France Motorcycle Market rebounds in 2026 start. The first three months of the 2026 have finally been very positive with sales reaching 62.488 units, up 35.1% and France was back the second largest EU market, behind Italy.
Motorcycles Industry Trend and Perspectives
Following a series of negative years, ended with a dramatic -20.8% reported in 2025, the motorcycles market started the 2026 with a robust recovery, giving hopes for the start of a new trend.
Indeed, the market ended last year with aan annual volume of 222.456, which was over 23% lower than in 2019. Just few countries has not recovered the pre-covid level, while most of the other European markets have overtaken that level hitting new records.
The French market has been further penalised by restrictive policies in major cities such as Paris and Lyon, which limit two-wheeler circulation in urban centres. This has been compounded by a sluggish economic environment and the absence of a coherent national strategy to support the development and adoption of electric motorcycles and scooters.
The market is expected to recover in 2026, while the economic effects of the war in the middle-east could hit the sector again.
However, the first three months of the 2026 have finally been very positive with sales reaching 62.488 units, up 35.1% and France was back the second largest EU market, behind Italy.
The recovery did not involved the EV segment, which further declined (-4.3%).
Market Leaders and Performance
Among manufacturers, Honda confirmed the market leadership, growing 17.3% after having limited the 2025 decline to -1.1%.
The rival Yamaha, gained 35.0%, due to the very weak performance last year and was second, but with a large gap from the leader.
In third place Kawasaki overtook BMW improving 24.8%, while the German maker made only a 2.5% progress.
Behind Triumph (+17.6%), Peugeot (+35.8%) and the rising star, the Chinese CF Moto (+160.4%).
In 8th place Suzuki is fast growing (+104.5%, overtaking a shy Piaggio (+21.8%) abd a recovering KTM (+138.9%).
