Italian Motorcycles Market reported mixed results. The start of 2026 is encouraging with Q1 sales reaching 84.553, up 14.6%, but below the level hit two years before. Piaggio and Ducati crisis is still in place, while Voge and Zontes shine.
Motorcycles Market Data and Trend
The Italian two-wheeler market continues to show strong underlying momentum, with sales rising steadily over recent years despite the temporary setback experienced in 2020. This positive trend extended through 2024, when the market reached its highest level of the past 15 years, although results were significantly distorted by the EU deadline for the introduction of a new emissions standard.
In the final quarter of 2024, registrations surged as dealers rushed to register Euro 5 vehicles ahead of the implementation of the stricter Euro 5+ emission limits from January 2025. This pull-forward effect weighed heavily on 2025 volumes.
As a result, the start of 2025 was particularly weak, with sharply negative sales in the first quarter, followed by a gradual recovery in the second and third quarters. Volumes declined again in the fourth quarter due to challenging year-on-year comparisons. Full-year 2025 registrations reached 338,689 units, down 7.3% year on year, but still marking the second-best performance of the past 15 years, confirming that the market’s underlying momentum remains intact.
The start of 2026 is encouraging with Q1 sales reaching 84.553, up 14.6%, but below the level hit two years before
Surprisingly, following the 2025 +18.6%, electric two-wheeler sales returned to fall 9.9%, with the segment remaining marginal in the market.
Performance of Leading Manufacturers
Among manufacturers, Honda led the market in 2025 although a slow start (+1.9%), but with a huge advantage over all competitors.
In second place Yamaha gained 20.5% overtaking the local manufacturer Piaggio, which is still struggling, with sales up a mere 1.1%.
In fourth place at the highest ranking ever for a Chinese manufacturer there is Voge (+99.1%), which overtook SYM, actually 5th with sales dow 6.9%, Kymco, 6th with sales down 3.7% and BMW, 7th with sales down 3.0%.
In eight place Zontes was up 148.7% followed by Kawasaki (+13.8%) and Ducati which lost 14.1%, not a good approach to the centenary year.
