“Demand for motorcycles continued its downward trend in November – marking 11 consecutive months of decline in the market,” said Stephen Latham, head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.
Registrations in November fell by 17.7% compared with the same period last year, and the year-to-date decline currently stands at 15.7%. In total, 6288 bikes were registered in the month.
Latham continued: “There is certainty that the change from Euro 3 to Euro 4 forced the market to pre-register machines in the final quarter of 2016, and this is borne out by the huge slump in sales and registrations of 51-125cc motorcycles which are down 28.5% in November and 32.8% for the year. Absorbing these pre-registration has ultimately suppressed the sales of new machines this year.
“With the country in a period of uncertainty about the progress made towards Brexit, our currency is devaluing, making imported goods more expensive. In addition, consumers are holding back on buying big-ticket items – which is the same case with the decline in car and van registrations this year. So even with the Euro3 issue out of the way, it is unlikely the market in 2018 will return to the rampant motorcycle registrations achieved in 2016.
“The top-selling brands in November were Honda and Yamaha respectively, followed in third position by KTM which registered 432 registrations. Brands such as Triumph, Suzuki and Lexmoto all registered between 350 to 400 units in the month.
“Despite all of this, it is encouraging to see that sales of more expensive larger bikes above 126cc remain stable. Year to date this particular range of bikes is only down by 2265 registrations compared with last year, clearly showing that the market distortion is only down to the pre-registration of bikes up to 125cc. This paired up with the uncertainty in the economy has certainly made 2017 a very challenging year for motorcycle dealers throughout the UK.”