An interview with Giovanni Notarbartolo di Furnari, managing director of Peugeot Motorcycles: commercial results, prospects, new challenges
30 maggio 2023
A few days before the grand international presentation of the XP 400, the ambitious adventure scooter that launches the challenge to the great rivals of the market, we had the opportunity to meet Giovanni Notarbartolo di Furnari, managing director of Peugeot Motorcycles, for an interesting face to face focused on the first assessment of the new course of the French brand, after the entry into the company capital by the German investment fund Mutares, which at the beginning of 2023 it bought 50% of the shares of the French company, taking over the control of the majority package from the Indians of Mahindra, who however remain on the corporate board.
The new corporate structure is matched a decisive change of pace in terms of marketing, on the one hand by confirming Notarbartolo himself at the helm of Peugeot Motorcycles (who arrived in the company in October 2022), but above all by accelerating the innovation of the range, of which the XP 400 is the spearhead.
In addition to the product, however, there is the need to (re)build the image and presence of the Lion brand in Italy: where do we stand in this area?
«When I took office – Notarbartolo tells us – I immediately took steps to renew the distribution network, focusing on direct and effective sales channels and after-sales services, to increase market shares and return to being for the demanding Italian customer a reliable and reference brand, just as Peugeot has historically always been».
The objectives are clear, but we cannot ignore the numbers: do the partial ones for 2023 confirm that the direction taken is the right one?
«I would say yes: the data available up to April indicate that we have grown by 50% compared to the same period of 2022 and by over 30% in the final balance since the beginning of the year, which means around two thousand units sold. Certainly still not enormous numbers, but which lead us to consider realistic the projection we have given ourselves of reaching seven thousand vehicles by the end of the year, while the target for the next few seasons is set at twelve thousand. In this way, the Italian market would come to represent around 20% of Peugeot’s entire production, currently close to seventy thousand vehicles set up in the historic factory in Mandeure, in the Burgundy region».
An exponential growth, therefore, certainly facilitated by the positive dynamism of the whole market, but to which the sales network makes a decisive contribution: in this context, how is the situation in Italy?
«The work on the sales and assistance structure is crucial: for Peugeot it is a question of mending a relationship with the territory which in some areas even sees us absent, also aiming at innovative strategies, such as the recent partnership with Mocauto in the Lombard capital, which from the classic dynamics of the dealer specializing only in two-wheelers to arrive at an area that embraces the concept of all-round mobility, in which our vehicles, with internal combustion or electric engines, are the absolute protagonists».
Ecco, named electric mobility: What are Peugeot Motocycles’ projects in this area?
«We already have an electric scooter in the range, the E-Ludix and obviously we are very interested in verifying what the evolution of this market segment will be, also in the light of the recent decisions taken within the Community. Personally, also considering the rising prices of electricity, I believe a partial revision of the date of 2035 for the total conversion to electric propulsion is possible, a moment which in any case will certainly not find us unprepared».
Aggressive in design, rich in technology, with important technical presence: it is the XP 400
And then these days the XP 400 arrives, which represents a further leap in quality in the context of your proposal…
«We are entering a very dynamic and interesting market segment, with the desire to offer the public a vehicle that combines driving emotion and power, original style and technological content. The first responses are very encouraging: the first availability of one hundred vehicles immediately sold out and the orders collected so far already cover the availability of the current year”.
The last question concerns the motorcycle sector: even if the core business remains scooters, can we expect new developments in this segment in the immediate future?
«Peugeot Motorcycles, also in order not to betray the name it bears, is thinking of motorcycle enthusiasts: indeed we are now here, given that in June the PM 01 will make its debut, a 125 cc naked, which will be joined by the end of the year by the 300″.
