2004 SALES FIGURES REVEAL DYNAMIC AND VIBRANT MOTORCYCLE MARKET
19 January 2005 - Motor Cycle Industry Association Ltd

In 2004 133,938 new motorcycles were registered in the United Kingdom, 14% fewer than in 2003 according to figures released today by the Motor Cycle Industry Association.

It proved to be a difficult year for many sectors of industry, with news reports increasingly concerned with worries over consumer confidence, falling sales among general retailers and a slow-down in the car market. However, for the motorcycle industry an underlying rate of minus 6% growth since registrations reached 170,000 in the year 2000 is cause for some reflection.

In recent years, the UK motorcycle market has been dominated by the Scooter and Sports bike sectors. In 2004, these accounted for 34% and 28% of all new registrations respectively, including all of the top-ten best selling models. However, new growth areas continue to emerge as the market share of other types of bike grew from 35% in 2003 to 39% in 2004.

Scooters

The scooter market has matured well. From being a very small niche sector in the early 1990’s it is estimated that since 2001 scooters have accounted for one-quarter of all bikes in use across the UK (currently 1.5 million according to the Department for Transport).

The best selling Scooter of 2004 was Honda’s SCV100 lead (2,083 registered), with the Piaggio NRG top amongst mopeds (2,034).

Craig Carey-Clinch MCI’s Director of Public Affairs said, “Scooters are built to increasingly high standards of performance, not least environmental-friendliness, and longevity. Manufacturers are having to give existing riders good reason to replace them, whilst the search for new types of customer to expand the market base is providing more reason to bring forth new designs in recent months.”

Sports Bikes

Sports bikes have been a mainstay of UK motorcycling for as long as most riders can remember, and make up an estimated one third of bikes in use. The highly-desirable streamlined SuperSport machines were just as popular in 2004, with Yamaha’s YZF-R1 selling 2,713 and the Suzuki SV650S topping the Sport/Tour category with 1,751.

However, there are signs of other forms of motorcycle promising a different kind of sporting ability, have started to challenge this position. As a result, even the sports bikes are taking new-directions. Some of the most exciting models for 2005 are SuperSport machines that have shed their bodywork to give the rider a greater feeling of involvement with the machine and their surroundings, offering more engagement with both bike and journey.

Dual Purpose

Registrations of dual-purpose machines from the Trail/Enduro and Adventure Sport sectors, capable of use both on and off tarmac, have been rising on average more than 20% per year and now account for around one-in seven new bikes.

Honda’s XR125L dominated the Trail/Enduro category (1,544 registrations) while the BMW R1200GS was supreme among the generally larger Adventure Sport bikes.

Craig Carey Clinch commented, “An increasing amount of media and publishing interest in motorcycle travel, including coverage of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s round-the-world journey late last year, seems to be opening-up a new sense of adventure among riders, even if their journeys last for hours rather than months and take place closer to home. This has created demand for bikes with different mixtures of capability, comfort, range and performance that are finding expressions in other sectors of the market.”

Others

The more traditionally styled bikes of the Naked sector include machines of all sizes from mopeds to 1400cc roadsters; in 2004 they accounted for around one-in-seven of all new bikes, lead by the Honda CG125 (885 registrations)

One of the biggest stories of 2004 was the arrival of Triumph’s Rocket III; apart from being the largest mass-production bike on several counts (not least its 2,294cc three-cylinder motor) it rose from a standing start to top the Custom sector with 508 registrations in its first year of production. Honda’s ST1300A Pan-European was the most popular of the long-range touring machines at 698 registrations.

Future Prospects

Craig Carey-Clinch said, “With no end in sight to transport and congestion problems it is not surprising to see government figures indicate that the number of motorcycles in use has doubled from around 750,000 to 1.5 million over the last decade and that around 60% of motorcycle travel is for work, business or education.

“What may come as more of surprise to non-riders is just how versatile modern motorcycles have proven to be, with even the most practical-designs offering great fun to ride and use of sports bikes being extended beyond leisure use to reduce the daily commute.

“As the number of active riders and bikes continue to grow, the prospects for the UK motorcycle industry are good, especially for those sectors of the market that understand their customers best. However, overall success in 2005 will depend on improvements in the wider economy.”

www.mcia.co.uk

More News
  For January 2005
  From Motor Cycle Industry Association Ltd
  For Associations
  Biker247.com Home Page