August motorcycle sales up despite impending plate change

Referring to the latest figures from the Motorcycle Industry Association, Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK, said: “It is encouraging to see that registrations of motorcycles in the UK grew by 9.1 per cent in August from the same month last year”.

In number terms, August registrations are always low due to the volume of customers who prefer to wait until September to obtain the latest registration plate on their new machine. As a result of the monthly increase, the year to date picture shows a steady growth of 2 per cent for the first eight months of this year.

One of the positive movements in August, as well as throughout the whole year, is the upturn in sales of scooters. This segment of the market rose by 28.4 per cent in August and it is 4.3 per cent up year to date, despite the concerns surrounding theft and crime in the main metropolitan cities.

All power ranges, apart from the sub 50cc machines, showed growth in August. Despite the -9.4 per cent decline throughout the year, the mid-range 651-1000cc machines were up 9.5 per cent in August.

Latham continued, “Honda continued to lead with 1,259 registrations in August. Yamaha was in second position with 919 new motorcycles on the road, followed by Triumph with 500 machines licensed and Lexmoto with 462 bikes sold.

“Due to low overall volumes being registered, the Royal Enfield Classic Bullet was the top selling motorcycle in the 126-650cc range with 106 units sold in the month.

“Although August was a small volume month in relative terms, dealers are feeling optimistic about September. Going forward, the market is expected to remain steady throughout the remainder of 2018”.