Kawasaki Will Spin Off Its Motorcycle Division

John Burns
by John Burns

According to a post today in NHK World-Japan News:

Leading Japanese machinery maker Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it will spin off its struggling motorcycle and engine businesses next year as part of a major restructuring.

The company announced on Monday that it plans to spin off its motorcycle manufacturing and sales division and Rolling Stock division, which manufactures both conventional and bullet trains.

Kawasaki says it hopes the move will speed up decision-making and improve its financial situation.

Motorcycle sales in Southeast Asia have dropped sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company expects to see an operating loss of about 5 billion yen, or 47 million dollars, for the current business year.

Kawasaki says it is strengthening intra-industry cooperation to address compliance with environmental regulations and other issues.

Kawasaki President Hashimoto Yasuhiko said at a news conference that he hopes the motorcycle business will continue to build the strong Kawasaki brand and revitalize the market through collaboration with other companies.

Being spun off isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A parent company will spin off part of its business if it expects that it will be lucrative to do so. The spin off will have a separate management structure and a new name, but it will usually retain the same assets, intellectual property, and human resources. The parent company will continue to provide financial and technological support in most cases.

More about spin-offs at Investopedia.
Kawasaki’s motorcycle business is a tiny part of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, one of Japan’s three major heavy industrial manufacturers. KHI also makes bullet trains, heavy equipment, aerospace equipment, industrial robots, gas turbines, boilers, ships….
John Burns
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