International Dealer News IDN 140 December 2017 / January 2018
COMMENT: Great Show…don’t be fooled by the market stats! .............................................. Page 4
Motorsport Aftermarket Group in Chapter 11 filing ......................................................................................................................... Page 8
Italian motorcycle registrations up again in October ........................................................................................................................ Page 6
Europe's largest dedicated motorcycle dealer expo .................................................................................................................... Page 48
DEC ’17/JAN ’18
ISSUE #140
STATZONE 6-7
➠
Registrations in the EU down -1.6%
during the first 9 months of 2017
ccording to the most
recent data released by
ACEM (the Brussels
based international
motorcycle industry trade
association),
combined
registrations of motorcycles and
mopeds in the EU reached
1,051,606 units during the first
nine months of 2017,
representing a decrease of -1.6%
compared to the same period of
the previous year.
Registrations increased in some of
the largest European markets,
including France (206,596 units,
+4.1%) and Italy (197,159 units,
+5.7%), but decreased in Germany
(149,334 units, -11.3%), Spain
(120,302 units, -5.8%) and the UK
(85,505 units, -15.7%).
In motorcycle terms, EU registrations
were down by -5.1% at 771,327
units during the first 9 months of the
year. With 177,336 units (+6.4%),
Italy remains the largest European
motorcycle market, followed by
France (132,950 motorcycles,
+2.4%), Germany (126,592
motorcycles, -11.7%), Spain
A
(105,184 motorcycles, -8.5%) and
the UK (80,222 motorcycles,
-15.4%).
Registrations in the moped segment
reached 280,279 units (+9.3%)
during the first 9 months of 2017,
although this is partially due to the
Slovenian government mandating all
owners of unregistered mopeds to
register them in order to update its
motor vehicle database.
the figures
are only part of
the story
The largest moped market in Europe
is France (73,646 units, +7.2%),
followed by the Netherlands (58,672
units, +5.9%), Germany (22,742
units, -9.2%), Poland (20,550 units,
-4.1%) and Italy (19,823 units,
-0.3%).
However, following three years of
growth since the market started to
recover in the second half of 2013,
the official figures for 2017 are
misleading, the underlying reality of
NEws ROOM 6-14, 48
the situation is much more in line with
recent trends.
The Euro 3 pre-registration issue
artificially inflated registration
numbers at the start of 2016 and,
most dramatically, in the final quarter
of the year. The apparent decreases in
sales in the first four or five months
of 2017 take no account of the pre-
registered units that dealers were still
able to sell, even if they have been
increasingly heavily incentivised as
the year has gone on.
There is widespread industry
consensus, including among the trade
associations that, in fact, sales in
2017 will probably actually be ‘flat’,
if not up by one or two percent.
This is further evidenced by the cycle
of Japanese made motorcycle exports
to Europe seen since January 2016.
With Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and
Suzuki +250cc exports running at
+26.64 percent through September
(the strongest first nine months
performance seen since 2010) and
accelerating markedly in the third
quarter, the market is viewed as
having greater strength than the
official registration statistics suggest.
TRADEZONE 45
SHOW REVIEW
BUSINESS
AS USUAL
BULTACO SIGNING
DEALERS
INDEX 46