THE MCIA has published its monthly stats detailing how the UK motorcycle market is performing. And while growth in November was down on the previous year, there could be some very valid reasons for this.
Compared to the previous November (2021), new motorcycle registrations fell by 8.8 percent last month. While that does mark a significant decline in new bike sales, the fall still looks to be in line with the MCIA’s prediction that the overall market in 2022 will grow in 2022 to the tune of around 2 percent. While the slow sales are likely a symptom of the UK’s move out of the Covid-inflicted years, it could also be down to other factors. With the Motorcycle Live show at the NEC taking place in November and attracting record crowds, it could be argued that many people were holding off from buying a new bike until they’d seen the latest metal in the flesh. If that were to be true, we might not see the benefits of the UK’s biggest bike show until the new year.
Of the different segments that make up the UK’s motorcycle market, adventure bikes were still some of the best performing based on sales. Compared to last November, ADV bikes were up 5.7 percent and they now represent 18 percent of the L-category bikes sold. The top performer in the class was still the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure, with 96 new bikes registered, while the Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid also performed strongly with 44 bikes landing with new owners.
Taking a look at scooters now, and in that market, it was the venerable Honda PCX 125 that remains the top machine. The popular twist-and-go shifted a whopping 410 units last month, outselling not just every other scooter, but every other bike in all categories. Honda also swooped the best-selling naked motorcycle with its geared CBF 125 M, with that machine registering 176 new bike registrations last month.
Of all the major UK motorcycle brands, Honda was the standout performer, registering a whopping 1,297 machines. It was closely followed by Yamaha, which registered 794 new bikes. BMW rounded out the top three on 472 machines, closely followed by Triumph on 394 new bikes registered.
