I think we’ve all figured out by now that today’s motorcycle market is a far cry from what it used to be. With pandemic restrictions locking many ladies and gents into their respective local yards, many took to the nearest riding course to learn a new hobby (or set off to the local dealership with vacation funds for a pretty new toy).
The demand for two-wheeled beauties came at a time when the industry was already running low on chips for new bikes. Manufacturing of the little semiconductor buggers has a high breakage rate, even with the newer machines needed to create them; and with the shortage of chip machines came a chip drought that still plagues the industry to this day.
Fast forward to 2022, and countries are opening up, albeit slowly; with the return of certain civilians to work comes a lower demand to purchase bikes…though we’ve a report from RideApart telling us that Germany is still getting some pretty high figures, further accentuated by spring’s seasonal call to lube up your chain, swing a leg over and brap into the nearest field of daffy-down dillies.
By the way, when we say high figures, we aren’t exaggerating. Apparently, this spring – 2022 Q1 – was Germany’s “single-best quarter of the past 15 years.”
“At least 48,300 total motorcycles and scooters across all segments and displacements were registered in the first three months of 2022,” enthuses the report.
“The majority of those sales (around 35,000) were of bikes over 125cc in displacement…so it wasn’t just new riders accounting for the uptick in new bike sales. That said, plenty of new riders joined the ranks, as about 13,200 of various 125cc bikes rolled into new owners’ hands for that time period.”
As for Germany’s best-selling moto model, we’ll let you take a guess…
If you put the BMW R 1250 GS out there – congrats, you get a sticker! The bike purportedly raked in three times as many sales as #2’s Kawasaki Z900 in March alone.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that Germany’s classification B196 allows valid drivers’ license holders to also ride 125cc bikes and scooters without first obtaining a motorcycle endorsement,” reminds the report.
“This law has been in place since January, 2020, where it prompted something of a spike in new bike sales upon its introduction.”
We here at wBW think that any country boasting such crazy amazing numbers is doing something right; stay tuned for other stats like this via our shiny new webpage (or just sign up for our newsletter so we bring the stuff to you), and as always – stay safe on the twisties.