Little tidbit on sales buried in article...

[Cube128]

So, I've been without my Segway for the past two weeks as I wait for Inc. to fix the problem I have with the rear battery not charging, so I'm back to obessively finding every Segway article on the internet. I came across this little piece of information, buried in an article about Segways in Thailand:

" So far, over 25 Segways have been sold in Thailand and we do not dare to comment on the sales target of 500 units this year - let's just wait and see. For the record, over 45,000 units were sold worldwide last year."

Link: http://www.bangkokpost.com/Motoring/07Apr2006_motor005.php

The figure of 500 sales in Thiland this year, if I recall, was taken from a press release issued by Segway's Thailand distributor, so there's a strong possability this is an accurate number. Since Segway's sales numbers are some of the most sought-out answers on this website, I figured this would be worth a post.

[Stewbonz]

45,000 last year? That would mean about 100 dealers selling 450 each.
Maybe sales to date since 2003?

Segway Thailand is a good friend of mine and has a booming business selling GEM Cars and other E Vehicles. His electric cars seem to be getting popular. He has a large potential customer list.
Some of you met him at Deans barbeque last fall.
He was quoted in the paper a few weeks ago of having a $300,000 advertising budget this year and planned to move 500 units.
With the weakening dollar and high import duty, Segways are about $9,000.

[macgeek]

That number sounds high.

but anything is possiable.

I know segs are doing very well with police, (good move on LLC's part)
And overseas seems to be a bigger market then in the USA for them!

With isreal being the first country to make them sidewalk legal and germany following close behind, Maybe The breakout will happen In the overseas market!

We can hope!

Jonathan

[Sal]

... but it might not be far off. I have spoken with a few dealers here and there, and as long as they're not exaggerating the "regular" business they do, the number of units sold could be in the high 20K to low 30K if my projections are right... But I ain't no businessman.

I think many of us wrongfully have this intrinsic belief/hope that every [new]Segway owner out there knows about and actively chooses to participate in / join this vibrant community.

I would gather that 9 out of 10 new Segway owners don't even know about SegwayChat... This concept I bring up has been discussed before ad nauseum, but I bring it up only to suggest that we may take that 45K number more seriously.

IMHO of course. he he

-Sal

[sholloway]

I would be curious how the distributor would even know the number? I certainly have not been given any sales numbers from Segway. I'm not a whiny "I have to know everything" kind of person but even if I was, I would doubt Segway would tell a dealer/distributor those numbers. The culture of secrecy may not be as strong as it was during development but it is still very strong.

Scott Holloway
Segway of Alpharetta
770.751.7885

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Fuzzy math? Lol.

[Desert_Seg]

45K? HA! Nope, no way, not yet at least.

While I no longer comment on sales numbers, just have somebody who recently bought a segway post the last 5 digits of the serial number. Since they are sequential it will give you a strong idea of how many units have been sold.

Steven

[Brooster]

Knowing what little I do know, I'm also inclined to say, "no way." I would, however, believe that the reporter made an error and added an extra zero to that number. And I don't think it's at all likely that 45,000 Segs have been produced since 2002. I'm right there with Sal ... high 20s to low 30s, and even that may be a bit of a stretch.

If 45,000 Segs were sold in 2005, I'd be seeing at least a few of them--and not just used by police officers and tour groups--here in the nation's third-largest city. I live right along the lakefront (where you'd think a person might see a few) just five miles north of the city center, and I don't see any. No cops on Segs ... no tour groups ... In my daily travels, it might as well still be 2002.