Germany - motorcycle registrations +17.60% YTD
The most recent available data from the IVM (the motorcycle industry trade association for Germany) shows new motorcycle registrations for the first seven months of 2026 growing at +17.60% (82,334 units YTD).
Welcome though the news is, as elsewhere in Europe the data is still somewhat distorted. The statistical reporting has now started to lap the impacts of the late 2024 effects of the rush to pre-register unsold Euro 5 inventory, before the new Euro 5+ regulatory framework became active at the start of 2025.
However, those units were (mostly) subsequently sold by dealerships in 2025 (in H1 especially) making the apparently extreme decline in new registrations in Germany last year a less than entirely reliable metric, and the apparently strong percentage growth being seen this year could therefore be less impactful of dealership finances than it appears to be.
The most recent months in Germany have built on a strong start to 2026, even though the rate of growth has slowed. March was +40.27% (18,633 units), April was +7.69% (14,842 units), May came in at +1.89% (11,802 units), with June significantly up at +19.24% (12,840 units) but July growth was lower again at +2.78% (12,431 units).
Total PTW registrations to July 2026 were +24.40% at 139,452 units; but the total PTW YTD figure is still some 15,000 units behind the equivalent reported number for 2023 - which was the strongest first seven-month market performance seen in Germany since the 2008 global financial crisis.
As to be expected, the BMW R 1300 GS continues its market domination as the best seller in Germany with 4,706 units sold for a YTD (reduced) 5.72% market share. The Kawasaki Z 900 remains in second spot (3,299 units/4.01% share); followed by the Honda CBR650 R (1,814 units/2.20%); Kawasaki Z 650 (1,613 units/1.96%) and Yamaha MT-07 in fifth (1,295 units/1.74% share).
The Yamaha Ténéré 700 is in sixth spot (1,295/1.57%), followed by the Honda CB 750 Hornet (1,284/1.56%), BMW F900 R (1,273/1.55%), Yamaha MT-09 (1,218/1.48%) with the CFMoto 675 SR-R in 10th spot (1,102/1.34% - the CFMoto 450 MT is the 11th best seller YTD in Germany).
BMW and Honda each has 13 models in the list of the top 50 best sellers in Germany for 2026 so far; Kawaski and Yamaha 6 each, CFMoto 5, Aprilia 2 with Suzuki, Ducati, Bird and KTM one each.
No surprise that BMW is the German market share leader - 15,688 units sold YTD for a reduced 19.05% share (15,476-unit sales for the year ago period), with Honda now back in second spot and closing in on BMW in market share terms (12,618/15.32%), Kawasaki (11,947/14.51%) and those three are well ahead of Yamaha and KTM in fourth and fifth respectively.
Interestingly, CFMoto is now the sixth best-selling motorcycle brand in Germany (January to July) ahead of Triumph, Ducati, Harley-Davidson and Suzuki 10th.
In the electric (light) motorcycles segment in Germany Stark Future continues the market leadership it took from Zero with 1,126 units compared to the 165 sold by Zero in second place (now a Dutch globally headquartered American manufacturer), with Vmoto in third, Honda fourth and NIU in fifth.
For the record: total motorcycle registrations in Germany in 2025 were recorded as being a Euro 5 ‘pre-reg’ distorted -36.02 (97,699 units) with total PTWs at -35.50% (161,744 units).
