How many Segways have been sold?

[BillPaxton]

According to Time magazine three months ago there have only been 23,500 machines sold as of September 2006 (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1535267,00.html). It seems to me that number is low, just based on the frequency of times I have seen them. I concede that I may just notice more than I used to because I have a vested interest in them now, but it sure seems like everyplace I go, someone is gliding.
Does anyone have any more info? I couldn't find the article's sources so this number is even less credible to me.

[Tarkus]

According to Time magazine three months ago there have only been 23,500 machines sold as of September 2006 (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1535267,00.html). It seems to me that number is low, just based on the frequency of times I have seen them. I concede that I may just notice more than I used to because I have a vested interest in them now, but it sure seems like everyplace I go, someone is gliding.
Does anyone have any more info? I couldn't find the article's sources so this number is even less credible to me.


You can bet at the time of publication that number was correct.
Nobody I spoke with from INC at the Fest argued the total based on the recall.

My bet is with the new model the number is up around 30K.

Now if we were to count Segways in the hands of private users , the number would be about half that at best.

As far as seeing them everywhere you go, I'm glad So. Florida has a ton of them but I never see another private Segway and I travel all over the country with mine.

Be Big,
Alan

[byped]

C'mon... read off those first significant digits of the serial.

I wonder if the X2 has a new range of numbers since it seemed like the older models were sequential.

[Timezkware Tim]

Even if VINs are sequential, different series of numbers might camouflage the overall production numbers, so I don't know that you can get any reliable reading from VINs.

Tim

[Tarkus]

Even if VINs are sequential, different series of numbers might camouflage the overall production numbers, so I don't know that you can get any reliable reading from VINs.

Tim

You got that right Tim !!

I remember there was a thread trying to figure sales from the Ser #. Nowhere close.

Be Big,
Alan

[byped]

When the recall happened... had an i2 with 23,2XX (roughly). It seemed like a decent barometer at the time.

[BillPaxton]

well, even if the number was dead on accurate the article was still a bit off (and I thought negatively slanted) - the author states that at 23,500 and a price of [quoting the article which also may have been accurate pricing at the time] $5000, he doesn't see how they could recoup their $100mil R&D investment... my calculator says that number of units at that price is $117,500,000 - and weren't the first ones REALLY expensive, like in the $20k's?
Anyway it still seems like there are more than 30 thousand out there. I guess its wishful thinking

[Desert_Seg]

Bill,

Currently the "street" price of a Segway sold in the US list at $4,995 or $5,495 (i2 or x2 base models only). However, that is not what Inc would receive nor does that take into account COGS, overhead, R&D, and the like.

Also, original Segways sold for $4.495, not $20K.

Steven

[polo_pro]

Bill,

Currently the "street" price of a Segway sold in the US list at $4,995 or $5,495 (i2 or x2 base models only). However, that is not what Inc would receive nor does that take into account COGS, overhead, R&D, and the like.

Also, original Segways sold for $4.495, not $20K.

Agreed...I'd estimate that Segway INC would be lucky to see $3500 of whatever MSRP you choose to use. And a sizeable chunk of that would go to Valence for the Li-Ion batteries ($1000?).

As to the first few segways that were quite expensive, I'm betting that the OP was referring to the auctioning of the first few units. I'm not sure how high the bidding went...$100K? As I remember it was for charity, so Segway INC didn't benefit.

Honestly, at this point, I'd be surprised if Segway INC had recouped $10M or their initial investment after all the material, manufacturing (labor) and operating (including engr and support) cost. I'll speculate that when Segway INC says, "We have the long term picture", they really mean, "We've written off most of the initial $100M investment." Besides, I got the impression that the $100M investment included research for other things like iBots...does anyone know if the J&J licensing fees were in the millions? Tens of millions?

[BillPaxton]

Bill,

Currently the "street" price of a Segway sold in the US list at $4,995 or $5,495 (i2 or x2 base models only). However, that is not what Inc would receive nor does that take into account COGS, overhead, R&D, and the like.

Also, original Segways sold for $4.495, not $20K.

Steven

Thanks Steven, I was misinformed. I read (and did not fact check) that the first commercially available units ranged in the USD $8-10k, with the original line in the mid $20's. I have not been to a seg store before in the US (and only 1 on Spain) and I saw them at Sams Club for only USD $3888 so I figured the i167s-i180s must have dropped in price.
But according to the article the figure represented their overhead (or the cost of recalls for that matter)