New Motorcycle Registrations Continue to Slide

The UK motorcycle market continues to slide, despite manufacturers' best efforts to revive new motorcycle sales.

The MCIA sales data for August paints a fairly bleak picture, which in some way mirrors the UK’s economy which has just flatlined for the second month in a row. The MCIA’s data shows that August 2024 was 5.8 per cent down when compared to last year, and after two consecutive months of slow sales, July sales were 7.3 per cent down Year-on-year, new bike registrations have slumped down 2.1 per cent compared to 2023.

Some segments did see growth in August, with electric bikes registering 353 sales and posting a 5.7 per cent increase in sales. Following the electric bikes were modern classics, which registered 1,005 new bike sales, 23.3 per cent more than the previous year. In the modern classic sector, the Triumph Speed 400 continues to be the go-to machine, with 135 of them rumbling out of dealerships last month. The best-selling electric bike was the Vmoto Super Soco CPX, going some way to prove that the small capacity (less than 11kW) electric motorcycle sector is still the one that makes the most sense to UK consumers.

One star of July’s sales data was the renewed Honda CBR600RR, which registered 71 sales in the mid-summer month. That has waned slightly as Autumn drew closer, although 68 examples found new homes in August, proving there is still an appetite for the pocket-rocker racer.

Yamaha’s recently released MT-09 SP was the star of the 751 to 1000cc segment, with 60 examples finding new homes and leading to the model out-selling the BMW R1300 GS which shifted 58 units.

Of the brands represented in the UK, Honda is still at the top of the charts, posting 1,168 new registrations. It is followed by Yamaha on 893, and Triumph on 726.

Speaking about the results for August, Tony Campbell, CEO of MCIA, said:

“Unfortunately we are yet to see any positive moves by the new Government to boost confidence with their “quite doom and gloom” approach thus far. Whilst our sector appreciates Government has to face the realities of a tough economy, it is extremely important to drive economic growth by ensuring our customers have security and confidence in their personal finances. This new Government appear to have ambitious plans in terms of the net zero objectives, we are therefore calling on the Transport Ministerial team to focus on the L-Category that will be the enabler to these challenging goals. The Government is yet to announce any real policies on incentivising the shift to low and zero emission L-category vehicles, it is crucial that they focus on creating industrial opportunities and implementing the right demand-side policies to drive consumer confidence and uptake. Full and proper implementation of our Action Plan is essential to ensuring both supply and demand are supported, paving the way for a cleaner and more sustainable future”.