May 2021 Registrations

UK 

09/06/2021

BDN financial editor Roger Willis attempts to crunch some very confusing and distorted numbers, against a background of ongoing disrupted logistics and global component shortages.

From the latest May 2021 MCIA registration data, we know there is a strong recovery from last year’s vicious Covid-inspired decline in the second quarter. But it’s still unclear whether momentum will be maintained to delivery genuine annual growth — and whether there will actually be sufficient stock available going forward, to satisfy apparently burgeoning demand.

Taking a direct comparison to May 2020 (when a bounce from April’s particularly dire tallies was already starting to gather pace), total monthly registrations this time around were 148.4% up to 13,398. The perhaps more crucial improvement for five months of the year to date was a 40.2% rise to 43,242.

However, to get a credible picture of where these figures are pointing, we should contrast them with progress in the entirely pre-pandemic sunlit uplands of 2019. In May that year, registrations were virtually flat on 10,871. But the YTD position had grown by 7% to 47,822 — and stood 10.6% ahead of our equivalent status now.

This doesn’t necessarily mean much, considering unrequited earlier-season 2021 demand, when desirable models were either unavailable or inaccessible. And that’s continued to same extent, with a paucity of colourways, specification choice and quantities stretching into the future for many brands.

Sticking to YTD 2021 versus YTD 2019 parameters illustrates a very real advance for the 0-125cc sector. On this basis, it has grown by 11.9% to 18,200 machines. Within that, 0-50cc (now including 4kW electric bikes) was the major success story, adding 44.6% to 3549. Some 1582 of them were electric, against battery-powered volume too negligible to be counted back in 2019. And, according to importer VMoto, almost a third of these were Super Soco CPX scooters.

The 51-125cc contribution was more modest, increasing by just 6% to 14,651 from two years ago. And we have to recognise that the surge in fleet registrations, primarily for food delivery operators, can claim a large measure of responsibility. Yamaha’s NMax 125 scooter remained star of this show, boasting absolute highest-registered accolade once again in May thanks to another 659 samples. It also holds the YTD trophy as well, with an overall market share now exceeding 5% on my reckoning — and accounting for at least 40% of Yamaha’s entire sales.

For the 126cc-plus sector, YTD 2021 versus YTD 2019, the picture is altogether less attractive. Registrations of larger bikes were 20.6% down to 25,042, with the shortfall an approximately even spread across 126-650cc, 651-1000cc and over-1000cc engine bands.

Individual performance by leading brands in May 2021 against the same month in pre-pandemic 2019 is an occasionally enlightening exercise, undoubtedly queered by inventory gaps. Honda on the top step put on 13.8%. Yamaha soared by 43%. Triumph, boosted by its new Trident model, added 12.2% in third spot. BMW achieved a 30.5% lift but Kawasaki only managed a 2.8% improvement. KTM rose by 5.5%. Lexmoto was the most dramatic loser, 29.9% down on May 2019 and 34.1% lower than in May last year! Harley-Davidson lost 19.2%. Ducati grew by 4.3%.

It’ll be an enormous relief when we see June 2021 data, because that will herald a return to year-on-year comparative normality without guesswork.      

UK 

09/06/2021

“Power Two Wheelers (PTWs) have shown a positive year-on-year increase of 340% (13,398 units), however it is important to note that dealers were in the midst of a national lockdown and restricted trading during the same period last year”, said Paddy O’Connell, head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents PTW dealers in the UK, commenting on the latest MCIA’s figures.

MCIA’s latest registration figures showed year to date, PTWs are down almost -10% (42,242 units) compared to pre-pandemic figures in 2019 where sales totalled 47,882 units. With the first part of this year hindered by further lockdowns, a 123% month-on-month increase compared to May 2019 (10,871 units) is welcome news.

May saw sales of ePTWs carrying on their upward trend, specifically the lower power output (1-4KW) iterations, which achieved sales of 427 units. When compared to figures for their closest internal combustion engines (ICE) equivalent, the 0-50cc segment sold 927 units. ePTWs are now making up 46% of this section, in comparison to 29.2% last month.

Once again, it was Sports Tourers that have failed to catch-up so far this year. This sector is down -33.1% down on year to date figures compared to 2020. Interestingly, Supersports have made headway over the same period and have caught up and surpassed their 2020 year-to date performance (+ 5.8%). Kawasaki’s Ninja 1000 SX helped this by registering a further 118 units.

Larger engine scooters (51-125cc) were dominated by the Yamaha NMAX 125 with a stellar 659 registered units, more than doubling the numbers for any other single model, from any category. Naked bikes continue to lead the motorcycle sector with 4,567 registrations in May. Honda’s commuter and learner friendly CBF125 gained 304 registrations, followed by the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 (189 units) and Triumph’s recently launched Trident 660 (163 units).

Paddy O’Connell added, “With order banks continuing to grow, the main issue to consider will be manufacturer supply. With all major brands largely being in the same situation, this may seem like a favourable situation for dealers to hold on to margins.

“The NMDA continues to encourage members to get behind the #DestinationDealer campaign. This initiative is to help dealers reconnect with their customers and remind them that Motorcycle and Scooter showrooms are not just a place to transact, they are also a place to chat, have a coffee, look at the new products and meet up with like-minded people”.