2008 scooter sales

U.S. retail scooter sales by non-traditional manufacturers— that's non-MIC reporting companies, primarily Chinese and Taiwanese firms— increased 155% last year to 250,000 units, according to research compiled by Power Products Marketing, a Minneapolis research firm.

The company estimates that total retail scooter sales last year were 327,000 units, up 114% over U.S. retail sales in 2007.

The outlook for 2009 isn't quite so promising, says Matthew Camp, the report's author, since many U.S. distributors carried over high levels of inventory.