The million-dollar question. We all know that the trial market is small and selective. The fact that we are talking about off-road motorcycles where not all motorcycles end up being registered, making the cabals of the dimension of our sector is not such an easy task.
On the occasion of the talk that
Trialworld moderated together with three trial bike manufacturers (Sherco, TRS and Vertigo),
we had the opportunity to learn more details about our market. Under the title of “Analysis and opportunities to promote trial”, the three brands had an exemplary behavior and transferred interesting solutions to promote trial in Spain.
Arnau Vilardell (Sherco) made a good note at the beginning of the talk, where he stated that “trial is very much alive”. This does not take away our big problem: “the forestry law has limited us a lot, in 2003 many trial bikes were sold and it was an open sport. Later on, the fines started to fall and the trial stopped quite a bit.” This, of course, limited the market. Arnau was very clear: “we need to adapt to a new future, where we must think that we have to bet on the areas, the green cards…”.
For Marc Arañó (TRS), he states that “Trial as a sport is a great product and we need to get people to understand. For me, trial has a hopeful future. I mean, from 2007 to 2008 we saw very significant drops in sales in key countries, such as Spain, France and Italy. However, these countries are rebounding. And other new countries where there is beginning to be interest in trial, such as Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Thailand… And if these markets are sustained in the future, we will be able to talk about significant growth.”.
Dani del Valle (Vertigo) is also on the same page: “We have to fight for more areas, and that will help the momentum of the trial. Probably the biggest problem we have is in Spain, as there are other countries, such as France, where more areas are promoted. In Latin America there is also an interesting growth, probably with the arrival of hard enduro and the trial base of riders.”
HOW MANY TRIAL BIKES ARE SOLD?
Faced with this question, the three guests considered the subject “taboo”. A fact that comes up in all management committee meetings. Although everyone speculated about the units that each one makes and what was estimated by the competitors, there was a more decisive source of data.
Morad is the brand that supplies all the tires to trial manufacturers, so through that data you can make an estimate. Dani del Valle told us “they have a way of measuring and we are in approximate figures between 8,000 and 9,000 motorcycles a year”.
We recommend that you enjoy an unprecedented talk, where three major manufacturers think about the amateur, trial and solutions to enjoy this sport.
