Motorcycle market contracts 1.2 per cent

Australia’s motorcycle market – ATV, off-road, road and scooter – fell 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, with all the market categories except for scooters affected by the slight decline.

Data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries revealed 21,614 motorcycles, ATVs and scooters were sold during the first three months of 2018, compared with 21,886 for the same period in 2017.

A number of non-FCAI members aren’t included in the official data, including Royal Enfield, Gas Gas, MV Agusta, Sherco, Benelli, CFMoto, Kymco and SYM.

Honda out front
Honda was the overall leader with a 22.5 per cent share of the national market, followed by Yamaha with 19.4 per cent and Kawasaki with 10.8 percent.

In ATV, Polaris was the clear leader, while Yamaha (off-road), Honda (road) and Piaggio (scooter) came up trumps in their categories.

Among the manufacturers to show overall growth in the first quarter of 2018 include Aprilia, BMW, Honda, Husqvarna, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Polaris and Yamaha, while those to lose ground were BRP, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa and the now discontinued Victory.

Meanwhile the decline of Hyosung, the Korean brand which was once well ensconced inside the top 10 with big sellers such as the GT250R, now appears to be terminal with no models sold so far this year.

CB125E takes the No. 1 spot
Honda’s CB125E is the biggest selling bike so far this year, with sales in increasing 208 per cent (up from 140 to 432 units) over 2017. Second is the Honda NBC110 (362 units) – the company’s commercial arrangement with Australia Post – followed by the KTM 300EXC (325), Kawasaki KLX110 (323), Yamaha YZF-R3 (286), Yamaha PW50 (267), Harley-Davidson Street 500 (236), Yamaha MT-07L (233), Suzuki DR-Z400E (220) and Honda CRF250R (214).

New models that weren't on sale in the first quarter of 2017 include the Yamaha YFM450FB ATV (153 units), Harley-Davidson Breakout 114 (208), Honda CMX500 (192), Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 114 (107), Kawasaki Z900RS (126), BMW G 310 R (88), Kawasaki Ninja 400 (139), Honda XR190 (88) and the KTM 50 SX (113).

The biggest sellers in the separate categories were: