Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1523994
SWM Italy Looks to The U.S. Market S WM Italy management visited Central Powersports Dis- tributors (CPD) in Texas recently to discuss the future of SWM motorcycles in the USA. SWM struggled during Covid to keep business operations and brand quality consistent in Northern Italy. Therefore, SWM spent the past two years regrowing the brand in Italy and Europe. Ac- cording to CPD, SWM sales have increased strongly in the Europe- an market with new models like the Hoku 400 Naked and Storm- Breaker1200, and SWM is looking towards the USA with support for CPD with homologation testing, product branding and technical support improvements for the U.S. market. "SWM has always had fan- tastic, quality engines with a long history of performance," Mark Berg, owner of CPD, said. "Their 300, 500 and 610 off-road engines are proven performers. The SWM engines are used in many other OEM brands such as AJP, CCM, Janus, Horex and others, but we have hit some braking bumps for U.S. homolo - gations on the RS500. In addition, the Superdual adventure model production was canceled for two years, while they retested for Euro 5 homologation. Planning and coordinating the bikes for U.S. homologation isn't a quick or easy process, and knowing that SWM has been redefining its model lineup over the past one and a half years, we have been in first gear for far too long. SWM is ready now, and we are excited to work towards a future together." SWM Manager, Guiseppi Luisi, and Export Manager, Francesca Vuona, met with the CPD team to showcase new models which could be sold in the U.S. market and discuss updates to the dual sports models for 2025 and beyond. They also committed to resuming U.S. testing on the Su - perdual, aiming for production by this winter. SWM introduced their new Hoku 400, Sidecar 500 and a large 1200cc cruiser that is quite successful in the European mar- ket. Additionally, they presented mockups of a new scrambler 600 and a twin-cylinder adventure model slated for 2026. Export Manager Francesca Vuono said, "While visiting our importer and dealers in Texas, we had the opportunity to gather both positive and negative feedback on our products from our customers. We are committed to addressing these issues with the aim of deliv- ering the right products to our U.S. customers, improving our current products, and ensuring their sat- isfaction and trust in our brand. We are dedicated to continuously enhancing our product offerings and expanding our presence to meet the evolving needs of our customers." CN WIND IN THE P36 SWM to concentrate on U.S. market.