Australian farmers showed their love for ATVs in the first half of 2015, with 11,049 of the popular farm vehicles sold—11.3 per cent more than were sold in the first half of 2014.
While ATVs grew in popularity, other areas of the Australian motorcycle market appeared to have slowed. The off-road motorcycle market declined 5.8 per cent and the scooter market declined 25.9 per cent. Road motorcycle sales were steady with sales on par (+0.8 per cent) with those recorded in the same period last year.
Releasing the half-year motorcycle sales figures, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said, overall, Australians bought 51,578 new motorcycles, ATVs and scooters between January and June 2015—1.3 per cent less than sales recorded between January and June 2014.
“Honda was the leading volume manufacturer, once again, with 24.6 per cent of the market. Honda was followed by Yamaha with 18.6 per cent, Kawasaki with 9.9 per cent, Suzuki with 9.4 per cent and Harley-Davidson with 8.9 per cent,” Mr Weber said.
“Road motorcycles account for almost half of the new motorcycle, ATV and scooter market, holding a 42 per cent share. Off-road motorcycles account for 31.2 per cent, ATVs account for 21.4 per cent and scooters account for 5.4 per cent.
“Harley Davidson was the top seller in the road motorcycle market, selling 21.1 per cent of the 21,688 road motorcycles sold between January and June 2015. Harley Davidson was followed closely by Honda, which sold 18.4 per cent, Yamaha came in third with 14.1 per cent, Kawasaki was fourth with 13.3 per cent and BMW was fifth with 7.6 per cent.
“Honda led the volume race in the off-road motorcycle market, selling 28.9 per cent of the 16,056 off-road motorcycles sold. Honda was followed by Yamaha with 28 per cent, KTM with 14.6 per cent, Suzuki with 13.3 and Kawasaki with 10.2 per cent.
“Honda was also the largest selling manufacturer in the ATV segment, selling 32.6 per cent of the total ATV sales. Polaris was second with 23.3 per cent, Yamaha was third with 16.5 per cent, Suzuki was fourth with 11.6 per cent and BRP was fifth with 8.1 per cent.
“The popularity of scooters in Australia continues to decline, with first half sales down a significant 25.9 per cent compared to first half 2014 figures.
“In the scooter market, Vespa continues to lead the sales race, selling 19.4 per cent of the total 2,785 units. Honda came in second with 16.6 per cent, Piaggio came in third with 16.2 per cent, Kymco came in fourth with 11.5 per cent and Aprilia was fifth with 8.6. per cent.”