ambitious, Ozires Silva's plans for Sundown are largely explained by the context of the markets in which Sundown works, specially the motorcycle's, the company's main product, as far as 75% of its sales come from this segment, against 20% from bikes and 5% from parts. The country's fourth biggest motorcycle manufacturer, Sundown is moving to advance in a market that started having two new competitors lately: Traxx and Dafra. Honda has the leadership in the segment (79.3%). Yamaha comes next with 12.7%. Sundown is the fourth, with 4.5% - although Suzuki's data are not in Abraciclo's list. Since it is not a member, the sector's companies place Sundown in the third place. Regarding results, the company is optimist. The net income of the whole Brasil & Movimento was R$ 107.7 million (US$ 67.3 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2008, a growth of 20.6% over the same period of 2007. The company's motorcycle division alone grew 20.3%.