March 2024 Registrations

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 R1300 GS 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 R1300 GS 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.

Roger Willis

BDN financial editor 

Registrations fall, but electric sector sees modest gains

March, a month typically marked by a surge in registrations due to the plate change, saw a notable 3.7% decrease in new powered two-wheeler (PTW) registrations compared to the same period last year. Despite this, the PTW market remained robust, with a total of 16,803 registrations.

In March, total registrations went down to 16,803 units from the previous year’s 17,443 units. Year-to-date total registrations also experienced a slight decline of 0.2%, dropping from 28,022 units for the first quarter 2023 to 27,952 units this quarter.

Small-capacity machinery suffered the worst, with total moped and motorcycle sales decreasing by 4.4% and 3.6%, respectively.

While most of the motorcycle style categories experienced a decline in registrations, the adventure, road sport and “unspecified” categories bucked the trend with 5.2%, 17.8% and 54.5% increases respectively. Looking at the year-to-date figures, several motorcycle categories showed growth, but others also saw a decrease. Naked models have decrease over the three-month period by 9.3%, from 5883 units to 5336 units, while in contrast road sport models grew by 18.5%, climbing from 2162 units to 2561 units.

In terms of capacity, the year-to-date figures reveal an increase in 126-500cc motorbikes from 4425 units to 5334 units, with the Triumph Scrambler 400X the leading model in the category.

Honda remains the top-selling brand in the market, with 3079 units sold in March. Triumph comes in second with 1968 units. And BMW completes the top three with 1906 units. Lexmoto completes the top 10 with 466 units.

In the current market landscape, internal combustion engine (ICE) motorbikes continue to hold sway over their electric counterparts. Electric registrations for the year to date stand at 774, marking a 4.6% increase from the previous year. For the month of March, electric registrations saw a healthy 16.0% uptick, from 319 units to 370 units.

Symon Cook, head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA), concluded: “As we enter spring and the peak months of the market, we should start to see new PTW registrations pick up in the next quarter. Whilst the electric sector has seen slight growth, ICE still dominates in terms of market share. Following a disappointing Spring Budget for the sector, we urge the Government to do more to ensure PTWs are not left behind in the government’s Net Zero plans.”

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