Motorcycle Dealer Closures - What's Going On?

Unless you’ve been residing on Mars you can’t help but have noticed there’s been a spate of motorcycle dealers closing or falling into administration in recent months.

One of the most recent, the collapse of the Completely Motorbikes group which alone boasted 10 dealers across the UK, made national headlines due to its size putting the whole issue under the spotlight.

But there have been significant others, too. Back in July, West Midlands dealer Streetbike in Halesowen, which sold Triumph, Yamaha and Suzuki, closed its doors, leading to 18 redundancies.

In early September it was reported that Saltire Motorcycles of Edinburgh, which sold KTM, Husqvarna, Indian, Royal Enfield, BSA, Mutt and SYM, had closed and appointed administrators. Later that month, historic Kawasaki dealer John W Groombridge of East Sussex announced it was to cease trading after 73 years in business.

That was just the start. In early October came the shock news about the Completely Motorbikes group. Later that month we reported that well-respected, long-established dealer Pidcock, which sold Ducati, BMW and Triumph among others, was to close two of its three East Midlands stores. And most recently, Colchester Kawasaki has been put up for sale with uncertainty remaining over its future. There are plenty of other rumours of dealers in difficulty, too.

So, what’s going on? And should we all, as motorcyclists, be concerned for the future? The short answer is that although trading conditions are difficult, there are a huge variety of reasons why each specific dealer fell into trouble. And, second, no, we probably shouldn’t – new bike sales generally remain healthy, it’s just the way we’re buying them that has changed.

The liquidators of Streetbike, for example, blamed a downturn in business due to the cost-of-living crisis but also the slow sales of electric motorcycles as significant factors. Groombridge also cited “continuously rising costs, pressure within the industry, reduced profits and the current economic climate.”

The administrator for Completely Motorcycles cited a “poor summer sales period”. While Pidcocks mentioned a “challenging trading period”.

The thing is, according to the latest MCIA (Motor Cycle Industry Association) new bike sales on the whole remain fairly strong with just a 3.8 per cent decline in sales across all capacities over the first nine months of 2024 compared to 2023 – so what’s changed?

In short – two things. The types of bikes we’re buying, and how we buy them, and both are bad news for traditional dealers.

First, although overall sales remain strong, that disguises the fact there’s been a significant drop in big bike (751-1000cc) sales, which are down 8.7 per cent, although this has been disguised to some degree by the growth in sales of smaller bikes (126-500cc) which are up 20.4 per cent.

In other words, to pick one brand out at random, Triumph dealers may be selling loads of its new 400cc singles, the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X (below), but at the same time sales of big bikes like the Rocket 3 and Tiger 1200, going by the number of offers available, haven’t met expectations – and no prizes for guessing which produce the bigger profit margins.

Second, the way we’re buying bikes is changing, too. These are the days of ‘online buying’, whether that’s Amazon, electricals or vehicles. Car retailing has changed massively in recent years, with the likes of Cazoo and CarWow paving the way for the brands themselves to now offer an online new buying experience without much need for dealers. Bikes are now following suit, and if you don’t wander around a dealer like you used to, ultimately that dealer isn’t going to get as many sales.

So, no, the news of these closures doesn’t mean motorcycling is in danger, but the traditional way dealers operate certainly could be.