With the final months of 2023 signalling a challenging time for motorcycle sales, it is promising to see a turnaround as we enter 2024. It is encouraging to see these positive sales when we look at the current economic climate and the impact of the usual winter months,” says Symon Cook, head of the NMDA, commenting on the latest MCIA registration figures.
In January, there was a 4.8% increase in total registrations year-on-year, from 5765 to 6043 units. Total moped and motorcycle sales increased by 5.3% and 5.1%, respectively.
Most motorcycle style categories saw an increase in registrations. The adventure and modern classic categories witnessed the most significant rises, going from 978 to 1128 and from 524 to 631 units respectively, equating to increases of 15.3% and 20.4%. Looking at the figures, most motorcycle categories continue to see growth. However, some saw a slight decrease, such as competition, which saw a drop of 8.6%, and touring, which saw a decrease of 43.4%.
In the current market landscape, electric registrations increased from 201 to 253 units, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%, signalling that electric adoption is slow, but steadily increasing.
January’s figures also revealed a decrease in 501-750cc motorcycles of 23.8%, however, 126-500cc motorcycles saw an increase of 24.9%, and 751-1000cc saw a rise of 36.3%.
Honda remains the top-selling brand in the market, with 1333 units sold in January.
Yamaha comes in second with 702 units. Triumph completes the top three with 616 units, whilst Piaggio completes the top 10 with 137 units.
Cook concluded: “With January typically being a slower month for two-wheeler registrations, these figures signal a good start to the year. Regarding electric motorcycle registrations, it is great to see a slight increase, considering that these have typically struggled, especially in comparison to their four-wheel counterparts. We can expect and hope this increase will continue throughout the year. Hopefully, as the year progresses, so too will the registrations of all types of motorcycles.”