OCTOBER SEES FIFTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF CONTRACTION IN MOTORCYCLE MARKET

“Continuing the trend seen throughout the year, the motorcycle market experienced another decline in October, with total registrations dropping by -2.5%. The market has faced persistent challenges in 2024, and this marks the fifth consecutive month of contraction” says Symon Cook, Head of National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA), commenting on the latest MCIA figures.

In October, there was a -2.5% decrease in total registrations, from 8,066 to 7,861 units. Total motorcycle sales grew slightly by 0.7% from 7,373 to 7,424 units, whilst moped registrations declined by -38.2% to 395 units. Year-to-date figures show a decrease of -3.7% for total registrations.

The various categories of motorcycles exhibited a wide range of performances, ‘Modern Classic’ surged by 112.7% for the month to 1,142 units. ‘Adventure’ also rose by 16.6% to 1,431 units. ‘Scooter’ saw a decrease of -19.5% from 2,295 to 1,847 units.

Electric motorcycles saw a drop of -43.5% from 508 to 287 units. Year-to-date electric figures remain below the corresponding period last year, down -8.5% from 3,566 to 3,264 units.

In terms of the different ICE capacities, the 126-500cc category witnessed growth (17.4%), whereas the larger engines saw a decrease, with 751-1000cc contracting by -7.3% and 1000cc+ contracting by -13.1%.

Honda is again the best-selling brand of the month, with 1,188 units sold, followed by Yamaha (1,011) and Royal Enfield (874), whilst SYM rounded out the top ten with 203 models sold.

Symon Cook concluded: “Electric models also appear to be struggling, consistently trailing behind last year’s figures for most of this year.

"Aside from a brief mention of vehicle excise duty rates, motorcycles were largely overlooked in last week’s Autumn Budget. NMDA will continue collaborating with and urging the Government to address these concerning trends.”