“It is disappointing to see sales figures for August fall during the prime summer months when the motorcycle trade expects stonger sales,” said Symon Cook, head of The National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA), commenting on the latest MCIA registration figures for August.
“Adverse weather will have been a significant contributor towards this decline, as well as the all-important plate change month influencing riders to hold off on their purchases until September,” he added.
In August, total registrations fell by 7.1% from 8841 to 8209 units. The year-to-date market trails by 4%, with 80,500 units registered overall this year, falling from 83,821 at the same point last year.
“Some sectors performed particularly well this month, with ‘unspecified’ increasing by 211.1%, from 9 to 28 units; ‘road sport’ rising by 19.7%, from 583 to 698 units; ‘custom’ motorcycles increased by 18.8%, from 528 to 627 units; and ‘competition’ PTW’s rose by 12.7% to 399 units.
“The highest registering sector, namely scooters, fell by 20.9%, from 2350 units to 1858, which is disappointing for this time of year.
“Honda continues to lead the market as the manufacturer with the most registrations, despite its overal sales falling 3.4%, and its Honda PCX125 scooter was the overall top registered model, achieving 293 registrations.”
Cook rounded-off with an upbeat prediction of where the market is headed: “Dealers predict that the new plate change month of September will encourage a spike in registrations and finish off summer on a more positive note.”