Latest market update for July from European motorcycle manufacturers association ACEM shows that a powered two-wheeler sales retreat is persisting, mainly pulled down by Italy — which dropped by 31.5 per cent.
For Europe as a whole, bike sales shrank by 10.2 per cent in July to 112,556 units. For the seven months of 2013 to date, the market is down by 15.33 per cent to 754,454 units. Within that, motorcycle and over-50cc scooter registrations have fallen by 13 per cent while the moped sector was down 20.7 per cent.
An engine-capacity comparison shows that the 125cc segment overtook mopeds in 2012 and, despite a decline in 2013, 125cc machines remain steadily above 50cc sales. Mopeds represented 30 per cent of the whole PTW market in 2010, shrinking to 25 per cent now, while 125cc products grew from 23 per cent to 26 per cent currently, with a spike of 28 per cent in 2012. The possibility of riding 125cc PTWs on a car licence for commuter purposes in many EU member states explains this growth, says ACEM.
In the same period, the 1000cc-plus slot has increased its share from eight to ten per cent, indicating that big bikes are less affected by the crisis. But while some signs of growth can be reported in Germany and Austria, where over-50cc tackle has gained respectively 1.3 per cent and 6.2 per cent, no major EU market is indicating a consistent return to overall positive performance.
Apart from Italy — where the fall was exaggerated by a large volume of fleet scooter sales to the Italian Post Office last year — July figures also highlighted declines in France (16 per cent), Germany (5.6 per cent), Spain (13 per cent), the UK (5.3 per cent), Poland (17.5 per cent) and Holland (14 per cent).