2018 Australian Motorcycle Sales Figures

I had heard via various sources that things had not improved in the Australian motorcycle market from the mediocre start to 2018. The half-year figures we received in the FCAI data today confirmed those fears.

In Q1 the overall motorcycle market, that includes all segments, including scooters and ATVs, was down a modest 1.2 per cent on the same period last year.  The road market had been down 2.6 per cent, off-road only down 0.5 per cent and ATV down 0.2 per cent. The only positive result recorded in Q1 was by the scooter segment, which itself was slowly clawing back from stark declines in the preceding years. All those negative trends have now not only continued in Q2, they have accelerated.

From January to June, motorcycle industry sales totalled 47,942 compared with 50,939 for the same period in 2017.

The overall market, road, off-road, scooter and ATV, is down 6.3 per cent on this time last year.

Off-road sales are down 5.8 per cent and road bike sales are down 5.4 per cent.

On the upside, the dramatic scooter downturn in recent years shows signs of reversing, sales up 10.9 per cent compared to 2017.

Amongst the brands there are also of course winners and losers in respective segments.

2018 Australian Motorcycle Sales Figures

Motorcycle Brand Results

Honda continues to lead the overall Australian motorcycle market despite a 7.6 per cent decline in sales compared to the first half of 2017.

Yamaha improved their numbers by 2.6 per cent to close the gap to Honda but are still more than 1500 units shy of Big Red’s total volume.  Honda have 24.3 per cent of the overall market to Yamaha’s 21 per cent.

Kawasaki are also travelling quite well, 3.3 per cent up last year to stay well ahead of fourth placed Suzuki on combined sales across all sectors of the market. Kawasaki’s market share at 9.8 per cent while Suzuki holds 7.8 per cent of the market. These numbers include road, off-road, scooter and ATV sales.

Harley-Davidson is down 18.1 per cent to slip to fifth strongest brand overall.

KTM shed 5.9 per cent while ATV specialist Polaris is down 11.1 per cent.

BMW, BRP and Triumph are all pretty much equalling their 2017 sales figures for this halfway stage of the year.

Husqvarna had enjoyed a stellar first half of 2017 but that trend has not continued quite as impressively in 2018. Husky are down 12.5 per cent overall despite picking up more road volume.

Ducati are down 15.4 per cent however their sportsbike sales are still quite reasonable thus the decline is amongst other parts of their range.

Indian continues to progress from what been a low base to now start to sell in good numbers. 453 Indians found new homes so far in 2018 which is a good result in this market.

Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are starting to claw their way back up after a dramatic lull last year brought on by the change over period between distributors.

Motorcycle Sales Results by Brand

Australia – First Half 2018

Top Ten Selling Motorcycles in Australia

Honda’s CRF230F is the #1 selling motorcycle in Australia ahead of the CB125E which means Honda have Australia’s top selling road motorcycle and also the top selling off-road motorcycle.

Aussie kids perennial favourite the PW50 is still remarkably strong while Yamaha’s WR450F has re-established itself as Australia’s favourite Enduro bike.

KLX110 was Kawasaki’s top performer while KTM’s two-stroke 300 EXC continues to hit the trail in record numbers.

Scooter Sales Figures

First Half 2018 compared to first half 2017

Let’s start with the positive. Scooters have continued their upward trend and have really seem to have regained some of that consumer interest and money that had vacated the sector in recent years to be up 10.9 per cent on the first half of 2017. 

Much of that growth has come from Honda who have shifted an impressive 557 scooters so far this year, that result 42.8 per cent up on last year and marks them as the biggest selling scooter brand in Australia.

The Honda NSC110 (238) is the nation’s top selling scooter ahead of Suzuki’s Address (203) , Vespa’s GTS300 (196) and Piaggio’s FLY150 (184). 

Road Bike Sales Figures

First Half 2018 compared to first half 2017

The road motorcycle market is down 5.4 per cent and while Honda retains top spot on the road charts the growth it experienced in Q1 has deserted them in Q2.

Honda’s road sales had been up almost 7 per cent in Q1 but that has dropped to an 8 per cent decline in Q2 with a total of 3853 Honda road bikes hitting Australian roads in the first half of 2018.

The Honda CB125E (637) remains the nation’s top selling road bike ahead of their own NBC110 (582). The NBC110 will likely continue to drop down the charts in following quarters as Australia Post have found the latest model so reliable that they are replacing them less often. Honda sold 1 in 5 of all road motorcycles retailed in Australia during the first half of 2018.

Harley-Davidson’s decline has slowed marginally, down 19.9 per cent in Q1, H-D are now 18.1 per cent behind at the end of Q2.

Despite being down 23.5 per cent in sales Harley’s Street 500 is still Australia’s fourth biggest selling motorcycle with 466 of them finding new homes so far in 2018. The Breakout is also doing well, 384 of them leaving Harley showrooms to make it Australia’s eighth most popular road bike.

The news gets a little rosier as you continue down the rankings. Third placed Yamaha picking up by 5.2 per cent to 3014 sales. The MT-07L (504) is the biggest performer for Yamaha and the third biggest selling in Australian while the YZF-R3A (445) is also doing well to hold down fifth spot.  The pugnaciously enjoyable MT-09 (384) is Australia’s seventh biggest seller while the MT-03LA (376) rounds out the overall road bike top ten.

Kawasaki (2344) is up 11.5 per cent, helped in no small part by the arrival of the new Ninja 400, 443 of which have already made it on to Australian roads. The Vulcan S is also having a great start to the year, 378 of the learner legal cruisers finding new homes and make Australia’s top ten selling road bikes.

BMW is Australia’s fifth favourite brand with the mighty R 1200 GS Adventure leading the way for the Bavarian marque. With no F700 or F800GS to sell, as they wait the late arrival of the F750 and F850 to replace them, BMW did pretty well to not slip down the charts. The S 1000 RR is also Australia’s top selling full-monty Sportsbike while the S1000XR and R 1200 RT are selling in good numbers.

Positive news also for Suzuki, 7.2 per cent up on road bike sales compared to this time last year. A strong campaign to shift GSX-R750 saw the 3/4 litre sports machine double in sales and become the biggest selling Japanese sportsbike.

Triumph performed virtually line-ball with the results they achieved this time last year. Tiger 800 and 1200 adventure bike sales were well up on 2017 while the Street Triple R is also having a great start to the year.

KTM’s road sales are down 7.8 per cent with sales of their big adventure bikes falling but the RC390 and 390 Duke remain quite strong performers.

Ducati are down 15.4 per cent despite the recent arrival of the Panigale V4 being hungrily received. 102 of the new V4 Ducati sportsbikes finding homes already. 959 Panigale sales are down, as you would expect with the arrival of the new V4 hotshot, but 67 of them have still hit the road thus far in 2018 which keeps the model well inside the sportsbike top ten.

Indian continues to grow and while that growth might not have been quite as dramatic as they might have hoped, 2018 is a stellar improvement on 2017, a 28.3 per cent improvement in fact. With 453 sales they are a far cry from Harley’s total of 3629, but they are plugging away and making progress. From the massive response that the coming FTR1200 had when featured here on MCNews.com.au, it is a pity they have to wait until next year before being able to deliver any to Australian motorcyclists.

Husqvarna is only just starting to join the roadbike market in earnest but is making progress.

Aprilia and Moto Guzzi are recovering after the change over of distributors last year has bedded down with big lifts for both as they start regaining some strength.

Brands such as MV Agusta, Royal Enfield and CF Moto are not part of the FCAI auditing procedures thus their sales results are not included in this data. We invited some of these brands to send MCNews.com.au their figures but they declined to do so.

Off-Road Motorcycle Sales Figures

First Half 2018 compared to first half 2017

Yamaha has strengthened their position as the off-road market leader with the WR450F having a great Q2 to regain its place at the top of the Enduro charts from KTM’s 300 EXC. 

Kids bikes also a great source of strength for Yamaha with PW50 also very strong as was the TT-R50E.  Yamaha’s YZ450F is Australia’s top selling motocross bike.

Honda’s CRF230F is not only Australia’s #1 selling off-road motorcycle over the first half of 2018, it is Australia’s biggest selling motorcycle outright!

Big Red’s CRF250R had been the top selling motocross bike in Australia in Q1 but was overtaken by the Yamaha motocross models and also Honda’s own CRF450F in Q2. Sales for both Honda’s four-stroke motocross machines though are up compared to this time last year with CRF450R going very strong at the moment. The CRF50F and CRF110F kids bikes are both down on 2017 but still selling in big numbers. The lack of an enduro option in the market hurts Honda and dealers are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new CRF450L this spring. Honda is still very popular with farmers, sales of the XR190 and XR150 both strong.

KTM’s off-road sales slipped a little compared to both last year and their strong results in Q1 of this year. The Austrian brand still incredibly strong in the Enduro market but not finding as much favour amongst motocross buyers.  Two-stroke EXC sales are still incredibly strong though, the 300 EXC enduro KTM’s top selling motorcycle while the 500 EXC is also selling well.

Kawasaki pretty much level pegged their results from last year. The KX250F is having a strong start to the year, while the KX450F slipped due to the impending arrival of a new model. Like Honda, the lack of a popular enduro model holds Kawasaki back somewhat in off-road sales.

A lack of new models is dramatically affecting Suzuki’s off-road market share. Staples like the DR-Z400E are still selling well and the Trojan is Australia’s favourite farm bike but with no new motocross models overall Suzuki’s off-road sales are down 17.1 per cent.

Husqvarna is coming off a gangbusters 2017 that was going to be hard to match. 1089 sales is still a lot of motorcycles but that number is down 16.1 per cent down on last year.

Brands such as Beta, Gas Gas and Sherco are not part of the FCAI official sales audit thus their figures are not available to us. We did invite Gas Gas to supply their own unaudited figures but they declined to do so. 

ATV Sales Figures

First Half 2018 compared to first half 2017

Polaris is Australia’s biggest selling ATV brand by a slim margin over Honda but both brands are down on their 2017 sales figures.

In fact every ATV brand is down compared to last year and the four-wheel market overall is down a significant 10.7 per cent.

The falling ATV sales is going to be really biting some regional dealers quite hard and is a flow on effect from the ongoing drought crisis gripping parts of New South Wales and Queensland. If you go through a country town and need to buy any small item do them dealers a favour and drop into their shop and see if anything in there might be useful to you and in turn help keep them afloat…