Motorcycle sales up 13 percent in February

“In what is typically a low volume month for motorcycle sales, it was encouraging to see that registrations were up 13% in February compared to the same period last year”, said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.

A total of 10,390 new bikes have been put on the road since January compared with 9,401 units last year, and year to date the market is up by 10.5%. 

Most styles of motorcycles performed well, with only exception being the Custom’s, Touring and Sport/tour derivatives. These types of leisure machines are often seasonal purchases.

Manufacturer wise, Honda was the leading seller registering 1,056 bikes in February, followed by Yamaha in second place with 546 registrations and KTM in third place with 373 bikes registered. Budget brand Lexmoto came in fourth position with 346 bikes going on the road, and for the first time Royal Enfield were in the top-ten registrations for February with 124 motorcycles sold. This is a clear sign that this iconic brand is growing in popularity.  With both these different brands entering the top-ten, it means that more established brands like Ducati and Piaggio must have registered less than 118 units in the month.

Latham continued, “Overall dealers are optimistic that the market should perform well long term in 2019, but with uncertainties around Brexit set to continue, it may be difficult to say. With the number plate change in March, it will be interesting see what happens in the market next month.”