Sharp rise in motorcycle sales

Motorcycle dealers have had a good first quarter this year: they sold 5,350 new motorcycles, 16 percent more than in the same period last year. Total turnover grew by just over 7 percent in the first quarter.

New motorcycles sold by cylinder capacity

Middleweight motorcycles especially popular

Motorcycle dealers sold 746 more new motorcycles in the first quarter of 2008 than twelve months previously. February was particularly noticeable with twice as many sales as February last year. This may be connected with the mild winter weather which resulted in an exceptionally early start to the season of motorbike sales.

Motorcycles with a cylinder capacity of up to 950 cc were especially popular. Sales of new motorcycles in this category were 24 percent up on the first quarter of 2007. Sales of heavier machines were 4 percent higher.

Dealers booked just over 7 percent more turnover in the first quarter of 2008 than twelve months previously. In 2007 turnover growth was only 0.1 percent on average.

Total motorcycle fleet by age group, 1 January

Steady increase in number of motorcycles

Just over 585 thousand motorcycles were registered in the Netherlands on 1 January 2008. The total fleet is more than 40 percent larger than in 2000. The growth was nearly all accounted for by motorcyclists aged 40 years and older.

Since 2004, motorcycle ownership has been highest among people in their forties. Before then most motorcyclists were found among people in their thirties. Since 2003, the number of motorcyclists in this age group has dropped by 16 percent, mainly because the number of people in the age group 30-40 years has fallen . The number of people in their forties has risen on the other hand. However, even if it hadn’t, the number of motorcyclists in this age category has risen substantially in recent years.
 
Paul Ras and Chris de Blois