Though hit slightly less hard than Spain and Italy so far, the latest data available from the MCIA, the motorcycle industry association in the UK, shows that new motorcycle registration growth in the UK came to a crashing halt in March with sales down -22.19% for the calendar month at 12,484 units, having been +2.29% in January (5,709 units) and +3.48 in February (4,254 units). For the YTD, the UK was -12.78% for Q1 at 22,449 units.
In PTW terms, the UK was -21.74% in March (12,981 units), and was -12.30% for the first quarter, having been worth 16,586 units in March 2019 (-21.74%).
The largest single market sector in the UK remains 'Naked' style bikes, followed by Scooters and the Adventure Sport sector broadly equal. Speed has historically been the name of the game in the UK, but ever since the 2008 financial crash, Supersport model sales are at a fraction of what they were. The UK was worth over 1,400 'custom' style bikes in March.
The top selling motorcycle in the UK in March was the BMW R 1250 GS, with the S 1000RR topping the sportbike market and the R 1250 RT the leading Touring model. Honda is market leader in the UK, followed by BMW, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Triumph, KTM and Suzuki, with Harley 9th and Ducati 10th.
By way of context - motorcycle registrations in the UK grew slightly in 2019, +0.72%, with 100,472 units sold. Many in the UK pointed to Brexit and general economic uncertainty, with consumer confidence low, as the reasons for the UK to lag so badly behind the 2019 and prior growth seen in most other markets in Europe. Along with Italy, France, Germany and Spain, the UK is one of Europe's 'Big Five' markets (actually, the 5th largest), who between them account for over 80% of new motorcycle registrations annually in Europe.
