The latest new PTW and motorcycle registration data released by British motorcycle industry trade association MCIA shows that registrations have continued their upward trend in the UK in May, albeit at a slower rate than for the previous two months, with 8.77 percent growth (9,595 units) compared to May 2013 (8,821 units).
April was the eleventh month of motorcycle registration growth seen in the last 13 months (July 2013 was only off by -0.51 percent, with February this year down by -11.04 percent due to poor weather). For the year-to-date, the UK is up by 14.12 percent at 39,040 units compared to 34,211 for the first five months of 2013.
Although the rate of growth has slowed from the 18.04 percent growth in April (and 20.25 in March) it is still possible that the UK could see new motorcycle sales edging towards the 100,000 unit mark by the end of this year. Last year, the UK motorcycle market grew by 1.16 percent compared to 2012 (with 81,180 units registered in 2013), having grown by 1.07 percent to 80,251 units in 2012 – which means that the UK motorcycle market had been stable for four years following the 95,000 units sold in 2009.
The small cc market in the UK remains low in terms of volume (approaching 4,000 units for the year-to-date). In total PTW terms, the UK was up by 8.22 percent in April and is up by 12.286 percent for the year-to-date at 42,979 units in total.
