With barely a fortnight of commercial trading and seasonally reluctant big-ticket consumers, December new bike registrations are never much to boast about. The final month of 2023 proved to be considerably worse than usual. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
According to MCIA data, the total monthly headcount sank by 11.6% to just 5236 units. Within that tally, motorcycles were 11.3% down to 3521. Scooters fell by 9.1% to 1333. Mopeds were 13.9% in arrears on 352 and trikes executed a 63.4% dive to just 30. Petrolhead contenders copped a 9.9% loss to 4980 units, while the battery-electric firmament posted a 35.7% decline to only 256.
Sticking to ICE stuff, the up-to-125cc mobility/fleet sector retreated by 12.4% to 2096. Some mercy came from Yamaha’s urgent injection of 264 NMax 125 scooters, presumably for mince-pie deliveries. The 126-500cc bracket, mixing larger mobility steeds and entry-level enthusiast tackle, plunged by 32.1% to a mere 684 machines plated. Royal Enfield 350cc products, usually best-selling features, were mysteriously absent. Perhaps a “cold turkey” joke should be inserted here. The 501-750cc slot didn’t do much better, 18% down to 501 bikes, although an Xmas bonus for Yamaha was 48 samples of the MT-07 ABS claiming best-seller status.
Yuletide jingle bells were reserved for higher capacity classes, particularly those available from showrooms with BMW Motorrad ID upon their facades. The increasingly popular 751-1000cc range earned its keep, rising by 17.9% to 765. BMW’s “budget” F750GS was best-seller. And 1000cc-plus premium kit was 7.6% up to 934, of which approximately one-fifth were the latest whizz-bang BMW R1300GS Bavarian tractors. Pass the glüwein and drink to their success!
Supposedly best-selling brands struggled for traction. Honda hung onto hegemony by a surprisingly small margin — 32.4% down to just 863 products plated. Perhaps Honda dealerships closed early for Christmas. Yamaha totalled 651, 24.7% up, with sturdy help from the aforementioned NMax scooter fleet comprising about 40% of entire headcount. Third step of the podium went to BMW, of course, thanks to a 22.8% increase to 604.
Triumph was relegated to fourth spot, a marginal 0.4% lower on just 309. KTM was in hot pursuit, 33.8% higher on 281. Suzuki maintained its creeping advance with a 13.2% improvement to 227. Kawasaki dropped by 8.1% to 239. But that included a useful 43 Ninja 1000SX models. Lexmoto followed on an 8.2% increase to 210. Roughly a quarter of its registrations were bargain-basement Echo 50 mopeds. Piaggio shifted 157 machines, 25.2% down versus December 2022. Finally, Ducati shut the door, having plated 137 late-season offerings. Two dozen of these were Scramblers, claiming the best-selling Modern Classic title.
Total registrations for 2023 were 2.5% down to 113,589. Products with internal combustion engines fell by a more marginal 0.4% to 109,527. The battery-electric market plummeted by 37.8% to 4062 units. A more detailed analysis of 2023 performance will appear in the February issue of BDN.