Australian motorcycle and OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) sales for the first nine months of this year have increased 8.3% over Covid-ravaged 2019.
According to official figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 86,239 bikes were sold compared with 79,623 this time last year which was a 26.4% increase over 2019.
So it seems there are plenty of people out there getting on motorcycles or buying second and third bikes.
“This steady growth of 8.3% over the same period in 2020 shows us that there is strong demand from buyers who want to use a motorcycle as their first choice for the daily commute and for recreation,” says FCAI boss Tony Weber.
Road bikes were up just 2.2% to 26,119, off-road motorcycles were up 10.5% to 35,120, OHVs up 14.1% to 21,590 and scooters up 1.5% to 3410 units.
However, the official FCAI figures don’t necessarily mean a lot these days.
The supposed “peak body for the automotive industry in Australia” now represents a dwindling number of importers who pay to be members.
While several manufacturers who are not members may be minor players, CFMoto is not included and it is most likely in the top 10 sellers in Australia.
Plus scooter sales are possibly much higher than the announced 1.5% increase as most scooters sold are 50cc models from Asian manufacturers who are not FCAI members and therefore not included in the figures.
The figures now only provide the breakdown in classes (road, off-road, OHV and scooters) and do not include the top 10 sellers in each category such as sports bikes, enduro, tourers, cruisers, learners, etc.
So riders now have no idea how their brand, model and category is performing which used to be a good indicator of resale value.
The figures used to include a list of the top sellers by manufacturer, but now riders have no indication of which manufacturers might be desperate for sales and offer discounts.