All Type articles – Page 9
-
Boat Autonomy
Can docking assist platforms benefit from new shoes?
New footwear technology designed to help the blind more easily navigate city streets could have widespread applications, including kicking up the capabilities of marine docking assist systems
-
Finland
Finland's boatbuilders eye international growth
Last year was challenging for the Finnish boating sector, but sales remain strong due to robust exports of larger yachts
-
UK
New government, new taxes, but falling interest rates a boost
Storms darkened the forecasts of many UK marine businesses over the past year, thanks to unseasonable weather in 2023 and metaphorically due to political upheaval within an end-of-term parliament and stubbornly high interest rates.
-
Article
Pincer movement of rising costs and environmental pressures
With only a handful of boatbuilders focusing on custom superyacht tenders and smaller, premium-priced ‘Riva-style’ motorboats
-
Sweden
Diversification helping firms cope with market challenges
Both the Swedish and especially the Norwegian boating markets have been hit hard in recent years by the economic downturn.
-
Spain
Charter sector takes hit as market stabilises
The Spanish leisure marine market is showing signs of stabilisation in 2024 following several years of accelerated growth.
-
Portugal
Tourism boom gives vital boost, as orcas cast shadow
It has been a good 2024 so far for the Portuguese market, with business levels even up on 2023, a year labelled as the country’s “best ever” by CEO of Marlagos and vice president of the Portuguese Marina Association (APPR), Martinho Fortunato.
-
Poland
Polish builders are adjusting their capacity towards larger, higher-value boats
After a number of years marked by robust growth, Poland’s boat industry, along with counterparts across Europe, hit choppier waters in 2023. Local builders have adapted to the difficult market situation by reducing their boat ranges to focus on bestselling craft, and introducing larger yachts to their ranges.
-
Norway
Perfect storm of high interest rates and weakening currency suppressing demand
The Norwegian boat market has been hit almost more by the tougher economics than its neighbour Sweden, despite the strong oil economy and the country’s massive oil fund.
-
Netherlands
Marinas, yacht services provide antidote as boat sales plummet
Dutch watersports and recreation lobby, HISWA-RECRON, is reporting a mixed picture for the Netherlands in 2024.
-
Italy
Small-boat sales down, but boats over 12m holding steady
Despite weakness in small-boat sales, the Italian boating sector is looking towards another decent year, while also waiting for some clarity about where the market might go after the major boat shows in the autumn.
-
Ireland
Pushing the pause button in new-boat sales and charters
In Ireland, it seems that all aspects of life are dependent on the weather. That’s particularly true of boating, when a bad spring and summer, such as this year’s, are having an impact on the industry’s bottom line. While the Irish Marine Federation doesn’t report annual revenues, different sectors are ...
-
Germany
Refit and repair at the fore as boat sales, charter plunge
Whether sailboats or motorboats, all segments of the German marine market were down in 2023 and business is still very poor. “Sometimes you even hear of boats being sold below cost, which companies claim is a way of securing their liquidity.
-
France
Challenging Q1, but rebound on the cards
It is a case of when, not if, the French market rallies after a disappointing Q1 forced many in the industry to modify their expectations for the year ahead.
-
Article
Steady YOY increase in boat registrations; investment in marina infrastructure
Estonia is a small country of around 1.37 million people, and is in the Eastern Baltic region, with Finland to the north and Russia to the east. Despite its compact size (45,335km2, 4.6% of which is inland water), the country has a thriving marine industry. The heavily indented and shallow ...
-
Czech Republic
Industry bets on return to growth next year
A mid a year they describe as slow and stagnant, Czech boating industry representatives hope that 2025 brings the much-expected interest rate cuts that could reinvigorate the market. Jan Wolf, president of the Czech boating industry association APL, told IBI that, over the past year, local builders, dealers and yacht ...
-
Croatia
Charter figures disappoint but industry remains optimistic about rebound
With a network of marinas spanning along some 6,000km of shoreline, Croatia is a charter hotspot, but ongoing macroeconomic challenges are hampering the sector’s growth and impacting pre-season results, local observers say.
-
Belgium
Holding its own in the shadow of giants
Belgium’s boating sector metrics pale compared to next-door giants France, Germany and the Netherlands – and operating in their long, deep shadows is an uphill slog.
-
Outboard engines
Investing in R&D and global partners
The Norwegian electric propulsion specialist Evoy has just completed a purpose-built test tank and is securing partnerships with companies aligned with its development of high-output motors
-
Green Technologies
Leveraging strengths
For Barcelona-based Marine Sustainable Engines, collaboration and partnerships represent the keys to capturing market share in the highly competitive electric propulsion segment