Motorcycle sales appear to be recovering after a very shaky start to the year with Harley-Davidson continuing to lead the road bike category.
Sales were down 6.7% in the first quarter but, thanks to a slight recovery in the second quarter, they are now down 4.1% in the first half, according to the VFACTS report issued today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
This is despite the motor vehicle industry setting a June record, up 4.4%, thanks to confidence in the business sector which spurred SUV and utility sales.
A confident business sector doesn’t help sales of motorcycles which are largely considered a luxury item.
However, the signs are encouraging that motorcycle sales are recovering.
The slow start to the year has also been good for riders with some manufacturers offering significant discounts to clear floor stock for the new financial year and ahead of new models coming in spring.
Half-yearly sales for 2017 totalled 50,908 compared with 53,084 last year.
Last year the Australian motorcycle industry recorded total sales of 114,783, its best annual result since 2009.
Overall, Honda is Australia’s top-selling motorcycle brand with 12,608 sales followed by Yamaha (9827), Kawasaki (4567) and Harley-Davidson (4433).
Road bike sales are down 12.8% but Harley retained its top-selling status with 4433 sales followed by Honda (4201) and Yamaha (2865).
The only road bike companies to record growth were Husqvarna with new models (48.6%), Indian Motorcycle (19.7%) and the axed Victory Motorcycles (66.1%) which is fast selling out of remaining stock.
Off-road bike sales recovered sharply to be only 1.7% last year. Top-selling off-road company was Yamaha with 4617 followed by Honda with 4359 and KTM with 2834.
ATV/SSV sales increased 12.3% and Honda led the segment with 3658 followed by Polaris with 3490 and Yamaha with 2237.
Scooter sales, which have been in decline for several years, were down 14.4%.
Piaggio remained the top company with 525 sales, followed by Vespa with 426 and Honda with 390.
| TOP 10 Motorbikes (excludes ATVs) | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Honda | NBC110 | 1,042 | 1,454 | -28.3% |
| Honda | CRF50F | 787 | 777 | 1.3% |
| Yamaha | WR450F | 762 | 924 | -17.5% |
| Harley Davidson | FXSB | 711 | 605 | 17.5% |
| Honda | CRF230F | 703 | 615 | 14.3% |
| Harley Davidson | XG500 | 609 | 743 | -18.0% |
| Honda | GROM | 597 | 254 | 135.0% |
| Honda | CRF110F | 592 | 592 | 0.0% |
| Yamaha | YZF-R3A | 569 | 695 | -18.1% |
| Yamaha | PW50 | 551 | 523 | 5.4% |
Harley-Davidson Breakout is their top-seller in Australia| TOP 10 Road Bikes | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Honda | NBC110 | 1,042 | 1,454 | -28.3% |
| Harley Davidson | FXSB | 711 | 605 | 17.5% |
| Harley Davidson | XG500 | 609 | 743 | -18.0% |
| Honda | GROM | 597 | 254 | 135.0% |
| Yamaha | YZF-R3A | 569 | 695 | -18.1% |
| Honda | CBR500R | 471 | 449 | 4.9% |
| Yamaha | MT07L | 470 | 716 | -34.4% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja 300 | 448 | 808 | -44.6% |
| Yamaha | MT-09 | 418 | 332 | 25.9% |
| Honda | CRF1000 | 404 | 399 | 1.3% |
| TOP 10 Cruisers | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Harley Davidson | FXSB | 711 | 605 | 17.5% |
| Harley Davidson | XG500 | 609 | 743 | -18.0% |
| Harley Davidson | FXDLS | 373 | 214 | 74.3% |
| Harley Davidson | VRSCDX | 305 | 325 | -6.2% |
| Harley Davidson | FXDB | 299 | 389 | -23.1% |
| Kawasaki | Vulcan S | 274 | 302 | -9.3% |
| Yamaha | XVS650/A | 254 | 256 | -0.8% |
| Honda | CMX500 | 216 | – | 0.0% |
| Harley Davidson | FLSTFBS | 160 | 242 | -33.9% |
| Indian | Scout | 153 | 162 | -5.6% |
2017 Indian Scout in two-tone paint| TOP 10 LAMS Bikes | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Honda | NBC110 | 1,042 | 1,454 | -28.3% |
| Yamaha | WR450F | 762 | 924 | -17.5% |
| Harley Davidson | XG500 | 609 | 743 | -18.0% |
| Honda | GROM | 597 | 254 | 135.0% |
| Yamaha | YZF-R3A | 569 | 695 | -18.1% |
| Honda | CBR500R | 471 | 449 | 4.9% |
| Yamaha | MT07L | 470 | 716 | -34.4% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja 300 | 448 | 808 | -44.6% |
| Suzuki | DR-Z400E | 442 | 456 | -3.1% |
| Honda | CRF250L | 433 | 393 | 10.2% |
| TOP 10 Sports Touring | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Yamaha | YZF-R3A | 569 | 695 | -18.1% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja 300 | 448 | 808 | -44.6% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja 650L | 250 | 199 | 25.6% |
| KTM | RC390 | 153 | 220 | -30.5% |
| Honda | CBR650FL | 139 | 166 | -16.3% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja 1000 | 95 | 91 | 4.4% |
| BMW | R 1200 RS | 71 | 81 | -12.3% |
| Yamaha | MT09TRA | 69 | 119 | -42.0% |
| BMW | S 1000 XR | 62 | 87 | -28.7% |
| Suzuki | GSX-S1000F | 60 | 47 | 27.7% |
Kawasaki Ninja 1000| TOP 10 Adventure Touring | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Honda | CRF1000 | 404 | 399 | 1.3% |
| Suzuki | DR650SE | 236 | 267 | -11.6% |
| BMW | R 1200 GS | 203 | 193 | 5.2% |
| Kawasaki | KLR650 | 179 | 191 | -6.3% |
| BMW | R 1200 GS Adventure | 172 | 172 | 0.0% |
| Honda | CB500XA | 154 | 139 | 10.8% |
| BMW | F 700 GS | 105 | 109 | -3.7% |
| BMW | F 800 GS | 101 | 92 | 9.8% |
| Ducati | Multistrada 1200 | 88 | 134 | -34.3% |
| BMW | F 800 GS Adventure | 86 | 78 | 10.3% |
| TOP 10 Super Sport | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Honda | CBR500R | 471 | 449 | 4.9% |
| Honda | CBR300R | 201 | 249 | -19.3% |
| Honda | CBR1000RR | 143 | 142 | 0.7% |
| Suzuki | GSX-R1000 | 128 | 74 | 73.0% |
| Ducati | 959 Panigale | 123 | 175 | -29.7% |
| BMW | S 1000 RR | 115 | 135 | -14.8% |
| Kawasaki | Ninja ZX-10R | 76 | 146 | -47.9% |
| Yamaha | YZF-R1 | 76 | 135 | -43.7% |
| Ducati | SUPERSPORT | 75 | – | 0.0% |
| Ducati | 1299 Panigale | 61 | 88 | -30.7% |
Honda CBR500R| TOP 10 Touring | ||||
| Manufacturer | Model | Total | ||
| YTD 2017 | YTD 2016 | % Chg | ||
| Harley Davidson | FLHXS | 197 | 190 | 3.7% |
| Harley Davidson | FLHTK | 124 | 117 | 6.0% |
| Harley Davidson | FLHXSE2 | 81 | 75 | 8.0% |
| Harley Davidson | FLHR | 71 | 81 | -12.3% |
| BMW | R 1200 RT | 69 | 69 | 0.0% |
| Harley Davidson | FLTRXS | 60 | 71 | -15.5% |
| Harley Davidson | FLHRXS | 48 | – | 0.0% |
| Indian | Roadmaster | 47 | 21 | 123.8% |
| Yamaha | FJR1300 | 39 | 82 | -52.4% |
| Indian | Chieftain | 35 | 8 | 337.5% |