Germany - motorcycles +16.36% to August
The significant rebound in new motorcycle registrations so far this year in Germany (the German motorcycle market was -7.22% for the 2022 full year) has continued through August 2023.
The most recent available data from the IVM (the motorcycle trade association in Germany) show June up by +31.34% (14,708 units), July by +17.31% (12,193) and August by +13.55% at 11,147 new motorcycles registered.
For the year to August, registrations were +16.36% at 103,077 units - the best January to August motorcycle market performance in Germany since before 2008.
In total PTW terms, the German market was +9.51% to August (174,945 units), which is also the best since before IDN started keeping comparable records in 2008.
Reflecting continued benefit from licencing changes, the Scooter and Moped markets in Germany continue to recover from poor sales in 2021 and 2022 with total PTW (Powered Two-Wheeler) new unit registrations running at +9.51% (174,945 units) through August 2023 - also the best in the German market since before IDN's comparable records began in 2008.
BMW has seen a decline in the number of models it has in the top 25 best-sellers - from seven to four - but retained its home market share with increased sales but reduced share in a faster growing market. For the period to August 2023, BMW sold 20,030 units for a 19.43% market share compared to 19,098 units for a 21.56% share YTD in 2022.
Honda is second (17,843 units/17.31% share), with Kawasaki third (10,538 units sold for a 10.22% share), followed by KTM, Yamaha,
H-D, Ducati, Triumph, Suzuki and Husqvarna in 10th spot.
The BMW R 1250 GS has continued into 2023 as the best-selling model so far this year (6,557 units sold YTD for a 6.36% share). Kawasaki's Z 900 is second, with its Z650 in fourth - showing Kawasaki's market resurgence of recent years as continuing with 3,152 units sold for a 3.06% share and 3,087 units sold for a 2.02% share, respectively. Honda's new-for-2023 CB 750 Hornet remains the third best-seller YTD in Germany (2,886 units sold for a 2.80% share), with the CB 650 R Neo Sports Café in sixth spot (1,666 units sold YTD for a 1.62% share).
Other best-sellers YTD on the German market are the Yamaha MT-07 (fifth), Honda's CMX 500 Rebel, CBR 650 R and XL 750 Transalp in seventh, eighth and ninth places respectively - all showing that the rise of the middleweights continues; followed by the BMW F 900 R in 10th, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 11th and MT-09 in 12th, followed by the KTM 690 SMC and 390 Duke, with the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto in 15th.
In electric (light) motorcycle terms, Zero Motorcycles was the top-selling brand YTD, but on low volumes still with 257 units sold for a 19.97% share of the German electric (light) motorcycles market. Vmoto was the second placed manufacturer (162 units/12.59% share), third was Tinbot (46 units, 3.57% share), followed by KTM fourth (45 units sold, 3.50% share) and Horwin fifth (34 units sold for a 2.64% share).
Overall, 1,287 electric models were sold in Germany in the first eight months of 2023. Though road-going electric motorcycles are only part of the full EPTW story, they are a bellwether, and with the top-five brands only recording 544 units registered between them so far this year, out of that 1,287 total in Germany (of all markets!), there is clearly still a long way to go if the tsunami of capital being invested in electric PTW brands is ever to show a return.
In that context, the EU's compromise of its 2035 new ICE vehicle bans in the face of the powerful German auto lobby, to allow post-2035 registration of vehicles that run exclusively on e-fuels, puts some of the EPTW forecasts being used for stock market flotations into an even more ambitious context (especially 'looking at you' Harley-Davidson/LiveWire.)
Vehicles with internal combustion engines can now still be newly registered throughout the EU after 2035, if they exclusively use zero emissions fuels of any kind.
For the record: German motorcycle registrations were -7.22% for the full year in 2022 (107,992 units); thanks to the ongoing beneficial impacts of changes in domestic German licencing, total PTW registrations were essentially flat in 2022 at +0.69% (201,433 units).
