“With motorcycle registrations improving by 2.8% on the previous January, the start of the new year is heading in the right direction,” said Stephen Latham, head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK.
According to MCIA data, a total of 6146 new motorcycles were registered throughout January, an increase from 5976 in January 2019.
“Much of the growth came from the higher-powered 651-1000cc and over-1000cc sectors,” Latham observed, “with increases of 22.1% and 15.4% respectively. This is not unusual for a January when bikers of the higher-powered prestigious and performance machines want a registration in the new year and not in the tail-end of 2019, thus ensuring that the second-hand residual value is maximised when the bike is next part-exchanged.
“In style terms, the naked motorcycle sector showed impressive volume growth with an increase of 22.8% to 1791 units, no doubt assisted with the introduction of new models such as the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. Although much lower in volume terms, strong growth of 35.1% was seen from the supersport sector.”
Latham noted that the Honda PCX125 saw the highest number of registrations in January, with 216, followed by the BMW R1250GS with 98, and the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 in third with 72 sold.
There were also changes in brand positioning, with Lexmoto up to third position, and Royal Enfield entering the top-10 brands in tenth. However, Honda remained at the top with 1280 registrations, while Italian makes Ducati and Piaggio have fallen from January’s top-10 list with fewer than 148 registrations in the month.
Latham continued: “While dealers are optimistic that improved political stability will increase customer footfall, they are still concerned about future price increases that could affect them due to economic changes.
“Nevertheless, we look forward to seeing the direction the market goes in the February results.”