Motorcycle dealers optimistic after good 2021 figures

December 2021 sales fall on supply constraints

“With 2021 plagued by Covid-related lockdowns, staffing issues and restricted supply, we should nonetheless enter 2022 with optimism after a 9.3 per cent increase in Power Two Wheeler (PTW) registrations compared to 2020”, said Paddy O’Connell, head of National Motorcycle Dealers Association (NMDA) which represents PTW dealers in the UK, commenting on the latest MCIA statistics.

December’s registration figures from MCIA bring together the full results for two-wheeler sales during 2021, revealing that PTW sales rose by 9.3 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, from 104,612 to 114,371 total units.

Despite the yearly increase, year-on-year figures for December were below those of 2020, experiencing a -24.2 per cent (1,910 units) decrease. This can be attributed to manufacturer supply constraints made up of a variety of issues concerning supply of materials, components and logistics in general.

One sector that continues to grow is that of ePTWs with a year-on-year growth of 48.6 per cent to 413 units – 283 of these registered in the 1-4KW category. When taking into consideration that this power output is most comparable with 0-50cc internal combustion engines (ICE) (that achieved 735 units in total), it is interesting to see that ePTWs contributed to 27.8 per cent of that market. This figure increases to 31.6 per cent of that market when looking at the full years in comparison to 2020.

December saw the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure claim the second highest registering bike, with 136 units, pipped on this occasion by Honda’s stalwart, commute and first-bike friendly CBF 125 M (167 units). Honda once again retained top spot for the most registrations with 976 units for the month.

Paddy O’Connell concluded: “On the whole, PTW dealers have continued to innovate and invest in digitisation, and as a result are reporting good levels of footfall, forward orders and used PTW sales continue to perform strongly.

”With more ePTW product readily available, your NMDA continues to represent the voice of retailers regarding Government’s plans for transport decarbonisation. It is encouraging to see this uplift in ePTW sales which may indeed indicate not solely the move towards zero emission PTWs in urban areas for last mile delivery and commuting, but also a potential way to attract new riders.

“As Government continues to push their net-zero agenda, engagement with our members through communications and meetings are becoming ever more important. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our dealer members in 2022.”