Registrations for 2023 up +10.5% in major European markets
According to the latest available data from ACEM - the Brussels based international motorcycle industry association for Europe - new motorcycle registrations in the four largest European markets - France, Germany, Italy, Spain - plus the UK (the 'EU + UK block') - reached 1,049,898 units at the end of 2023. This represents an increase of approximately +10.5% compared to the same period in 2022 (950,437 units).
Between them, the registrations in Europe's 'Big Five' markets account for over 80% of all new unit sales throughout Europe's 27 EU member states, plus the UK. This is the first time that motorcycle registrations in Europe's primary markets have been over one million units since before the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the 'Great Recession' it triggered.
On an extrapolated basis, total EU 27 plus UK motorcycle registrations likely exceeded 1,250,000 units in 2023; with the total for all 44 European national markets, IDN estimates total new motorcycle registrations at approximately 1.3m units in 2023.
During 2023, motorcycle registration volumes increased significantly in Italy (320,186 units, +18% year-on-year) and Spain (201,115 units, +13.6%). Germany (213,801 units, +7.2%) and France (206,731 units, +6.9%) also showed an upward trend, whilst volumes remained broadly stable in the UK (108,065 units, -1.2%).
Moped registrations on the other hand continue to decline as sales migrate to the new generation of low-capacity urban mobility light motorcycles, electrics and e-bicycles. In the six European moped markets monitored by ACEM (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain - Europe's largest moped markets and also worth around 80% of the total for the EU + UK block), registrations were -24.5% compared to 2022 (at 193,145 units compared to 255,909 for the prior year).
The reduction was the largest in percentage terms in the Netherlands - where sales were down by -45.1% (34,027 units), with Germany down by -40.5% (17,627 units). In France, traditionally Europe's largest moped market, registrations were down by
-19.1% (75,426 units); they were down by -13.3% in Italy (18.737 units) and by -5.2% in Spain and -3.8% in Belgium.
