Downward trend continues for motorcycle market

“New motorcycle registrations declined by -2.2% in November which was expected for what is traditionally a low volume month. A total of 6,151 bikes were put on the road”, said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.

The decline in the market comes following a turbulent year driven by political and economic issues, along with price increases due to the depreciation of the pound.

The moped market (sub 50cc) continued to decline in November and was down -21.4%. This market is typically aimed at young entry level riders and is quite possibly being affected by the negative publicity surrounding moped violence and crimes.

Similarly, motorcycles and scooters from the 51cc-125cc sector also saw an unexpected -6.4% decline. Typically, this has been a strong growing market with sales up 6.4% so far this year, with 31,990 machines registered making it the single biggest sector for the industry.

Latham continued, “Overall the new bike market has performed just 1.5% better than last year. However, last month the NMDA attended the Motorcycle Live show at the NEC where it was encouraging to see great interest and enthusiasm in the leisure pursuit of motorcycling. There were plenty of new models being showcased which is keeping dealers optimistic that the market will perform well in 2019.”