Sales figures published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 17,977 new motorcycles, ATVs and scooters were sold during the first three months of 2020, representing a 2.5 drop year-on-year.
In the same three months of 2019, Australia saw 18,438 total sales.
According to FCAI chief executive Tony Weber, a drop in sales was to be expected given the current socioeconomic climate.
“The first three months of 2020 have seen many issues unfolding in the Australian market, with floods, drought, bushfires, and more recently the Coronavirus pandemic,” said Mr Weber.
“The market has been remarkably resilient given the circumstances.”
The Yamaha Tenere 700 was crowned best-seller in the road bike category, with 347 units sold, holding a significant margin to the next best Kawasaki Ninja 400 (224) and the Harley-Davidson Street 500 (205).
Taking the top step in the off-road category was the Yamaha WR450F with 260 sales, followed by the Kawasaki KLX110 (257) and Honda CRF50F (254).
Overall, off-road motorcycles and ATV/SSV models reported an increase in the first quarter, while road-going bikes and scooters dipped in sales.
Yamaha topped the charts, taking up 21.1 per cent of the Australian market, followed by Honda (20.3 per cent) and Kawasaki (11.3 per cent).
The road bike segment fell 7.8 per cent, with Harley-Davidson retaining its segment leadership of 27.8 per cent, trailed by Yamaha (17.7 per cent) and Honda (14.1 per cent).
Despite showing a significant rise last year, scooter sales dropped by 14.1 per cent in the first quarter. As before, Honda dominates this segment with its NSC110, while Suzuki’s Address and Vespa’s GTS 300 rounds out the top three.
In better news for the motorcycle industry, the ATV/SSV category saw an overall increase of 8 per cent.
Spencer has a keen eye for hard news, and does some of his best living on deadline day. He loves more than anything to travel on his motorcycle, and is adamant that Melbourne Bitter is a world-class lager. He also knows how to operate the big computery thing in the office. By night, Spencer plays guitar with Melbourne punk outfit LOUTS.
