While motorcycles sales in the United States continue to slip, sales in Europe continue to grow. I use that line almost every time I write about this subject – largely because it’s the truth.
The fact is that there is a fundamental difference about what is going on in the European markets versus what is going on here in the United States, and it shows in the sale data.
Reporting on the first half of the year so far, the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) says that the European motorcycle market is up 9.1%, compared to the first-half of 2018.
That growth reflects 618,502 units sold in the six-month time period, with 138,650 units (+6.2%) coming from Italy, which remains the largest motorcycle market in Europe.
That figured is followed by France (109,606 motorcycles, +12.5%), Germany (105,970 motorcycles, +8.5%), Spain (88,690 motorcycles, +12.6%) and the UK (56,611 motorcycles, +2.3%).
The ACEM report that motorcycle registrations also increased in almost all the EU countries, while moped sales went up 19.5%.
Of note, sales for electrics (moped, motorcycles, and quadricycles) are up 70% so far this year. Total electric sales were 35,810 units, but only 5,812 of those units were motorcycles – mopeds by far led the category, with 21,062 unit sales.
This figure means that electric motorcycle sales are up 83%, with 3,181 units sold in the first half of last year.
Readers should note that the ACEM also represents 18 motorcycle industry associations: BMW Motorrad, BRP, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, KYMCO, MV Agusta, Peugeot Scooters, Piaggio, Polaris, Renault, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha.
Source: ACEM
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