Motorcycle Sales Statistics, News and Information

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This information is compiled from various sources around the world regarding motorcycle sales numbers and trends.

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U.S. Motorcycle Sales Reports, Q1 2013

May 9, 2013 - (Various Sources, Edited by webBikeWorld) - The Motorcycle Industry Council reported a dramatic motorcycle sales decrease in the U.S. for the first quarter of 2013. Motorcycle sales (not including ATVs) were down nearly 15%, including a 22.3% drop in March of 2013.

All segments were down, although off-road motorcycle sales were up very slightly (0.4%) from Q1 of 2012. Cool weather continuing into Spring has been blamed for the slide.

Dual-sport motorcycle sales were down 15% in the quarter and street bike sales also were down 16%. Scooter sales took the biggest hit, down nearly 35% from Q1 of 2012.

Honda Reports Q1 2013 Sales

May 2, 2013 - (Honda Press Release Edited by webBikeWorld) - Honda Powersports announced 69,000 units sold in North America in Q1 of 2013, which is an increase of 30% compared to Q1 of 2012. 4 million units were sold worldwide in Q1, down about 5% from Q1 of 2012. This includes motorcycles, scooters and ATVs and utility vehicles.

Honda said that the "positive impact of the Gold Wing F6B, CRF250L and CRF110” were partly responsible for the increase in the U.S.A., along with improved sales of its utility vehicles. Sales of the CBR250R, CBR600RR and CBR1000RR sportbikes have decreased.

The 2012-2013 fiscal year (March to March) included approximately 250,000 units sold in North America, which is up 25% from the previous fiscal year. The figures for the two previous years were 189,000 and 185,000 units. Honda predicts North American sales of 315,000 units in 2014.

Ural Motorcycles Reports Sales Increase

May 2, 2013 - (Ural Press Release Edited by webBikeWorld) - Ural Motorcycles reported an 11% increase in sales for Q1 of 2013 over the same period from the record year of 2012.

"It’s been a very long winter for the most part of the country, not surprisingly 75% of our sales during these months were models with on-demand 2WD, which is known for all-weather and snow capability" said Madina Merzhoeva, Ural's Vice President.

"Sales were up every month of Q1, but March turned out to be a bit more challenging. We’ve set ourselves an aggressive 30% growth goal for 2013. It has been a slower start than expected, so we are turning up our marketing and sales efforts. We still intend to meet the goal."

Ural added 4 dealers since the beginning of the year including Big Twin Cycle Center in Boise, Idaho and Maxey Cycles in Oklahoma. With a goal of adding at least another ten dealers in key markets, Ural’s focus remains on growing retail sales and recruiting long-term partners for its national dealer network.

Japan Fiscal Year 2012 Motorcycle Production Reports

February 11, 2013 - (JAMA, Edited by webBikeWorld) - The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) reported motorcycle production for calendar year 2012 (January 2012 to December 2012). Production was recorded as 595,327 units, compared with 639,187 units total recorded for the previous year, for a decrease of 43,860 units or 6.9%, and production decrease for two consecutive years.

Japanese Motorcycle Production Data for Calendar Year 2012 (Jan-Dec)

Number of Motorcycle Produced
Motorcycle production for Fiscal Year 2011 (April 2011 - March 2012) was recorded as 678,949 units. Compared with the 633,925 units total recorded for the previous year, this is an increase of 45,024 units or 7.1%, and production increase for two consecutive years.

Number of Motorcycle Domestic Sales
Domestic sales (factory shipments) for calendar year 2012 stood at 401,895 units, a decrease of 0.9% and a decrease after last year's increase from the year before.

Exports (result) were down 5.1% compared with the previous year.

Motorcycle Sales by Year 1992 to 2012

February 4, 2013 - The webBikeWorld graph showing U.S. motorcycle sales from 1992 to the present has been updated with 2012 data (Sources: Various).

Motorcycle sales increased just over 2% in 2012 compared to 2011. But the numbers are still way below the peak years of 2004 through 2006 and have appeared to level off over the last 3-4 years.

Dual sport sales were up 7.4% compared to 2011 (28,452 from 26,483). Off-road motorcycle sales rose 2.1% (71,535 from 70,046). Street bike sales rose only 1.8% (318,105 from 312,520) and scooter sales rose 7.7% (34,294 from 31,850).

In other news, the Motorcycle Industry Council reported U.S. motorcycle sales for the first half of 2012 have improved. 193,287 street bikes have been sold in the first half of 2012 (January to June), up from 187,571 in the same period last year (+3.0%).

17,266 dual-sport bikes have been sold in the first six months of 2012, up from 15,876 during the same period in 2011 (+8.8%).

Off-road motorcycle sales continue their decline from the last few years, with 36,300 sold in the first six months of 2012, down from 37,117 during the same period in 2011 (-2.2%).

Scooter sales continue to improve, with 19,208 sold in the first half of 2012, up from 18,198 for the same period in 2012 (+5.6%). Scooter sales have now surpassed off-road motorcycle sales and are climbing towards 10% of U.S. motorcycle sales totals.

BMW Reports Record Sales for 2012

January 7, 2013 - (BMW Motorrad Press Release, Edited by webBikeWorld) - BMW Motorrad supplied 106,358 motorcycles and maxi scooters to its customers worldwide in 2012, thereby achieving a new all-time sales high.

This compares to 104,286 units sold in 2011, an increase for 2012 of +2.0%.

In the month of December 2012, deliveries increased compared to the equivalent month of the previous year by 43.4 % to 6,069 units (prev. yr.: 4,232 units).

The strongest single market in 2012 was Germany once again. 20,516 vehicles remained in the domestic market, around one-fifth of all supplies. The second and third largest markets were the USA (12,100 units) and France (10,950 units). Heavily influenced by economic developments, Italy achieved fourth position (10,200 units), having previously been BMW Motorrad's second largest market.

Meanwhile Brazil moved its way up to fifth place with 7,442 units. Four models are now produced for the local market by BMW Motorrad in Manaus/Brazil in response to the growing importance of this market.

BMW Motorrad was able to assert its market leadership in Germany, Italy and Spain in the relevant market segment over 500 cc. Air-cooled R 1200 GS is the most successful BMW motorcycle. In its last year of production, the big travel enduro R 1200 GS with air-cooled boxer engine was once again the most successful BMW motorcycle (17,249 units), followed by the F 800 GS (11,487 units) and the R 1200 GS Adventure (10,203 units).

Subsequent rankings were occupied the superbike S 1000 RR (8,970 units) and the touring classic R 1200 RT (7,909 units). The super touring bikes K 1600 GT and GTL were also high on the popularity scale, with 10,033 sold in total.

Stephan Schaller, President of BMW Motorrad, said "Never before in the history of BMW Motorrad have we been able to sell as many vehicles. We have achieved this magnificent retail success in the context of a very difficult motorcycle market, especially in Europe. I would like to thank all our customers most sincerely for having placed their trust in us. The new all-time sales high demonstrates that our motorcycles and maxi scooters have been received extremely well. We are on the right track with our product and sales strategy and we will power ahead at full pace to enable ongoing growth.

In December we started supplying to customers what is currently the most innovative vehicle in the 1000 cc supersports segment: the new HP4. The three special boxer models '90 years of BMW Motorrad' will arrive at dealerships in January. In February we will start supplying the new mid-range touring bike F 800 GT.

And March 2013 sees the launch of the successor to our bestseller. The all new R 1200 GS, containing our entire experience drawn from over 30 years of GS development. It offers significantly enhanced performance, a higher level of touring and off-road suitability, more equipment, enhanced safety and comfort and a distinctive, modern GS design. We are confident that the new version of the world's top-selling travel enduro bike will attract even more customers.

We also anticipate powerful growth stimuli from our maxi scooters. Since the market launch in the second half of 2012 we have been able to sell almost 5,300 vehicles and we now look forward to the first whole sales year.

There are lots of new products in store for our customers in 2013 -- the year of our 90th anniversary. Based on our ongoing product offensive we feel confident as we look ahead to the upcoming season. Our aim is to surpass the 2012 record once again."

Husqvarna Motorcycle Sales Increase by 15.7 %

Husqvarna Motorcycles supplied a total of 10,751 vehicles to the Husqvarna dealer network from January up to and including December. This compares to 9,286 units in 2011 for an increase of +15.7%.

Supplies in the month of December itself totaled 1,267 vehicles (previous year: 1,330 units or -4.7 %). The most popular models in the single-cylinder sports segment (enduro, supermoto, motocross) were the 250/310 cc (2,758 units) and the 449/511 cc (1,627 units).

In the segment of motorcycles designed for on-road use, 1,936 of the models Nuda 900 and Nuda 900R were supplied as of December, as well as 1,321 of the models TR 650 Terra and TR 650 Strada. .

More information on BMW motorcycle 2012 sales. Also, see the wBW BMW Motorcycles page.

Interesting motorcycle ownership and use graphs and charts courtesy of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

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