It’s always reassuring, writes Steve Latham of the NMDA, to see consistent gains in the market and this April confirms an 11% increase in line with the year-to-date growth of 11.5%.
The sub-50cc scooter/moped market is still declining at -5% but this is very much in contrast to the 51 – 125cc sales, which are showing healthy growth in April of 12.6%, thus delivering 3792 machines to customers, most likely for commuting as the employment figures strengthen.
While most sectors of the over 51cc motorcycle market improved, the highest percentage growth came from the 651 – 1000cc machines, where the increase was 28%, with 2758 bikes sold in the month. This must indicate customer confidence in the economy as these machines are usually bought for sport and leisure purposes.
As brands go, Honda and Yamaha were market leaders but in third place was Triumph, with 856 motorcycles registered in the month. This means Triumph leads the market in the over 500cc sector, which is where a high proportion of the market growth is coming from. The budget motorcycle brand of Lexmoto is back in contention for higher volume sales levels, recording sixth position with 561 registrations. this indicates strong demand for simple budget machines for new or past bikers re-entering the market and needing value transport.
In style sectors ‘naked’ machines did the best, with a 33.7% improvement over last April. It must be remembered that many of these motorcycles are the preferred choice of young bikers entering the world of motorcycling.
The NMDA is confident, says Latham, that the consistency of market growth so far this year of around 10% will continue as inflation, employment and economic growth seem stable for the year.