Sweden: 2020 motorcycle registrations +23.48% (theoretically)
Although the December 2020 motorcycle registration data in Sweden has clearly been affected by pre-registration of non-exemption qualifying Euro 4 units (before the deadline at the end of December), it has nonetheless been a good year for new unit sales in Sweden, despite the pandemic.
The latest data available from the motorcycle industry trade association in Sweden (McRF) shows new motorcycle registrations at an unrepresentative +678.34% in December at 2,156 units, having been a more sensible but still good +13.88% in November (402 units) and -6.94% in October (496 units).
For the full year 2020, cumulative new motorcycle registrations were +23.48% for the 12-month period at 14,798 units.
Indeed, although on low volumes, the growth seen in January and February 2020 was spectacular at +89.90% and +35.12% respectively. For the record, by the end of 2019, they were +2.31% at 11,983 new motorcycles registered (compared with 11,713 in 2018).
McRF CEO Niklas Kristoffersson said that "it has long been clear that 2020 would be a record season. Not since 2009 have so many new vehicles been sold.
"The corona pandemic has hit many industries financially, but for us in the two-wheeler industry, we have not seen such positive figures for an exceptionally long time.
"It is clear that many new customer groups have discovered the benefits of driving a moped or motorcycle, and we look forward to the growth continuing in 2021.
"Moped registrations were (theoretically) +70.15% for the full 12-month period (22,941 units), but with December's number distorted by the Euro 4/Euro 5 issue, we can expect to see the numbers for the first months of 2021 appear to be softer than is really the case." Up until October, the moped market was running at around +15% for the YTD.
Total PTW registrations were (theoretically) +48.19% for the 12-month period at 37,739 units, but had been running at a more realistic but still particularly good +11/12% for the first nine/ten months of the year.
