Registrations in the EU down -1.6% during the first 9 months of 2017 According to the most recent data released by ACEM (the Brussels based international motorcycle industry trade association), combined registrations of motorcycles and mopeds in the EU reached 1,051,606 units during the first nine months of 2017, representing a decrease of -1.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Registrations increased in some of the largest European markets, including France (206,596 units, +4.1%) and Italy (197,159 units, +5.7%), but decreased in Germany (149,334 units, -11.3%), Spain (120,302 units, -5.8%) and the UK (85,505 units, -15.7%).
In motorcycle terms, EU registrations were down by -5.1% at 771,327 units during the first 9 months of the year. With 177,336 units (+6.4%), Italy remains the largest European motorcycle market, followed by France (132,950 motorcycles, +2.4%), Germany (126,592 motorcycles, -11.7%), Spain (105,184 motorcycles, -8.5%) and the UK (80,222 motorcycles,
-15.4%).
the figures are only part of the story
Registrations in the moped segment reached 280,279 units (+9.3%) during the first 9 months of 2017, although this is partially due to the Slovenian government mandating all owners of unregistered mopeds to register them in order to update its motor vehicle database.
The largest moped market in Europe is France (73,646 units, +7.2%), followed by the Netherlands (58,672 units, +5.9%), Germany (22,742 units, -9.2%), Poland (20,550 units,
-4.1%) and Italy (19,823 units,
-0.3%).
However, following three years of growth since the market started to recover in the second half of 2013, the official figures for 2017 are misleading, the underlying reality of the situation is much more in line with recent trends.
The Euro 3 pre-registration issue artificially inflated registration numbers at the start of 2016 and, most dramatically, in the final quarter of the year. The apparent decreases in sales in the first four or five months of 2017 take no account of the pre-registered units that dealers were still able to sell, even if they have been increasingly heavily incentivised as the year has gone on.
There is widespread industry consensus, including among the trade associations that, in fact, sales in 2017 will probably actually be ‘flat’, if not up by one or two percent.
This is further evidenced by the cycle of Japanese made motorcycle exports to Europe seen since January 2016. With Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki +250cc exports running at +26.64 percent through September (the strongest first nine months performance seen since 2010) and accelerating markedly in the third quarter, the market is viewed as having greater strength than the official registration statistics suggest.
