Economic and political uncertainty drives motorcycle sales into reverse

“Motorcycle registrations declined -7.4% in August as both economic and political uncertainty continues to affect demand for bikes”, said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.

August is typically a low volume month due to customers opting to wait until September to obtain the latest registration plate on their new machine. However, last month the decline was unusually low with around a -7% decline in registrations compared to the same period last year.

Most power sectors saw sales decline, with the only exceptions in the 50cc moped market which continued its upward trend for 2019. Sales were up 5.1% in August with 532 bikes registered. This was positive news for budget brand Lexmoto as it led to them moving up to third place with 574 low powered machines sold.

Once again Honda was the leading seller in the month registering 1,356 bikes, followed by Yamaha in second position with 722 registrations and Triumph in fourth place with 436 motorcycle sales.

Latham continued, “Motorcycle dealers are still getting plenty of footfall in their showrooms, however there is still hesitance from customers who are putting off larger purchases until uncertainty around Brexit and other political concerns have been clarified.

“Although August was a small volume month, dealers are feeling optimistic about September. Going forward, the market is expected to remain steady throughout the remainder of 2019.”