Expecting the aftermath of last December’s Euro 5 pre-registrations frenzy to simply disappear in January was nonsense, of course. Approaching 6000 extra bikes had been plated compared to the tally in December 2023. Most of them are now gathering dust in distributors’ warehouses and dealer showrooms, wistfully seeking discount buyers. In addition, a substantial volume of machines have also received Euro 5+ derogation status, padding out the surplus stock mountain and therefore harder to sell at list prices.
Against such a difficult background it was no surprise that total new year registrations in January 2025 plummeted by 30.5% to a mere 4201 units. The headcount of motorcycles and over-50cc or over-4kW scooters plunged by 30.4% to 3936. Specifically, scooters suffered a 46% dive to 859. Mopeds were 35.3% down to only 231. It was laughable that trikes bucked this otherwise miserable trend to register a 13.3% increase to 34 units. For the record, eight of them were BRP Can-Am Ryker 900 products and six came from Piaggio’s MP3 310 stable.
The fact that battery-electric numbers dropped by 32% to a gestural 172 units provided a splash of depressing normality. ICE gas-guzzlers spanning all capacities were 30.4% in arrears on 4029 units.
It was easy to spot where pre-registered machines had been sucking the life out of new sales. Bottom-rung 0-125cc mobility sector stuff was 40.5% lower on 1476 units. The budget-oriented 126-500cc range posted a 31.2% decline to 864 units but copped a “best seller” boost from the arrival of Honda’s super-cheap GB350S single to attack Triumph and Royal Enfield contenders. (Although this might have involved the arrival of a fleet of dealer demonstrators.) Middleweight 501-750cc models retreated by 26.3% to just 364 units, headed up by the unlikely apparition of Honda’s ADV 750.
However, the 751-1000cc slot was untypically robust, only 5.9% down at 756 units, with the Honda CB1000 Hornet and BMW S1000 RR duelling for best-seller honours. Finally, the 1000cc-plus premium presence fell by 24.6% to 569 units. Another close fight, between the Honda NT1100 and BMW R1300 GS, was settled by a one-bike lead for the former.
When we get to the MCIA’s best-selling brands chart, there are all sorts of obvious qualifications, not least that we have entered the new year with the economy in fairly dire straits – hardly encouraging to sales of motorcycles or pretty much anything else.
In January, Honda hung on to its historic lead, but year-on-year headcount sank by 36.2% to 851 units. Hardly surprising when it must be struggling to get rid of more than 600 obsolete PCX125 scooters pre-registered in the previous month. Suffering with similar problems, Yamaha was 36.9% down to 443 units. BMW Motorrad, on the other hand, hadn’t saddled itself with much in the way of pre-registrations (or any!) and pursued business as usual – with year-on-year sales rising by 26% to 412 units. Triumph wasn’t so cocky, 37% down to 388 units. KTM fell by 12% to 241 units, and is known to be desperately discounting stock left, right and centre.
From there onwards, drawing conclusions was more hit and miss. Lexmoto declined by 17.3% to 210 units. Kawasaki was 9% down to 151 units. Ducati and Beta respectively flagged up sales of 91 and 79 units, with year-on-year comparisons unavailable. Closing the show, Royal Enfield slumped by 54.5% to 76 units but is reportedly a late-comer to releasing derogated stock to dealers.