Supply chain issues hurting motorcycle sales in 2022

Global shipping delays are hurting motorcycle sales in Australia, with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) recording a 14.2 per cent decline in new bike sales so far in 2022.

Following a pandemic-led boom in 2020 and 2021, motorcycle manufacturers have begun to feel the pinch of the increased demand, with delays in production and shipping of stock, parts, and materials resulting in long wait times for customers.

“Global shipping remains unpredictable,” said FCAI chief Tony Weber. “This is impacting both production of motorcycles, scooters, and off-road vehicles, and their freight to Australia.”

The production and shipping issues are not exclusive to the motorcycle industry, with the car industry also facing the same problem. In some cases, customers are being forced to wait more than a year for their new vehicle to be delivered.

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However, despite the recent decline, new bike sales are still stronger than they were pre-pandemic, with a total of 47,929 new bikes being sold from January to July in 2022. In comparison, only 42,457 were sold during the same period in 2019, while 47,909 were sold in the first half of 2018.

The road bike segment was the biggest winner in the first half of 2022, with 18,164 sales representing a 4.8 per cent increase over 2021.

In comparison, the off-road segment fell by 12.7 per cent after two years of booming sales, but still managed to out sell the road segment with 19,406 bikes sold.

The biggest loser was the off-highway vehicle (OHV) segment, which fell by a whopping 45 percent. This segment, which includes ATVs and UTVs, was hurt mostly by the change in ATV rules which saw multiple manufacturers pull their ATV products from Australia.

And finally, the scooter segment increased by 11.4 per cent, but this is relative to the small number of sales, with only 2784 scooters sold so far in 2022.

While the overall figures are hardly a cause for celebration, Weber is adamant that motorcycling still has an important role to play in both mobility and recreation.

“With increasing congestion in our capital cities, decision makers need to be planning with road motorcycles and scooters in mind,” he said. “These vehicles are an important tool in improving traffic flow, therefore reducing trip times for all road users.”

Similarly, he says that land use planning in rural and regional areas, particularly those adjacent to population centres, “need to factor in off-road motorcycle and vehicle use”.

“We are seeing public land which riders have traditionally been able to access for recreation being locked up,” Weber continued. “As an industry we are calling on decision makers to consider the needs of recreational riders in land use planning decisions.”