Japanese giants Honda and Yamaha agree a truce in scooter wars

One of the bitterest and most long-standing rivalries in motoring came to a close today as Honda and Yamaha agreed to link up to make scooters.

The Japanese giants have fought for supremacy in motorbike sales for decades, in a battle that often seemed to be about more than merely business.

The rivalry was sometimes seen to spread to intense dislike between professional motorbike riders racing for the two firms.

Today the two said they would join forces to make and develop new bikes as they deal with a strong decline in sales, particularly in Japan, where the economy has been stagnant for years. Yamaha is moving its production of 50cc scooters for the Japanese market to Honda’s Kumamoto factory in southern Japan, the Nikkei news service reports.

Sales are down more than 80% from their peak in the Eighties.

A joint statement from the companies said: “Honda and Yamaha arrived at a common understanding that co-operation is necessary to address these challenges for the future.”

Honda and Yamaha are to work on developing a “next-generation” breed of bikes.