International Dealer News 175 Oct/Nov 2023 IDN175 Oct/Nov 2023 | Page 6

STAT ZONE

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 in 2023 having continued through August to leave the UK market down -2.33 % YTD at 76,393 units sold . July was -7.78 % at 9,389 units sold , with August at -6.19 % at 7,665 units sold . Though it is possible that September ' s numbers will show somewhat of a rebound - it being the second of the two months each year when new date-based licence plate numbers are introduced . An arcane idiosyncrasy , unique to the UK market , that sees vehicle registration dates change twice each year - distorting available market trend data . Given the economic circumstances in the UK , these are probably as good a set of results as could be expected - even so it was the third-best market performance for the first eight months since at least before 2009 ( behind 2022 with 78,216 units

registered and 2016 with 79,234 ). The small ( and rapidly shrinking ) UK moped market was -30.98 % ( just 3,473 units YTD ). Total new PTW registrations in the UK were -4.06 % for the YTD in the UK at 79,866 units , but still the fifth best for the first eight months of the year in the UK since before 2009 . Within that number , 2,647 new electric powertrain units were registered in the UK in the first eight months of 2023 ( -45.2 % down from the 4,832 electric units registered in the first eight months of 2022 ). Total scooter sales in UK YTD were 16,242 units ( -14.1 % YTD ) 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 the six months negative ; two of those months were greater than -11 % down ,

and that negative trend has clearly continued into 2023 so far . Total new PTW registrations in the UK in 2022 were + 1.95 % for the full year at 115,633 units .

The MIC is reporting that among leading brands , sales of new motorcycles and scooters increased by + 4.7 % through the second quarter of 2023 ( 315,257 units YTD ) compared to the same period the previous year . At + 16.5 % ( 86,583 units YTD ) " Off-highway sales in the second quarter of 2023 have seen the most substantial [ segment ] percentage increase year over year ," said Buckner Nesheim , MIC Director of Research & Statistics . " There is strong growth across several product categories , and this is particularly interesting

Quarterly Retail Sales Flash Report - June 2023 YTD

as these sales happened amid rising interest rates . Year-todate sales of ' dual motorcycles ' ( ADV models ) are up again for the seventh year in a row [+ 4.4 %, 45,057 units YTD ]. " On-highway sales have

increased [+ 1.1 %, 173,147 units YTD ], and the market share of Off-highway bikes among motorcycles is currently the second highest it has been in the past ten years , only surpassed by the 30 % achieved in 2020 ." Scooter sales declined by -15.7 % so far this year ( 10,470 units ). A strong June saw 34,580 On- Hwy motorcycles sold (+ 9.2 %, well above the first half monthly average as the U . S . market hits peak mid-season ) out of a total of 60,175 units sold in June ( 11.0 %). The YTD market in USA for ATV models was down by -8.7 % at 89,724 units . The grand total of new motorcycles and ATVs sold was + 1.4 % at 404,981 units . ATV sales remain , marginally and for now at least , the largest single sales segment YTD .

The slowdown in the rate of market growth seen in the first half of this year in Italy has proved to have been temporary - seasonal or weather related perhaps , or maybe due to consumer confidence as the Italian economy appeared to be softening ? Either way , the trend appears to have levelled out , and the good news is that in total new PTW registration terms in July saw 19.47 % growth ( 36,107 units ), August saw 15.40 % growth ( 17,093 units ) and September saw growth of 23.16 % ( 25,453 units ). The cumulative result has seen new unit registrations in the Italian market grow by 19.29 % for the YTD at 270,573 units - the best first nine month for the Italian market since at least before 2011 . In motorcycle terms , the market was + 19.66 % ( 11,217 units ) in September and was running at + 13.48 % ( 123,118 units ) for the YTD . That also marks the best performance for the motorcycle sector since the financial crisis recession of 2008-2012 .

The Benelli TRK 500 / 502 X has taken over as the bestselling motorcycle in Italy YTD with 3,883 units sold so far in 2023 , displacing the Honda Africa Twin into second place with 3,245 units sold .

Th Honda Italia SH 125 / 150 / 350 range remain the best-selling scooters in Italy for the first nine months of the year , but the ongoing popularity of the larger displacement Maxi Scooter and burgeoning ADVstyle Scooter sectors is worth note . Honda ' s ADV 350 was the 6th best-selling model of all in Italy YTD with 5,475 units sold , and the X-ADV 750 and Forza 350 have been the 8th and 9th bestsellers with 5,109 and 4,538 units sold respectively . Piaggio has six models in the top 20 best-sellers in Italy , with KYMCO ( two - in 4th and 18th places ) and Sym ( one - in 12th place ) pointing to the ongoing and growing strength of Asian manufacturers . For the record : for the full year , new motorcycle registrations were + 6.35 % in Italy in 2022 at 126,571 units . Total PTW registrations in Italy for the 2022 full year were essentially flat at + 0.09 % - but the 270,416 total of new model registrations was the best for the Italian market since before 2011 ; of those , ANCMA classified 143,845 as scooters ( -4.84 % compared to the full year 2021 ).

6 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2023 www . idnmag . com