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First quarter of 2018 sees motorcycle market off to a racing start

NMDA 11/04/2018

“It is encouraging to see that traditional motorcyclists took advantage of the March 18-plate-change to purchase their new bikes. Bike sales were up 4.7% with 15,208 units registered,” said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.

The first quarter has seen most sectors in the market up, with the exception of the 50cc moped, sport/touring motorcycles. Overall this year, 24,609 units have been registered, showing an increase of 5.6% compared to the same period last year where 23,313 motorcycles were registered.

Consumers tend to opt for the high-end machines in the plate-change month and many of these bikes are ordered specifically or their buyers. Machines such as the BMW R 1200 GS were in the top spot both in the Adventure Sport sector and bestselling bike over 1000cc - 405 bikes were registered. Sales of mid-range bikes in the 651-1000cc sector have seen a year-to-date decline of -11.6% - down to 5,400 registrations compared to last year.

Latham continued, “With buyers opting for higher-end bikes this month, it is not surprising to see that manufacturer Honda topped the list this month with 2,869 registrations, followed by BMW in second position with 1,938 sales, and Kawasaki in third position registering 1,659 performance machines.

“Overall, dealers are cautiously optimistic that 2018 will be a more positive year for motorcycle sales. We look forward to seeing that the next quarter brings.”

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Notes to Editors:

Results taken from the Motor Cycle Industry Association Press Statistics March 2018 – New Motorcycle registrations.

About the RMI

The Retail Motor Industry represents the interests of operators in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man providing sales and services to motorists and businesses. The RMI has a formal association with the independent Scottish Motor Trade Association which represents the retail motor industry in Scotland.