The Australian motorcycle and ATV market grew strongly in the first half of 2016, with the latest sales figures revealing a 3.5 per cent increase over the same period last year.
The ongoing appeal of ATV and SxS (Side by Side) vehicles specifically for farm and agricultural use, but also recreationally was strongly evident with 11,164 of these four-wheeled vehicles sold ‰ÛÓ 3.6 per cent more than in the first half of 2015.
The hugely diversified motorcycle market, with its myriad of models from cruisers to caf̩ racers, super-motards to motorcrossers, maintained strong momentum overall.
The off-road motorcycle market rose 4.3 per cent over the first six months of 2016, while the road bike market increased 4.4 per cent. The only decline was in the scooter market, which fell 11 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Japan‰Ûªs Big Four of motorcycle manufacturing maintained their strong overall market presence. Honda was the leading volume manufacturer again with 23.2 per cent of the market, followed by Yamaha with 20.1 per cent, and Kawasaki (10.1 per cent). Suzuki and Harley-Davidson had an 8.9 per cent share each.
The Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber, said that the diversity of models, affordability, and the ability of manufacturers to produce machines to cater for such a wide range of applications were key ingredients to the market‰Ûªs continued growth.
‰ÛÏRoad bikes accounted for almost half of the new motorcycle market, holding a 43.4 per cent share. Off-road motorcycles accounted for 31.2 per cent, ATVs for 21.2 per cent and scooters for the remaining 4.2 per cent.‰Û
