At Least European Sales Are Going Strong
In 2018, the motorcycle industry worldwide saw some serious growth. According to Motorcycles Data, the industry aw the third-highest sales level ever in 2018. That hasn’t been the case in 2019. In the first quarter of the year, the market was down 5.4 percent or over 14.1 million bikes. I don’t have more recent numbers but, let’s dig into these a little bit. While motorcycle sales are down overall, there are still some areas of the world doing well.
Most notable on the good news side of things are Europe and Latin America. European motorcycle sales have been up 23.6 percent. In Latin America, bike sales rose 15 percent. Of the different countries and areas in these regions of the world, only Greece managed to see a drop in motorcycle sales, according to Motorcycles Data. Another area of the world that saw notable sales growth was the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. This area of the world saw bike sales rise by nearly six percent.
When you look at North America, the sales aren’t fantastic. This area of the world saw 5.2 percent fewer sales. Asian countries also saw a significant sales decline. Asia saw a nearly 10 percent drop in sales. Because so many motorcycles are sold there, this 10 percent drop represents over 8.8 million bikes. It will be interesting to see how the year ends and where the sales numbers fall. the end of the year numbers could give us an idea as to how things will go in 2020.
From an August 27 2019 article by Forbes. It’s about Harley’s move toward ebikes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/billroberson/2019/08/27/harley-davidson-trades-loud-pipes-for-pedals-with-reveal-of-three-prototype-electric-bicycles/#6fcdd8e83b06
“Kids brought up in ever-safer cars with a dozen airbags and full-body padding plus helmets on their bicycles aren’t exactly embracing the road rebel lifestyle as adults, at least not in the numbers that can keep H-D afloat with new riders as in the past. Analysts can debate those points and opinions all they like, but the truth is on the streets: People are ridesharing, riding bicycles, scooters and last-mile tech more and more, and electric bikes are surging in popularity as prices fall and quality rises. Ebikes represent an especially strong vector of this suddenly popular electrified transportation paradigm, and offers new opportunities in design, marketing and profits for bicycle makers. Why not motorcycle makers as well?”