Aussie market contracts 8.9% in 2010

The Australian motorcycle market contracted 8.9 per cent in 2010, with the biggest loss felt in the on-road sector.

According to official Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries figures, a total of 105,766 ATVs, motorcycles and scooters were retailed in 2010, compared to 116,120 in 2009.

The off-road segment led the way with 38,423 sales (a fall of 9.7 per cent compared to 2009), just ahead of road (37,968, down 11.1), with ATV (18,942, down seven) and scooter (10,433, down 0.6) completing the pecking order.

Off-road, led by an improbable hero in the shape of the Honda CRF50F, enjoyed a heady finish to the year with 12,941 sales in the last three months, well ahead of road (9990). That allowed off-road to nudge ahead of road as the most popular segment when the final figures were tallied.

The motorcycle retail climate in 2010 mirrored 2009 – a slow start, before the market dug in its heels for the balance of the year. After the first quarter of 2010, the market was already down 12.1 per cent before rallying.

There are a number of issues which may put the brakes on demand in the first few months of 2011, including the massive floods in Queensland.

“The market showed early signs of a recovery in the last quarter of 2010 providing us with some hope of a turnaround in the New Year,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“To sell more than 100,000 motorcycles in any year is a good outcome,” he said.

“This is a competitive market which will reward buyers intending to take up riding or upgrade their motorcycle during 2011,” Mr McKellar said.

“Buyers need to be mindful that they are getting effective value for money; stick with those brands that have a proven commitment to service and quality,” he said.

“Be wary of low quality imitations and ‘grey’ imports."

Meanwhile, Honda has again finished 2010 as the No. 1 brand in Australia, retailing 23,086 units for a total market share of 21.83 per cent, only marginally behind its 2009 result (21.93).

Yamaha remains in second place, but it’s no longer stalking Honda – its market share plunging from 21.80 to 19.38 per cent. That equates to 4787 units.

Suzuki’s market share of 13.94 per cent confirms its holds on third position, followed by Kawasaki (8.93), Harley-Davidson (5.74), KTM (4.75), Polaris (3.70), Triumph (3.02), Kymco (2.24) and BMW (1.81).

Other than Harley-Davidson, all the brands from fourth to 10th increased their market share, with Kymco doubling its slice of the pie.

Individually, the CRF50F (pictured) has made a stunning leap into top spot, with Honda selling 2882 units in 2010, a 153.7 per cent increase on 2009.

Only one other bike was a fresh addition into the overall top 10 – Yamaha’s YZ450F motocrosser, which has slotted into sixth, only one unit behind the Yamaha TTR50.

The other machines in the top 10 are the Honda CT110X (second), Kawasaki Ninja 250R (third), Suzuki DR-Z400E (fourth), Honda CRF250R (seventh), Yamaha PW50 (eighth), Yamaha WR450F (ninth) and Honda CRF450R (10th).

The following bikes finished 2010 as No 1 in their individual market segments:

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Comfortably maintaining its market lead for 2010, Honda headed the
overall sales figures for the year with 23,086 units sold, and topped
several key sales categories including overall road bike sales.

After reigning supremely in the 2010 Australian Superbike Championship
and the Phillip Island 6 Hour, the famed Honda CBR1000RR is also
Australia’s No 1 selling supersport bike.

In national scooter sales, Honda led with the two biggest sellers; the Lead 100 and Today 50.
Honda also dominated agricultural ATV sales with the top three highest selling models; the Honda TRX250TM, TRX420TM and TRX500FM

For junior riders the Honda CRF50F was by far the most popular choice in
2010, making it Australia's No 1 selling fun bike and the
highest-selling off-road motorcycle.

Impressively, Honda models made up four of the top 10 best-selling
off-road bikes (Honda CRF50F, CRF250R, CRF450R, CRF230F) and five of the
top 10 best-selling fun bikes (Honda CRF50F, CRF70F, CRF80F, CRF100F,
CRF150F).

“The FCAI sales comparisons are obviously an important industry tool to
measure our market performance, and once again the results are extremely
positive for Honda," said Tony Hinton, Honda's general manager for
motorcycles.

“As well as our overall No 1 ranking, it is fantastic to have such
strong retail figures across the board in many diverse motorcycle and
ATV categories in a challenging environment.

“We are extremely proud of our position as the market leader in
Australia and we work very hard as a company to maintain that year in
and year out with competitive pricing and outstanding service.

“I think, ultimately, our leading sales figures reflect the exceptional
quality, performance and style of Honda products and the well-earned
public confidence in the Honda brand.”

The latest ERG (Equipment Research Group) figures showed a decline in the total motorcycle market retail sales in 2010 and more specifically a decline of 9.7 percent across all manufacturers for the Australian off-road marketplace.

The Husqvarna brands outstanding performance is driven by a variety of factors including a strong and committed dealer network promoting the 2010 model line-up, which was the highest quality and most competitively priced Husqvarna motorcycle range ever until the release of the 2011 range this year.

Despite the Australian motorcycle market contracting by 8.9 percent
against the same period in 2009, Kymco again bucked the trend to
increase total sales volume by a whopping 81.6 percent according to data
recently released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
(FCAI).

FCAI results show that Kymco, while still in its early stages in
Australia, already owns an impressive 2.2 percent of the entire national
motorcycle market and has captured 6.6 percent of the market in the
product categories in which it actively participates.

“2010 was a year of incredible growth and excitement for the Kymco
brand,” said National Sales & Marketing Manager, Alan Collins. “We
began 2010 with high expectations and we are delighted that those
expectations – along with the expectations of our dealers and customers –
have not only been met, but vastly exceeded.”

“Obviously 81.6 percent year-on-year growth is difficult to sustain in
the long term, but with the increased recognition and awareness of Kymco
as a high-quality and service driven brand and the introduction of a
swag of new products, we expect our steep growth trend to continue
throughout 2011 and beyond.

“There is a reason why Kymco is one of the leading scooter, motorcycle
and ATV manufacturers in the world and more and more people in Australia
are coming to understand that. We are incredibly proud to represent the
Kymco creed of quality, reliability, service and value-for-money in
Australia & New Zealand.”

Whilst Vespa continued to dominate the classic segment, Piaggio grew in the contemporary segment, the brands success in no small way attributed to Australia’s No 1 selling scooter the “Piaggio Fly” which is available in 125cc and 150cc versions.

“It was great to see the market stabilise after a few years of decline, with the 2010 market being up 0.6 per cent on 2009,” said Piaggio Brand Manager, Simon Gloyne, “although there has been a trend by consumers to be more budget conscious than pre-GFC times.

“With the Fly we’ve been in the fortunate position to offer a quality product but still at a price that suits the budget buyer.”

TRIUMPH
Triumph Australia was very pleased with its overall result for 2010.

"We had some standout performers in a number of categories. The Thunderbird continues to forge ahead with 541 units retailed in 2010, resulting in it being the third highest selling cruiser in the country and seventh overall road bike,” said Triumph Australia's Marketing Manager Mal Jarrett.

“The Sprint continues to sell well with the introduction of the GT, and we dominated the naked bike category with the Street Triple taking out the No 1 spot, the Thruxton at five, the Bonneville at six and the Speed Triple at nine.

“We are looking ahead to a big year in 2011, with the introduction of some exciting new models in new categories for us, and significant updates to other existing models. Triumph is continuing to invest heavily in its range development, resulting in confidence within the market place both with dealers and customers alike.”