Earlier this year the MCIA predicted that we would see another rise in the sales of new motorcycles and scooters in the UK for 2015, after 2014 figures were the best the industry has seen since 2009.
Well, the first set of sales figures are in for 2015, and bike sales in January were up 11.3% – or just over 500 extra units in total.
Sales of new motorcycles and scooters were actually up 14.7% in January 2015, when compared with the same month the previous year. However, the numbers were dragged down somewhat by the moped sector, which was down 9.8% for the first month of the year.
Last year the naked bike segment was responsible for driving much of the growth, and this January it saw a superb 43% rise in sales. Touring bike sales were also up 36.4%, and the adventure sport segment 34.4%. Trail & Enduro machines saw an 8.8% rise in registrations in January, and scooter sales were 4.4% up. There were two motorcycle segments which saw a fall in sales, Sport Touring and Supersport, which were down 19.5% and 7.5% respectively. The sales of Custom bikes remained somewhat flat, with a 1.8% increase, equivalent to 6 extra units.
All engine power bands saw a rise in sales, bar the 0 – 50cc segment which fell by 8.5%. With Michelin recently reporting a big rise in the number of under-25’s taking a CBT in 2014, the learner legal 51 – 125cc engine band was up 10.3%. After struggling with the after effects of changes to the bike test, the A2 legal 126 – 650cc segment also saw strong growth of 12.4%. 651 – 1000cc machine sales saw a strong 20.3% increase in sales this January, and Over 1000cc engine band sales were up 24.5%.
As they did every single month of 2014, Honda have once again topped the list of highest selling manufacturers, with 1067 new units on the road. In second place, selling less than half of the Honda total was Yamaha, who sold 528 units. Triumph took third spot with 352 units, then KTM (239), BMW (228), Kawasaki (228) and Harley-Davidson (199).
The top selling model of the month was the learner legal Honda PCX125, and the top selling models by segment were as follows:
- Adventure Sport – Honda NC750X
- Custom – Keeway Superlight
- Naked – Honda CBF125M
- Scooter – Honda PCX125
- Sport Touring – Kawasaki Z1000SX
- Supersport – Honda CBR125R
- Touring – BMW R1200RT
- Trail & Enduro – Honda CRF250L
So that’s the first month of the year out of the way, and it’s a very positive start for the two wheel trade, so let’s hope things continue both onwards and upwards from here on in!
