By Redação AutoIndústria | 3/15/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch
About ten years ago, scooters, an urban transportation option popular in Europe for decades, were no more than curiosities in Brazilian streets. These vehicle sales were less than 1% of the internal motorcycle market, with few models offered in dealerships, mostly located in great centers.
The current situation is much different. In 2022, 121 thousand scooters were sold in Brazil, about 9% of the motorcycle market. The model portfolio, imported and national, has also multiplied, in compass with the growing demand for piratical alternatives for urban use, even in small cities.
Brazilian market’s leader for half a century, Honda repeats this performance in the scooter segment. Last year, the manufacturer reached 70 thousand units sold, a share near 60%.
This sales performance made Honda’s plant in Manaus, AM, step the production pace in the last few years and now culminates in the landmark of 500 thousand scooters produced.
“Scooters are redefining Brazilian urban mobility with new users. It is a vehicle that needs less space and is friendly, versatile and economical – an example of future mobility in the present”, says Marcelo Langrafe, Commercial Director of Moto Honda and Honda South America’s CRM.
Scooters have attracted new customer profiles to the two-wheel world, as just-licensed drivers, women, and even experienced motorcyclers who look for a more agile way to move in the cities, says Honda.
Contribute to this the CVT automatic transmissions, the frequent technical evolution of the models and the design and style that identified them as a modern transportation resource.
Honda’s long scooter experience began in 1994 with the exotic futuristic-style CH 125 Spacy, followed by the Lead 110, already with CVT transmission, ABS brakes and a compartment under the seat for up two helmets.
The great leap in the segment came in 2023, with the launch of the PCX, currently the market and the brand’s best-seller model. Honda now has other options, such as the Elite 125, SH 300i and 150i and even the adventurers ADV.
