The national motorcycle market produced a second quarter sales recovery to be 4.1 per cent down in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016, according to the latest data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Half-yearly sales for 2017 totalled 50,908 compared with 53,084 for the same January – June period in 2016. The April to June sales period recovered some of the ground lost in the first quarter of 2017 when sales dipped by 6.7 per cent, fuelling industry expectations for a positive second half outcome.
Last year the Australian motorcycle industry recorded total sales of 114,783, its best annual result since 2009.
Both the road and off-road segments declined during the first half of 2017 however, whilst road bikes are down 12.8 per cent, sales in the off-road segment recovered sharply in the second half and are now running only 1.7 per cent behind the YTD 2016 results.
The ATV/SSV market has seen continued strong growth in the first half, producing a 12.3 per cent increase in sales over the same period in 2016.
Scooter sales, which have been in decline for several years, continued that trend with a further fall of 14.4 per cent compared with Jan-June 2016.
Harley Davidson narrowly retained its top-selling status overall among the road bikes with 4,433 sales for the first half, followed by Honda (4,201 sales) and Yamaha (2,865).
The top-selling manufacturer in the off-road category was Yamaha with 4,617 sales. It was followed by Honda with 4,359 sales and KTM (2,834).
Honda led the ATV segment with 3,658 sales. It was followed closely by Polaris with 3,490 sales, and close behind in third place, Yamaha with 2,237 sales.
Piaggio remained top-seller in the scooter market with 525 sales. Second place was taken by Vespa with 426 sales, and Honda third with 390 sales.
Overall, Honda is Australia’s top-selling motorcycle brand with 12,608 sales (YTD 2017), followed by Yamaha (9,827 sales), Kawasaki (4,567) and Harley-Davidson (4,433).
Access the latest January-June comparison summary report here.
Access the latest January-June Top Ten sellers report here.