Considering that motorcycle dealerships remained closed in May and taking into account all the pandemic related challenges, motorcycles and particularly scooter sales have shown clear signs of improvement.
Motorcycle showrooms had to stay closed in May although workshops could remain open to facilitate repair. As a result, it is remarkable that 5,394 new machines were put on the road in May, according to the latest MCIA figures. That is about half the number of units registered a year ago when motorcycle dealerships were fully open, and customers were not asked to remain at home.
The decline of -50.4% in motorcycle and scooters sales sounds poor, but considering the challenges faced by the sector and comparing this figure to the decrease in new car registrations*, there are a number of positive signs.
Lightweight 50cc and 125cc motorcycles performed better than their heavier counterparts with declines of -23.3% and -26.6% respectively, clearly indicating the new direction of consumer demand.
Sales of motorcycles in the heavier power range did not fare as positively as these tend to be purchased as leisure products. Motorcycles above 650cc and 1,000cc were -67.5% and -65.5% below last year’s monthly sales.
As expected, Honda and Yamaha sold most bikes with 844 and 692 units sold respectively. In third place, was the budget value brand Lexmoto with 634 sales, Triumph was in fourth place with 365 registrations.
Overall, after ten weeks of pandemic-driven decline, the motorcycle market is down -35.5% at 30,845 registrations year to date, compared with 47,822 this time last year.
