December Used Stats

Glass’s used market overview

Used sales and enquiry levels have also been quieter recently compared to the last few years.

However, as with the market for  new machinery, some dealers reported an uptick in activity towards the end of December. There has not been any clear trend as to what has been particularly sought after recently, but good clean machines will always sell if priced correctly. Stock remains plentiful with many dealers only purchasing if the machine is particularly good, and are otherwise only taking in part-exchanges as they report they are well stocked for the season ahead.

2023 proved to be a strong year for some dealers, who enjoyed impressive levels of used sales and decent profit margins. 

Outlook

December was a mild but very wet month overall, and although January has seen some drier weather following a wet start, it has turned much colder with the threat of snow and ice.

Taking this into account and dealer stock levels being strong for the time of year, Glass’s expects values to moderately ease during the coming weeks.

Paul McDonald
Leisure Vehicles Editor

Honda losing its grip?

Well, we’re well into the new year now, and can’t wait for the frosty weather to disappear and spring to start springing.

In the meantime, there have been some fairly major shifts in buyer behaviour on the MCN website. Most notable is the Bikes for Sale section, which has seen Honda’s bikes go from occupying the top three positions for most of 2023, to having none in the leading trio. Overall share for Honda has also dropped to 18%, which is the lowest it’s been since we started recording this data.

Over in Bike Reviews, Honda has dropped to 18% of the sessions there too. Royal Enfield’s latest adventure bike, the Himalayan 450, and the Kawasaki ZX-4RR sports bike are the biggest new launches for 2024 so far, while Triumph Trident 660 naked remains a very popular model; we can’t wait to ride the Daytona 660 sports bike using the very same engine.

Gareth Evans Online editor, MCN

Bikes for Sale

1. KTM 690 SMC R

2. Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa

3. KTM 690 Duke

4. Honda GL1800 Gold Wing

5. KTM 690 Enduro R

6. Honda NC750X

7. KTM 1290 Super Adventure R

8. Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin

9. Honda VFR800

10. Yamaha R1

MCN Reviews

1. Honda 17.5%

2. Kawasaki 14.7%

3. Yamaha 11.5%

4. BMW 9.3%

5. Suzuki 9.0%

6. Triumph 8.9%

7. Ducati 5.6%

8. Royal Enfield 4.0%

9. KTM 3.3%

10. Harley-Davidson 3.1%

Used Market receives a November boost

November marked the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth for used bike sales, with figures 9% ahead of the same period last year, making it a record November for used sales. Naked and adventure bikes are driving sales and seeing healthy increases in supply. Newer bikes aged up to three years old have been particularly popular, with year-on-year sales increasing by 26%.

The number of visits to the Auto Trader Bikes website maintained audience levels similar to November 2022, resulting in year-to-date growth of 4%. November is an import month for retailers who want a strong start to 2024 as many riders start their research in this month,with last year’s figures showing that 70% of bike buyers started researching in November 2022.

Lewis Norton
Insight manager, Auto Trader Bikes

Used Bikes Sold

Median days to sell

Supply continues to grow, as retailers replenished stock quickly , and consequently supply outstripped demand resulting in used bikes on average taking two days longer to sell than in November last year. Even with this slower speed of sales, used bikes sold in higher volumes than last year as used supply continues to increase. The fastest-selling bike in November 2023 was the Kawasaki Ninja 125, which took an average of just seven days to sell.

Market Health Year-on-Year

Demand for used motorcycles in November lagged somewhat compared to the prior year, but supply growth once again outpaced demand, resulting in a negative market health of -8% year-on-year. Overall demand declined, but bikes less than a year old saw improvements. However, as the market recovered from stock limitations, supply increased, continuing a pattern seen through the year.

Used market

W

ith the Christmas period out of the way and the world getting back into the swing of a new year, the industry should be looking forward to the upcoming season. But with the economy in the position it is, and with a looming general election that could cause major changes in the UK, there is some perception of treading water until more clarity is available.

As stock moves out of dealerships, it is being replaced, but at the closing of the first month of the year the rush for fresh stock for the upcoming season has yet to be seen at the usual levels experienced over the previous decade. Despite current stock availability being tighter, restocking patterns seem more reminiscent of the turn of the century, when stock was more plentiful and showrooms could be replenished at a more leisurely pace in the build-up to the new riding season.

One problem observed over the last 12 months is the amount of stock that was taken in part exchange or purchased when prices were elevated that remains unsold – stock that is a little on the expensive side to dispose of in the trade. This has been exacerbated by the larger trade price drops seen in the latter half of 2023 as availability increased. Historically, trade values did not drop as dealers with favourable cash flow availability continued to purchase over winter. We are currently in a situation where seasonal changes are more pronounced, and only time will tell if we return to more authentic buying patterns in the future. There will be a period of limbo until some clarity is seen and the market  settles into a more predictable pattern. There has been a sustained situation resulting from the lower prices that have continued into the new year. With little evidence of a change in demand on the horizon, price movements in this month’s data have been in a downward direction.

Auction overview

The biggest auction sale in the country, which sees the majority of major finance house and big dealer group entries, has started the year with similar quantities of machinery available as last year, but of the 132 lotted bikes, only 44 sold, not something generally seen at this time of year. In comparison, the same auction sale in 2023 had 121 entries, of which 83 sold. One noticeable difference this year is a larger amount of dealer group entries, which had a poor sale ratio compared to finance entries. As mentioned in the Used Market section, a possible reason could be the high stand-in values.

This year, when averaged, the result for the sale was 95% of CAP reported values, compared to 97% in 2023. Moving back another year to 2022, we saw significantly fewer entries as dealers held onto their stock, with demand higher, leading to a higher proportion sold, 60 from 81 (75%), and with a return overall of 101% of CAP.

Providing further evidence of the current state of flux in the industry, this is not a suggestion of imminent catastrophe, but more an indicator of movement to a different pattern than that seen over the last decade, and even a possible return to the previous seasonal changes.