International Boat Industry – August-September 2019

26 AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com

Markets & Regions

EUROPE | ROUND-UP

 Bavaria is back on track with new owners

 Athens-based Flisvos Marina

T

he German leisure marine market

posted its sixth consecutive year

of growth in 2018, with sales of

marine goods and services (excluding

superyachts) up 2.9% over the previous

year to around €2.1bn. Consumer

confidence has been rising for the best

part of a decade, buoyed by record-low

unemployment, high wages and low

interest rates. “Our economy is strong

and our members are satisfied,” Jürgen

Tracht, managing director of German

watersports association BVWW, told IBI at

the Düsseldorf Boat Show in January.

Nevertheless, global trade wars and

the looming threat of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit

weigh heavily on the minds of German

consumers, threatening to undermine

growth going forward. “There’s an

uncertainty in the market that’s affecting

business,” Tracht concedes. “We now have

additional duties for boats coming from

the US to Germany – 25% more – and

confidence is going down.

“If we’re talking about small motorboats

below 7.5m, at least 50% come from the

US,” he adds.

Fortunately, large yachts over 12m

in length – both sail and power – are

a growing trend in Germany. The

latest BVWW statistics show that 1,654

motorboats worth €134.2m were imported

into the country last year – a 10.7% drop in

units compared to 2017 but a healthy 8.7%

rise in value. Small motorboats under 7.5m

fell by 16.3% to 1,131 units, and boats from

7.5m-12m were down 0.5% to 417 units.

Boats over 12m, however, climbed by 29.3%

to 106 units.

As for sailing yachts, German dealers

imported 663 units over 12m – up 8.2%

compared to 2017.

“Motor and sailing yachts of 30m,

40m, 50m, 60m in length... this is really

good business for us and it’s the same for

catamarans,” Tracht told IBI. “The problem

now is with our harbours, because the

infrastructure just isn’t there for the bigger

boats.

The other trend in Germany is for

smaller boats, especially outboard-driven

models. “That’s been a trend for several

years now, ever since we changed our

licensing system to allow boats of up to

15hp to be driven without a license,” Tracht

maintains.

Meanwhile, Germany’s biggest serial

yacht producer, Bavaria Yachtbau, says it

plans to return to its original format of

manufacturing inexpensive family boats.

The news comes not long after Bavaria

was acquired by Berlin-based private

equity firm CMP Capital Management

after filing for administration in April last

year. “Being a series production shipyard,

Bavaria is a manufacturer of inexpensive

boats, not luxury yachts,” said CMP

managing partner Kai Brandes. The

company’s focus will therefore be on sail

and motorboats from 10m-20m.

As for the sector in general, most

German firms are cautiously optimistic

for the year ahead. “We don’t have

that same degree of confidence on

the consumer side that we had in the

past,” says BVWW’s Jürgen Tracht. “My

impression is that 2019 will be a good

year, but we don’t expect much growth.

I think 2020 will be the year when the

economy stalls.” n

T

he Greek nautical sector

continued to see double-digit

growth in 2018, with a 15.7%

increase in the number of registered

boats to 3,383 units. After years of

austerity and economic reform, the

Greek boating market has for the most

part ‘normalised’ and those who held

back on yacht purchases in the past are

REAL GDP GROWTH (2018) 1.5%

REAL GDP GROWTH (2019 est) 0.8%

NUMBER OF ADULTS 67.5 MILLION

NUMBER $ MILLIONAIRES 2.8 MILLION

BOAT PARK 485,000

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

(Change in index points Jun/Jul) -0.2%

NEW CAR SALES

(Change Jan-Jun ‘18/19) +0.5%

REAL GDP GROWTH (2018) 1.8%

REAL GDP GROWTH (2019 est) 1.9%

NUMBER OF ADULTS 9.0 MILLION

NUMBER $ MILLIONAIRES 87,000

BOAT PARK 178,000

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

(Change in index points Jun/Jul) -+1.7%

NEW CAR SALES

(Change Jan-Jun ‘18/19) +5.2%

GREECE

Complete Climate Solutions: Heating, Cooling & Roofs

 BVWW’s Jürgen Tracht

The problem

is with our

harbours,

because the infrastructure

just isn’t there for the

bigger boats

GERMANY

Photo: Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann