November 2020 Registrations

UK 

08/12/2020

Shrugging off November’s lockdown in England, dealerships displayed impressive resilience, as overall numbers stayed within a whisker of year-on-year equality. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports on latest MCIA data.

During a month when English dealer showrooms had to close their doors again to trade remotely, and many were also suffering from inventory shortages, total registrations fell by just 0.4% to 5982.

Motorcycles were 0.4% down too, to 4038. Scooters sank by a firmer 7.8% at 1344, while mopeds added 12.1% to 511. Trikes climbed by 147.2% to 89.

This year’s Covid-beating success story in the 0-125cc range continued, albeit to a lesser degree than in recent months, growing by 4.8% to 3094 in November. For the eleven months of 2020 to date, the sector was 10.5% up to 42,744.

Conversely, November figures for 126cc-plus machines dropped by 5.4% to 2888. But within that, the 126-650cc band put on 3.9% to 1195. On a YTD basis, 126cc-plus has declined by 15.3% to 53,970. Headline YTD volume stood at 96,714, 5.6% in arrears.

November’s beauty parade of leading brands very much highlighted which of them had plenty of stock in desirable capacity classes at the right price, and those desperately awaiting replenishment.

As ever, Honda held sway at the front. But its year-on-year count plummeted by a cruel 49.6% due to the aforementioned empty-showroom syndrome. Lexmoto, on the other hand, grabbed runner-up slot with a 33.4% rise. Yamaha had to make do with third, 13.3% down despite its NMax 125 pushing Honda off the scooter podium and the Ténéré 700 winning 651-1000cc warfare.

KTM took a strong fourth spot thanks to registrations surging by 52.6%. Keenly-priced stars of that show were the 1290 Superduke GT taking naked style and highest-registered over-1000cc titles. The brand’s 300 EXC enduro iron did the same in its style category and the 126-650cc engine band.

Triumph was 5.2% up in fifth, beating arch-foe BMW, which had dived by 26.1%. Kawasaki followed in seventh, just 1.6% lower than last November’s tally.

MotoGB’s Keeway brand, a rather intermittent visitor to the chart, surfaced in eighth, its Superlight model taking both custom style and 51-125cc accolades. There was another rare appearance for Piaggio in ninth and Suzuki claimed the final position with registrations shrivelling by 24.4%.   

UK 

09/12/2020

“November’s motorcycle sales figures confirmed a fantastic year on year performance, during a challenging trading period, with dealers embracing the use of click and collect to meet consumer demand through the second lockdown”, said Paddy O’Connell, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA), which represents motorcycle dealers in the UK, commenting on the latest MCIA motorcycle sales figures.

Powered Two Wheels (PTW) registrations were only marginally down compared to November 2019, -0.4%, a real figure of just 22 units according to MCIA’s latest registration figures. Year to date, the motorcycle market is just 5.6% down from 2019.

The scooter market remains strong, up 3.0% year to date, despite some dealers reporting a lack of stock availability from manufacturers. In November, sales driven by new riders using motorcycles for first and last mile delivery services were hampered by the fact that Compulsory Basic Training could not be undertaken during the lockdown.

Sales increases in custom (up 49.4% in November), supersport (up 18%) and trail/enduro (up 23.2%) indicate that many are still turning to PTWs for their leisure time as travel and expenditure on many other hobbies are severely restricted.

Honda retained the top spot with the gap between themselves and Lexmoto narrowing. The wallet-friendly Keeway superlight was the outstanding winner in November with 176 units registered.

The growth in the electric motorcycles segment of the market does not seem to slow down: up 15.3% compared to November 2019 with an overall 45.7% increase year to date. Continuing to support the transition to electric vehicles, NFDA’s Government-backed Electric Vehicle Approved (EVA) scheme reopened in October. EVA has recently received the first applications from motorcycle dealers, showing motorcycle dealers’ growing expertise in the EV sector.

Paddy O’Connell, Head of NMDA, added: “November’s strong results pay testament to the resilience and flexibility of motorcycle dealers. Our members’ performance shone through and we will continue to work closely with them to offer assistance and support”.