Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the annual GB Motorcycle Trade Expo (January 18 - 20) saw a 20 per cent increase in visitor numbers on its return to Stoneleigh Park near Coventry, after seven years at the NEC, Birmingham.
Europe's largest and oldest motorcycle industry trade/dealer-specific expo, in the past decade the event has reflected the rise and fall of the market in the UK, as the recession impacted on new motorcycle registrations and the parts, accessory and apparel revenues available to motorcycle dealers and accessory stores.
However, with the UK market having returned to growth strongly in the past four years, there is now evidence that the growth in new registrations is now also beginning to filter through into increased parts, accessory and apparel revenues, with workshop revenues and the consumption of service items having remained high throughout.
Although the period up to 2012 saw a decline in the annual numbers of motorcycle journeys and total riding distance recorded in the UK, the next batch of Government data available to the MCIA, the motorcycle industry trade association in the UK, is expected to show that a rebound is underway. It is also significant that data also shows that the total number of motorcycles on the road in the UK has remained stable at around 1.2m for
several years.
Show attendances are always a strong indicator of underlying market strength, and with increased numbers of consumers seen at the MCIA's Birmingham based Motorcycle Live in November, combined with the increase seen at Stoneleigh in January, the British market definitely appears to be locked into a long-term growth cycle.
www.motorcycle-expo.com
