“With February being the wettest on record it is promising to see the registrations of new two-wheelers experiencing continued growth. Following on from a positive January, which saw overall registrations rise by 4.8%, February has seen growth of 6.1%. This is even more surprising when you consider that February is the last month before the introduction of the new ’24 number plates which, no doubt, some buyers will have been holding out for” says Symon Cook, Head of National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA), commenting on the latest MCIA figures.
In February, there was a 6.1% increase in total registrations, going from 4,814 last February to 5,106 this year. Total moped sales were down by -10.1% whereas total motorcycle sales saw a rise of 6.5%.
The various categories of motorcycles saw a range of growth and contraction this month. The ‘Adventure’ and ‘Modern Classic’ categories grew by 33.4% and 17.6% respectively, whereas ‘Competition’ and ‘Naked’ saw a contraction of -32.7% and -13.3% respectively. ‘Road Sport’ saw the greatest change, with growth of 39.2% going from 324 last year to 451 this year.
ICE motorbikes continue to dominate their electric counterparts, with electric registrations falling by -31.4% from 220 to 151 compared to ICE which witnessed 7.9% growth from 4,594 to 4,955. Out of all ICE’s it was 751-1000cc bikes that saw the most significant growth with an increase of 34.3%.
For the month of February Honda remained on top for overall sales, with 1,085 registrations, followed once again by Yamaha with 734. BMW replaced Triumph at the third spot with 377 new registrations. Piaggo, again, rounds out the top ten with 124 registrations.
Symon Cook concluded: “These figures come in the wake of the Spring Budget this week which was an altogether deflating experience for the automotive sector. The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, announced that he would continue the freeze on fuel duty for another year but there was not much else on offer for the industry.
“Most notably the Chanceller neglected to mention any incentives for the implementation of electric vehicles (EV). It is therefore not surprising to see a contraction in the electric motorcycle market and a contraction of -31.4% is still concerning.
“February looks to have picked up where January left off with another successful month for motorcycle registrations. As the country continues to face times of economic and political uncertainty, as well as an onslaught of rain, it is positive to see that the public’s desire for new two-wheelers has not dwindled.”
