Motorcycle sales ‘stable’ in September

“September marked another stable month with a 6.4 per cent growth for the motorcycle market.” said Stephen Latham, head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.

In total, 757 more machines were registered in September 2014 than in September 2013, however it was expected there would have been a higher demand on the back of the new 14-plate change.

It was encouraging to see that starter-sub 50cc bikes were up 4.2 per cent against the year to date figure which saw a loss of -0.9 per cent. The -2.2 per cent decline in custom sales was partly down to the decline in Harley Davidson sales for the month, taking them out of the top 10 motorcycle suppliers by volume.

Demand for naked bikes remained strong, with sales up 18.6 per cent and accounting for over 3,000 unit sales in September – much of this coming from buoyant sales from the 125cc sector.

All power range sectors showed growth and remained stable throughout the month with the only exception being 126 – 650cc sector. This could indicate that the change in the riders licence test programme is affecting demand for A2 classification motorcycles.

Latham continued, “It was a great month for manufacturer Honda who’s 125cc models accounted for lead positions in the both the naked and scooter sectors.

“Piaggio and Lexmoto also had a great month coming in 7th and 8th position in the top 10 suppliers.

“With winter now approaching, the NMDA are interested to see if the market will continue to grow.”