January bike sales gloom
Added on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
January bike sales gloom
The heavy snows of January, and VAT rising to 17.5%, reduced UK consumer demand generally, but new motorcycle and scooter sales were especially hard hit, reports Alastair Walker. Overall, new motorcycle sales fell by 42%, moped scooters were down 37% and scooters above 50cc fell by 35%.
In an attempt to put some positive spin on the dismal sales figures the MCIA claim that more commuters are turning to two wheels, with seven of the January top ten machines being under 125cc. The MCIA also note that Touring class motorcycle sales only dropped by 22%, which is better than the huge falls of 50% for Custom, 56% for Supersport and 47% for Naked bikes.
insidebikes spoke to two dealers who both agreed that `January was a write-off, people who are snowed in don’t buy bikes.’ Another dealer said he was concentrating on used bike sales in 2010, as selling new machines was barely profitable; `We are struggling to make £300-£350 on a new bike sale, and the overheads on the showroom are in the region of 50K per year.’
However, the poor January weather didn’t deter fans of the BMW marque, with 50 units of the new S1000RR recorded and 51 unit sales for the R1200RT touring model. Maybe BMW riders are just that bit better at coping with adverse weather.
Another interesting detail in the January sales figures is that Direct Bikes sold 131 machines over the internet, mostly 50cc scooters. That puts them ahead of Aprilia, who have an expensive dealer network to maintain. Maybe the future for commuter mopeds and scooters lies in online sales, with service centres sold as a low cost franchise.
If February doesn’t bring too much snow, everyone in the industry will be hoping that buyers will return in significant numbers. If not, 2010 looks like being another year of pain for the UK motorcycle market.
Loading ...
No Comments