Scooter Sales Figures

1st Half Sales 2009

FCAI releases half yearly two wheeled results. Scooters down but certainly not out.

Allen Drysdale / FCAI

The FCAI yesterday released the half yearly numbers for Motorcycle, ATV and Scooter sales across Australia. Scooters in this segment have clearly been affected the most in these tough economic times. It would seem that people have clearly tightened the belt in the first half of 2009 as they asses the effect of global economic crises and reign in the spending of any spare disposable income.

All is not lost though as the back half of 2009 should see a number of factors help Scooters regain some positive ground. One point of significance will be that if a steadying of the ship continues in the economy then people will more likely feel confident by investing in a scooter for their daily transportation needs. Certainly the market also continues to grow in strength after the collapse of a major importer late last year so given time we should see some ground rebuilt and confidence restored in what was a top selling brand in Australia. 

The Australian dollar has also bounced back to some normality so we should see pricing adjust accordingly in the market with importers providing their own form of stimulus through specials as well as overall brand price decreases. Meaning scooters will seem better value especially when compared to other forms of two wheeled transport. Fuel costs also seem to be rising across the nation and this as always will have people thinking that they need to find cheaper transport alternatives.  

It would certainly help if governing bodies could provide some form of stimulus to ailing scooter dealers which continue to struggle due to lower sales volumes in the first half of 2009. The car industry has benefited hugely through the governments relief packages and tax breaks (June 09 was the third highest sales volume on record) and new car sales continue to prosper regardless of what is happening in other industries. 

Mr Mckellar from the FCAI was quoted in the Melbourne Age yesterday as saying;  

Fashionable for sure yet scooters are still a clear winner in outright convenience, affordability and a true alternative to a capital cities nightmare congestion issues. Long live the Scooter !

So over to the FCAI press release 

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Sales of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) have remained strong, despite a fall in overall motorcycle sales for the first half of the year.

Figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show 55,500 motorcycles, scooters and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were sold in the six months to the end of June – a 14 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2008.

“This result reflects the impact of broader economic conditions,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“Motorcycle sales are now at the level we would expect them to be and are broadly consistent with the trends in new car sales,” he said.

ATVs are maintaining sales in line with the record 2008 results with 9,722 units sold – down just 0.1 per cent on last year.

“This indicates the value the rural sector, in particular, places on these vehicles despite tough economic conditions,” Mr McKellar said.

“It appears the Federal Government’s business tax break is helping to maintain sales in this segment,” he said.

Road-bikes were the most popular segment in the marketplace recording 20,763 sales (13.4 per cent decrease) closely followed by the off-road segment’s 19,423 sales (15.3 per cent decrease).

Scooter sales fell 29.3 per cent in the first half of the year, recording 5,592 sales compared to the record 2008 result.

Honda was the overall market leader with 11,837 half yearly sales, followed by Yamaha with 11,393 and then Suzuki with 8,212.

Looking at the segments in more detail:

• Cruisers were the strongest selling road bikes with 22.5 per cent of the market followed by 250cc on 15.5 per cent and Super Sports 12.5 per cent.
• Suzuki, with 3,563 sales, narrowly led the road bike market from Harley-Davidson with 3,548 sales with Honda third on 3,477.
• In the off-road segment, Enduro had 33 per cent of the market from Moto Cross with 28 per cent and Mini bikes with 21 per cent.
• Yamaha was market leader in the off-road segment with 5,826 sales from Honda with 4,988 and then Suzuki with 3,018.
• Agriculture had the greatest share of the ATV market (81 per cent), with Sport and Children’s ATVs each on 9.5 per cent.

Honda led the ATV market with 2,740 sales followed by Yamaha with 2,558 and Suzuki on 1568.

published 7/07/2009