Japanese-made 250cc+ motorcycle exports to dealers in Europe down again in August, according to the motorcycle industry trade association in Japan (JAMA). Exports fell by 14% to 7285 units. Year to date the total is down 2.13% at 100,147, the second lowest first-eight-months figure since the late 1990s and down from nearly 320,000 in 2007.
Exports of smaller bikes also suffered. Total PTW exports in August were down by 3.39% (10,233 units) and down by 1.46% for the YTD (111.216 units).
In the United States, Japanese-made 250cc+ motorcycle exports to dealers declined 13.01% for August at 5501 units and tumbled 31.14% for August (50,617 units). Year to date the total is down 6.07% at 50,617 units – the lowest there since 2010 and down from some 257,000 in 2007.
Worldwide Japanese-made 250cc+ motorcycle exports were down by 6.07% in August at 18,833 units. Year to date they are down 9.90% at 209,212 units.
Despite the fact that a lot more Japanese-brand motorcycles and small cc machines are now coming into Europe and the USA from subsidiary and affiliate factories elsewhere in the world, the once-market-defining Big Four look increasingly like a “Big Two plus a few other models”, as European and American manufacturers take ever increasing shares of a much smaller market in Europe and North America.
The latest UK registrations, for September, show BMW running Yamaha close for second place, with Honda in its usual top slot.