Having been +13.03% for June (21,057 units), the latest new motorcycle registration numbers from ANESDOR, the motorcycle industry trade association in Spain, show continuing signs of market improvement, with registrations for July +16.45% over July 2019 at 23,793 units.
The growth means that the market lag in Spain has declined again on an annualised basis to 'just' -18.30% (89,033 units) YTD.
Like most of Europe, after a good start to the year in January and February (+11.96% and +19.28% respectively), registrations in Spain fell off a cliff at -46.64%, -94.43% and -43.68% respectively in March, April and May.
Moped registrations were +48.92% in July, and at 10,815 units YTD are now only -2.22% compared to the first seven months of 2019. In total PTW terms, Spain was +19.77% in July at 27,254 units and is now just -16.82% YTD at 99,848 units.
In Spain the best months for new registrations are generally May, June and July which, in 2019, accounted for some 62,000 of the annual total of around 194,000 units.
Following his participation in recent months in a transport industry-wide initiative in Spain that called for government help for the sector, Jose Maria Riano, General Secretary of ANESDOR, stated that "the growth is largely being driven by commuters buying new vehicles for urban mobility for the economic and environmental benefits that PTWs bring.
"But it is also worth noting the strong growth here in Spain of larger displacement model sales. Medium and large displacement machines are up between +8 and +32%, so motorcycles intended for weekend leisure, touring, sport and other recreational activities are also driving growth."
It must also be said that the return of MotoGP, WorldSBK and other championship classes in race- mad Spain, with so many of the races being staged at Spain's many popular circuits, is not going to hurt the popularity of motorcycles there either!
Two months ago the Spanish government confirmed that a system of grants (as opposed to loans) is being made available to support new scooter and motorcycle sales - the Spanish government included motorcycles (PTWs of all types) in its RENOVE 2020 plan - providing € 5m in aid for the purchase of motorcycles (electric and road legal ICE) with a tax base price of less than € 8,000.
Riano went on to say that "the inclusion of the motorcycle sector in RENOVE will contribute to recovering the sector after the historic lows. In addition, this boost will provide support to promote more efficient, sustainable and safe vehicles. An important initiative factor considering that the average age of motorcycles in Spain is 16.4 years old."
The top selling motorcycle above 125 cc in Spain is the Kawasaki Z900 (2,126 units YTD), Honda remains market leader in total PTW terms (18.3% share, 16,285 units sold), with Yamaha second and Kymco third. The Yamaha NMAX 125 was the top selling model overall in Spain in July (1,118 units) and YTD the top seller so far is the Silence S02 (3,592 units sold), followed by the Kymco Agility City 125 (3,506 units sold).
