British Motorcycles Market plummet in Q1 2025. As expected, the start of 2025 was very hard for the market, due to the heavy self-registration applied in Q4 2024, and the first quarter sales at 20.742 were down a deep 25.7%.
Economic Outlook
Hopes for a British economy surge in growth in 2025 have been dampened by a slow end to last year and the looming threat of a global trade war. The external sector is the biggest weight on the economy, with a 3% drop in exports stifling growth in the final half of 2024.
However, when looking below the surface, the domestic economy has performed much better. Consumer spending grew by about 0.6% in the second half of last year. This, combined with increased government spending, should boost growth as we move through the year.
Headline inflation has already risen to 3% in January and will likely hit 3.5% by the middle of the year, partly due to measures announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget, such as VAT on private school fees. However, most of the rise in inflation this year will be driven by one-off factors or rising energy prices. Domestically generated inflation will be much weaker than the headline numbers suggest.
Euro 5 Plus rules
With the Euro 5+ introduction, the limit values for motorcycles pollutants have been retained, but the difficult task of proving the durability of exhaust gas aftertreatment has been postponed from 2020 (Euro 5 introduction) until 2025, to the Euro 5+ standard, as it is now called.
At the same time, new regulations on noise measurement will apply from January 1, 2025, namely those in accordance with UNECE R41.05. The limit values do not change compared to the previously applied R41.04, but they must be achieved under significantly more operating conditions
Motorcycles Industry Trend and Perspectives
In this not positive environment, the motorcycles market is struggling and, following the moderate decline reported in the previous two years, the 2024 was very moderately positive, only for the registrations rush in December (+116% y-o-y) correlated with dealers need to register vehicles with old emission level.
Total two-wheeler 2024 sales have been 116.421 (+2.6%) confirming a very steady level, with electrification process not yet started, with EVs segment counting less than 3% of the total.
As expected, the start of 2025 was very hard for the market and the first quarter sales at 20.742 were down a deep 25.7%.
Sales decline was heavier into the motorcycle segment (-28.5%) than in the scooter (-17.0%), hitting the EVs segment as well, but with a lost contained within the 3.7%
Market Leaders and Performance
Looking at top manufacturer’s performance, Honda confirms the leadership, although with sales slightly declining (-18.5%).
Losing less than the others, BMW gained two spots up to the second place, with sales down 13.0%.
In third Triumph lost 32.8% but overtook Yamaha, now down two spots with sales down 42.5%.
Behind there are Kawasaki (-26.3%), Suzuki (-31.3%), Lexmoto (-31.2%), Royal Enfield (-51.0%), Ducati (-25.3%).
