The NMDA has described the 7.2% increase in registrations for September as “disappointing”.
Whilst acknowledging the year-to-date growth of 12.3%, NMDA chief Stephen Latham said the September figure was lower than expected following the 65-plate change.
Latham observed: “Scooters sales were down by 6.6% in the month, and bikes in the sub-50cc category continued their downward trend, posting a 17.1% decline in September.
“The 51-125cc sector recorded an 11% growth, and sales 650-1000c mid powered machines were up 22.5% in the month. It was also positive to see a 16% increase in sales of prestigious motorcycles over 1000cc – indicating owners of these expensive models were keen to hold out and purchase the new 65-plate.
“In 2014, bike registrations passed the 100,000 mark. By spring there were predictions of a further 10% growth in 2015, taking the total to 110,000, and a few months ago expectations were that even this prediction could be beaten. This now seems unrealistic.”
Honda was the top manufacturer in September with 2457 machines registered, followed by Yamaha with 1472 units, and closely followed by BMW with 1417.
“Motorcycle dealers feel that overall the market is not performing as well as expected,” Latham continued. “Today the cost of acquiring a new bike on PCP deals and other attractive finance packages is moving customers away from buying used bikes in favour of new bikes at lower monthly re-payments – resulting in a similar overall market size to last year.”
Latham said the NMDA, which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK, looked forward to seeing what the final quarter of 2015 had to offer in the motorcycle market.