UK: motorcycles down by approx. - 2.75% in 2024
The latest data available from the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) in the UK needs to be treated with the same caution as that issued by the trade associations in Italy, Germany and Spain due to the distortion by OEM 'Channel Stuffing' the market with unsold 2024 spec inventory prior to the enhanced Euro 5+ regulations becoming effective on January 1st, 2025.
2024 full year sales of 110,644 units for a +3.20% growth in the motorcycle market is likely to be overstated by between 9,000 and 12,000 units. A more realistic unit count of around 100,000 to 104,000 for the year being in keeping with the UK market's 2023/2024 trend data. This would yield a probable 2024 annual negative of somewhere between -2.20% and -3.00%; probably around - 2.75%.
The data that the MICA has had no choice but to work with show total registrations of 115,714 units (+2.63%) with only 3,750 of those being electric powertrain units (-7.7%). As elsewhere, the majority of the electrics sold in the UK are low power models.
For the record: the UK motorcycle market was down by -1.20% in 2023, at 107,215 units. Total PTW registrations down further by -2.53% (112,748 units). These statistics reflect the fact that the UK entered a small but definite technical recession in the second half of 2023 and through the winter into early 2024. Despite that, 2023 saw the second-best annual sales figures for the UK motorcycle market since before the 2007/2008 financial crisis.
