Given a welcome flash of registrations positivity in the grim early months of 2024, perhaps we could be forgiven for wishful thinking as to the likelihood of a bumper new-plate month in March. What we got instead was a reversal. Not major, but an unforeseen reversal nevertheless, as monthly headcount declined by 3.7% to 16,803 units. Petrolhead participation retreated by 4% to 16,433, while battery-electric products rose by 16% to a hardly earth-shattering tally of 370.
Motorcycles were 2.4% down to 13,549. Over-50cc scooters fell by 9.5% to 2651. Mopeds were 4.4% in arrears on 505 and trikes suffered an 11.7% drop to 98.
Within the realm of internal combustion, up-to-125cc mobility steeds sank by 7.2% to 4089. Lurking within them, a useful haul of 415 best-selling Yamaha NMax scooters kept the fleet delivery flag flying. But beyond that, only the 126-500cc sector boasted growth, rising by 22.4% to 3184 — notionally a feast of A2 entry-level offerings but in reality populated mainly by budget-conscious enthusiast purchases. Some 222 samples of Triumph’s bargain Scrambler 400X led the field, no doubt closely followed by its Speed 400 version. And they, in turn, were pursued by 146 even cheaper 350 Meteors from Royal Enfield, taking Custom style category honours.
Bad news kicked in for the 501-750cc range, which was 14.8% down to 2245. Yamaha sold 187 MT-07 ABS models to stay ahead of this weaker game. Then the usually reliable 751-1000cc cash cow was on the back foot too, 8.9% lower versus new-plate March last year with 3301 sales. At least Triumph registered another bonus, thanks to 161 Tiger 900 GT Pro best-sellers parked out in front of the opposition. Finally, 1000cc-plus kit was also behind the loop, losing 6.3% at 3614. All the same, BMW Motorrad took bragging rights, flaunting sales of 431 R1300GS machines to dominate the premier league.
Among the top-ten array of major brands in this crucial new-plate month, it was striking that perennial Honda leadership also involved a 6.1% unit sales decline. Runner-up Triumph, on the other hand, basked in healthy 15.4% growth. Conversely, BMW Motorrad in third spot joined the losers — 4.3% down despite muscular R1300GS volume accounting for almost a quarter of sales. Yamaha in fourth went the other way, a similarly-proportioned boost from NMax 125 fleet output helping to lift headcount by 10.2%. (Although it has to be said BMW pricing would have banked a lot more lolly.) Completing the top five, Kawasaki surged by 14.9% and was the final contender achieving four-figure numbers.
Sixth-placed Royal Enfield obviously overcame some recent difficulties getting stock to dealers, as sales grew by a modest 3.9%. However, KTM followed with an embarrassingly torrid month, some 17.1% fewer bikes ridden away from its showrooms. Suzuki was also thus afflicted, 24% down owing to what had to be new-model availability issues. Ducati in ninth also dipped by a significant 8.4%. Finally, Lexmoto reappeared in the chart after a stock-famine absence in March 2023. Harley-Davidson, which had figured on the tail end last year, failed to qualify this time around.
The inescapable fact at the conclusion of Q1 is blithely confident predictions about market recovery have lost their certainty. Total year-to-date registrations of 27,952 units are now marginally negative by 0.2%. For what it’s worth — not much — electric PTW sales are 4.6% up to 774. The petrolhead mainstream is 0.4% down to 27,178.