April motorcycle sales up 7.3 per cent year-on-year

“The motorcycle market continued its upward trend in April, with sales up 7.3 per cent ahead of the same period last year and up 9.4 per cent year-to-date”, said Stephen Latham, Head of the National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents motorcycle retailers across the UK. The figures were released by the Motor Cycle Industry Association

In total, 36,951 bikes have been put on UK roads so far 2019, up by 3,188 registrations compared to 2018.

The 50cc moped market was up 64.2 per cent in April registering 609 bikes compared to 371 last year. This is encouraging to see as it reflects new riders and commuters entering the market. The naked bike sector saw the biggest increase with 3,183 bikes registered, 324 more than April 2018. Both the sport/tour and trail/enduro sectors both saw a decline of just over -27 per cent, although the trail/enduro are overall holding up their sales with a modest increase of 2.6 per cent over last year.

All power sectors increased in April, with the exception of the over 100ccc machines which saw a decline of -8.2 per cent, however overall year-to-date the sector is still stable with a modest increase of 0.9 per cent.

Manufacturer wise, Honda was the leading seller registering 1,679 bikes in April, followed by Yamaha in second place with 1,074 registrations and BMW in third place with 811 bikes registered. Ducati moved up to 9th position with 67 registrations of its PANIGALE V4 model, and again Royal Enfield with its new Interceptor INT-650 was the top selling model in the naked sector with 153 registrations.

Latham continued, “Dealers have reported a buoyant first quarter and are optimistic that the strong motorcycle market trend is here to stay. Whilst there is some concern about additional business costs related to upgrading facilities revising corporate identity, we look forward to seeing what the second quarter brings.”