What’s the real story about Australia’s motorcycle retail industry? Is it as grim as the new-bike-sales statistics tell us? And where do we go from here?
Since Australia’s new-bike-sales figures plunged beneath the magic 100,000 level to 95,080 early this year, AMCN has investigated all aspects of our motorcycle industry, speaking to major distributors, dealers, niche-market businesses and a cross-section of riders to reveal the facts.
The full story we have uncovered isn’t the picture drawn by the grim statistics of new-bike sales.
Official Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) figures for 2018 showed a sales drop of 8.7 percent following a 9.3 percent plunge in 2017. It’s part of a trend that continues this year and is confronting news for all concerned.
Our investigation has discovered that over the past few years, motorcycle registrations have actually increased. In long-ranging discussions with FCAI and other industry players, we uncovered the key facts.
Right now there are 870,000 registered motorcycles in Australia. That figure doesn’t include recreational or club registration figures, which have boomed in recent years as new state laws make part-time use of older motorcycles much cheaper.
Registration numbers have increased while new-bike sales have fallen, but it still doesn’t match Australia’s population growth. The FCAI told AMCN that if new motorcycle sales had stayed static but matched the population growth over the past 10 years overall figures would be 30,000 ahead of what they are today.
A worrying statistic for the manufacturers and distributors is the average age of Australia’s fleet of registered motorcycles.
Check out the current issue of Australian Motorcycle News for the full story on the state of our industry
(AP Photo/Color China Photo)