The European two-wheel market is highly asymmetrical. So much so that five countries share approximately 80% of total motorcycle sales in the Old Continent: France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. The sum of its sales is therefore a reference for the rest of the sector and, among them, Spain is the one with the highest growth in the first half of the year, according to data from the employer’s association ACEM (European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, for its acronym in French) and of which the Spanish Anesdor is a member.
If we compare this first semester with the same period in 2021, there are hardly any changes in global sales (combustion and electric) in these big five. From January to July, 532,980 motorcycles were registered, which is just 0.5% less than the 532,460 units last year. And all this in a framework of instability marked by logistical interruptions at the international level that “have caused a delay in the deliveries of vehicles in several European markets”, according to Antonio Perlot, secretary general of ACEM, for whom sales are also They have suffered from “the increase in the cost of energy, inflation, the rise in interest rates and the broad economic uncertainty”.
Of this quintet, Spain was the leader in growth with 10.7% more (91,877 units), with Germany in its wake, but at a distance with 1.7% (117,838 units) and with France, Italy and the United Kingdom in contraction : -6.4% and 108,069 units our neighbors; -2.8% and 161,500 units for transalpines; and -2.3% and 53,655 the British.
As for mopeds (also without discrimination by propulsion), there are six countries that account for around 80% of the market: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. In this case, the 134,500 mopeds sold represented a slight increase of 1% compared to the same period in 2021 with France leading in total sales (44,824 units), but with a quarter-on-month contraction of -3.5% and Germany leading growth with a rate of 39.9%… And that does not count the electric ones! Spain remains stable with a slight 0.2% more.
Sales in Spain grow 1.5% in August compared to the same month of 2021 to 13,444 registrations, of which 11,518 have been motorcycles, which represents an increase of 1.1% compared to last August, according to data provided by the employer Anesdor.
In this segment, 6,473 units were scooters (0%) and conventional motorcycles (gears) grew by 3.9% to 5,045 units, with road motorcycles being the most demanded by type of use: 4,737 units, almost 8 % plus. Mopeds fell 4.5% (1,163 units), tricycles remained the same (-0.6% and 171 units) and quadricycles soared 29.4% to 592 units. Since January there have been 137,292 registrations in the sector, an accumulated increase of 6.3% compared to 2021.
From the electric plane, the electric motorcycle has continued to grow in August with 1,068 registrations (30.9% more), of which 761 are motorcycles and 307 are mopeds. In a note of a clear political nature, the employers emphasize that “the evolution of electric mopeds is significantly worse than that of motorcycles, something that can be explained by their exclusion from the Government’s aid plans.”
However, at a general level, the data as a whole is “good news for the sector”, according to José María Riaño, general secretary of Anesdor, who has emphasized “that the figures in August are once again positive “. For Riaño, this “is a clear symptom that citizens are betting more and more on motorcycles and light vehicles as a mode of transport to solve their mobility needs.”