MIXED MOTORCYCLE MARKET FOR FEBRUARY
15 March 2005 - Motor Cycle Industry Association Ltd

New motorcycle registration figures released today by the MCI today show that February’s bleak weather brought very little sunshine into British showrooms.

Moped registrations were down 11% on February 2004, with Motorcycles down 8%. Behind these overall figures is the by now familiar scene of the market re-aligning, with less interest in traditional mainstream machines. The decline in Scooter registrations (down) 14% was similar to that seen in the automotive sector (car registrations were down 16% in February according to the SMMT), but Sports bike registrations were down 24% overall. Sectors enjoying better prospects include Touring bikes (up 23%) as buyers plan their time-away on two-wheels, and Naked style machines up 30%.

Yet for all this, four out of ten new registrations in February were Scooters and more than half (56%) of the total market was for lightweight machines under 125cc (eight of the top-ten selling machines), providing essential mobility for novice and experienced riders.

February 2005 saw the publication of the long-awaiting Government Motorcycling Strategy by the Department for Transport www.dft.gsi.gov.uk listing 44 actions which the DfT say will ‘mainstream motorcycling as an important part of the transport mix’. This is to be achieved through better design and maintenance of roads, considering riders needs when planning changes to the road network, providing more and better parking, assessing how to design out hazards, theft-reduction measures and other items which will benefit all riders.

www.mcia.co.uk

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