Italian registration data from ANCMA
According to the latest data from ANCMA (the motorcycle industry trade association in Italy and the owner of EICMA), registrations for the motorcycle market were at 57,933 units for the first five months of the year. Compared to 2020, that represents an increase of +85.55% - having been down in January and February, sales were up in March, April and May.
There have been wild variances in the monthly reporting from January onwards - statistical reporting and market activity have been influenced and distorted both by the pandemic, as registration numbers lapped the equivalent 2020 data gather, and by the Euro 4/5 final deadline. Total PTW registrations for the same period were +87.71% at 127,325 units YTD.
The best metric against which to judge the current market is the 2019 data. This year's 5-month YTD motorcycle registrations compare to 52,233 for the same period in 2019. The PTW number for this year so far compares to 110,443 units in 2019 and represents the highest number of registrations for the period since 2011.
A word of caution though. While the headline news looks excellent, some of this momentum is, inevitably, catch-up sales lost from various stages in the cycle since March 2020. It is not yet therefore possible to safely extrapolate long-term growth patterns arising from the effects of the pandemic, or to put that in the context of the steady growth seen in most European markets from 2015 to 2019.
For the record - new motorcycle registrations were (theoretically) 94,108 units in 2020, having been 98,917 units in 2019.
