Australian Motorcycles Sales 2021
Between the years 2016 and 2020 the motorcycle market in Australia suffered a near 40 per cent decline before the enduro/trail/funbike sector started to lead a recovery early in 2020. Then when COVID hit the market really started to gather strength and in 2020 the overall market was up an incredible 50 per cent.
Motorcycles and OHVs (Off Highway Vehicles) are continuing to build on their popularity as a viable choice for personal mobility with the 2021 first half sales results recording solid growth, according to the latest sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
55,840 sales in the first half of 2021
Total sales for the period from January to the end of June 2021 were 55,840 units, an increase on the corresponding period last year of 3,001 motorcycles, scooters and off highway vehicles when the result was 52,839.
17,331 Road Bike sales in the first half of 2021
Road bikes exhibited an increase in sales, with 17,331 units sold during the first half of 2021. This represents an increase of 13.7 per cent, or 2,088 units, on the first half 2020 result, when 15,243 units were sold.
22,231 Off-Road sales in the first half of 2021
Off-Road motorcycles also recorded some growth, with 22,231 units sold during the first half – a 6.4 per cent increase on the 2020 first half figure. The off-road sector experienced really strong growth last year which saw them become the biggest driver of motorcycle sales and while that growth has dropped off somewhat, almost 5000 more off-road bikes were sold than road bikes.
13,779 ATV/SSV sales in the first half of 2021
ATV and SSV sales have slowed considerably from the significant sales growth experienced during the past year, now accounting for sales of 13,779 units over the first six-months of 2021. This is a decrease of 766 units, or 5.3 per cent, over the same period in 2020 when 14,545 units were sold.
A major cause for that reduction is due to a lack of stock available for dealerships to sell and the looming exit from the sector by many of the major brands driven by new government legislation in regards to roll-over protection requirements that the industry vehemently disagrees with from both an engineering and safety perspective.
Lack of stock across the board hurting sales
The lack of stock has not only affected the quad sector as brands have been suffering from a lack of supply of many popular models that have effectively capped the sales of those models.
2499 Scooter sales in the first half of 2021
Scooter sales were up 15.4 per cent to 2,499 units, or 333 units more than in the first half of 2020, when 2,166 units were sold.
Detailed sales data being held back
Unfortunately these are the only figures we now receive from the official sales audit. Historically we would be able to see brand by brand and model by model performances, but the FCAI aligned brands now hold their cards close to their chest and refuse to release detailed data which is why of late you have not seen the regular detailed motorcycle sales figures analysis by model segment and model that we generally brought to you each quarter on MCNews.com.au. New Zealand have a transparent mechanism with public reporting of registration data on a monthly basis but here it has all gone a bit secret squirrel.
It should be noted that some brands are not represented in the official audit figures in relation to motorcycle sales. Their reticence to release their figures to the audit body and be part of the FCAI seems to be the catalyst for the FCAI brands now releasing only very limited data, seemingly to not reveal any market intelligence to the brands not aligned with the FCAI.
Brands under the Urban Moto Imports group such as Royal Enfield, Benelli, MV Agusta, Segway and Rieju are not included in the FCAI audit.
Likewise, the likes of CFMOTO, Kymco, Sherco and Landboss that come under the stewardship of Mojo Motorcycles, are not included in the sales figures as these companies are not members of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
With the quoted 55,480 total sales in the Australian market not including sales from those brands the real figure is quite likely in excess of 65,000.
