ACEM – who represent the Motorcycle Industry in Europe have released a market update for July 2013.
The overall news on PTW (Powered Two Wheeler) sales sees a -15% drop, which ACEM say is a persisting degradation of sales.
Apparently this is due to Italy’s negative results of (-31.5%), although ACEM say, “The <1000cc engine capacity segment has increased its share from 8% to 10%, indicating that premium motorcycles are less affected by the crisis.”
The update says, “a comparison between some engine capacities shows that the 125cc segment has overtaken the moped segment in 2012, and, despite a decline in 2013, light motorcycles registrations are steadily above 50cc sales. The moped segment represented 30% of the whole PTW market in 2010, shrinking to today’s 25%, while the 125cc segment grew from 23% to 26%, with a spike of 28% in 2012.”
The reasoning behind this is interesting, as ACEM say, “An increasing demand for flexible and affordable mobility, coupled with the possibility in many EU Member States to use two-wheeled vehicles of 125cc with a car driving licence, explains the growth of this segment.”
Now having asked a man who knows, apparently a member state may grant somebody a 125cc bike licence, if that person has passed a car test, however this “bike licence” would only be valid on the Member States territory (Article 6 3(b) of the licence directive.
3. For driving on their territory, Member States may grant the following equivalences:
(b) category A1 motorcycles under a licence for category B.
So why did the UK Government not grant this part of the European Driving Licence Directive?
Would the UK thus have had a growth in the 125cc market?
Market update – July 2013 -15%
The degradation of PTW sales in the European Powered Two-Wheelers market is persisting, mainly pulled down by Italy.
In many EU markets the summer slightly eased the steep drop affecting sales of L-category vehicles since 2008. Italy’s negative results (-31.5%) however heavily impacted the overall performance. With its -15.33% July does slightly better than the monthly average of 17.5% for 2013.
Compared to the same month in 2012, July 2013 shrunk by 10.2%. In July alone Powered Two-Wheeler sales in Europe totalled 112.556 units.
In 2013 so far 754.454* vehicles were sold, compared to 891.044 in 2012.
A focus on some segments shows that in the first seven months of 2013 motorcycle registrations have fallen by 13% while moped sales were down 20.7%.
Interestingly, a comparison between some engine capacities shows that the 125cc segment has overtaken the moped segment in 2012, and, despite a decline in 2013, light motorcycles registrations are steadily above 50cc sales. The moped segment represented 30% of the whole PTW market in 2010, shrinking to today’s 25%, while the 125cc segment grew from 23% to 26%, with a spike of 28% in 2012. An increasing demand for flexible and affordable mobility, coupled with the possibility in many EU Member States to use two-wheeled vehicles of 125cc with a car driving licence, explains the growth of this segment.
In the same period the <1000cc engine capacity segment has increased its share from 8% to 10%, indicating that premium motorcycles are less affected by the crisis.
While some signs of growth can be reported in Germany and Austria, where the motorcycle segment has gained respectively 1.3% and 6.2%, no major EU market is indicating a consistent return to the black.
A critical situation must be reported for Italy’s where a drop of -31.5% seriously impacts the EU market as a whole. Overall the scene is remaining the same since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis. France -16%, Germany -5.6%, Spain -13%, UK -5.3%, Poland -17.5%, The Netherlands -14%.
*Provisional figures (Moped DEU and GRC are missing)
Original source ACEM – Association des Constructeurs Européens de Motocycles – Click Here
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