STAT ZONE
UK - motorcycles -2.13 % YTD to April
The latest available data from the MCIA ( the motorcycle industry trade association in the UK ) show the poor start to the motorcycle market in the UK continuing , after January had been reported at -7.07 % ( 5,380 units ) and February at -4.31 % ( 4,503 ). March was up by + 6.99 % at 16,804 units - however , that was a lower than expected and needed performance for a month that sees an artificial spike in new registrations driven by a new licencing number plate cycle becoming effective in that month each year . The UK ' Plate Change ' happens every March and September . It ' s bonkers ! That was followed by April being -11.96 % at 9,356 units to leave the year-to-date at -2.13 % ( 36,044 units - though that is still the third-best January-April market performance for the UK since before 2009 . Given the economic circumstances in the UK , that is probably as good a result as could be expected . The small ( and
rapidly shrinking ) UK moped market was -35.96 % ( just 1,555 units YTD ). Total new PTW registrations in the UK were -4.22 % for the YTD at 37,599 units registered so far . Within that number , 1,076 new electric powertrain units were registered in the UK in the first four months of 2023 ( -56.8 % down from the 2,489 electric units registered in the first four months of 2022 ). Total Scooter sales in UK YTD were 8,847 units ( -21.1 %). 7,330 ADV models were registered YTD ( -3.3 %). Brand share leader in April 2023 in the UK was Honda ( 1,859 units ), followed by Yamaha , Triumph , KTM and BMW . For the record : the UK motorcycle market was + 2.01 % for the full year 2022 at 108,510 units - the highest since 2016 and second-best since before 2009 . However , growth evaporated in the second half of 2022 , with five out of the six months negative ; two of those months were
45,000
30,000
15,000
UK registrations to April
39,256
PTW
greater than -11 % down , and that negative trend has clearly continued into 2023 so far . Total new PTW
2022
2023
-4.22 % -2.13 %
37,599
36,828 36,044
MOTORCYCLE
registrations in the UK in 2022 were + 1.95 % for the full year at 115,633 units .
Germany - motorcycles + 14.99 % to April
The significant rebound in new motorcycle registrations so far this year in Germany ( the German motorcycle market was -7.22 % for the 2022 full year ) continued through April . The most recent available data from the IVM ( the motorcycle trade association in Germany ) show March and April up by + 11.76 % ( 20,939 units ) and + 10.42 % ( 14,495 units ) for a + 14.99 % growth YTD at 50,709 units . January and February motorcycle registrations in Germany were + 31.26 % ( 4,598 units ) and + 22.29 % ( 10,677 units ) respectively . Despite the continuing economic uncertainties , this has been the strongest first four-month start to the year in Germany since before 2009 . Germany fell into technical recession in this past winter with a -0.5 % drop in GDP in the final quarter of 2022 , followed by a further -0.3 % decline in GDP in Q1 , 2023 . Reflecting continued benefit from licence changes , in total PTW terms , the German market was + 9.56 % after the first four months ( 78,893 units YTD , compared to 72,006 in 2022 ) - also the best start to the year since before 2009 . With no fewer than eight models in the top 20 best sellers , it is no surprise that BMW has maintained its commanding dominance in its home market with 12,165 units sold so far for a 23.99 % market share . Honda is second ( 8,021 units / 15.82 % share ,) with Kawasaki third ( 5,101 units sold for a 10.06 % share ), followed by KTM , Yamaha , H-D ,
40,000
20,000
German registrations to April
80,000 + 9.56 %
60,000
72,006
78,893
PTW
Ducati , Triumph , Suzuki , and Husqvarna in tenth spot . The BMW R 1250 GS has continued into 2023 as the best-selling model so far this year ( 3,531 units sold for a 6.96 % share ), followed by the CB 750 Hornet ( Honda has " knocked it out of the park " with the Hornet brand comeback for 2023 ), the Z 900 and 650 in third and fourth ( showing Kawasaki ' s market resurgence of
44,097
2022 2023
+ 14.99 %
50,709
MOTORCYCLE
recent years as continuing ), with BMW ' s F 900 R in fifth . They are followed by the CB 650 R Neo Sports Café in sixth , the MT-07 , S1000RR , CBR 650 R and CMX 500 Rebel , to give Honda four models in the top ten in Germany in the first four month of the year so far ; BMW three , Kawasaki two and Yamaha one . In electric ( light ) motorcycle terms , Zero was the top selling brand YTD , but on low volumes still ( 99 units sold - flat on its 2022 YTD sales ), followed by Vmoto with 50 units sold ( well down on the 138 sold in the year-ago period ), KTM ( also down ), Energica ( up ) and Tinbot fifth , with eRockit dropping out of the Electric Top Five in Germany . Though road-going electric motorcycles are only part of the EPTW story , they are a bellwether , and with only 443 units registered so far this year in Germany ( of all markets ), there is clearly still a long way to go if the tsunami of capital being invested in electric PTW brands is ever to show a return . In this context , the EU ' s compromise of its 2035 new ICE vehicle ban in the face of the powerful German auto lobby to allow post-2035 registration of vehicles that run exclusively on e-fuels , puts some of the EPTW forecasts being seen used for ambitious stock market flotations put into an even more ambitious context ( especially ' looking at you ' Harley-Davidson / LiveWire ). Vehicles with internal combustion engines can now still be newly registered throughout the EU after 2035 , if they fill up exclusively with CO2-neutral fuels . See news story elsewhere in this edition of IDN . For the record : German motorcycle registrations were -7.22 % for the full year in 2022 ( 107,992 units ) thanks to the ongoing beneficial impacts of changes in domestic German licencing ; total PTW registrations were essentially flat at + 0.69 % ( 201,433 units ).
6 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JUNE / JULY 2023 www . idnmag . com