Motorcycle Sales Up 3.8% for 2014

The Motorcycle Industry Council reports motorcycle sales increased 3.8% for 2014. A total of 483,526 motorcycles were sold during the calendar year, an increase of 17,743 units over 2013. Off-Highway motorcycles registered the highest percentage year-over-year growth at 10.9%, with the On-Highway and Dual segments tallying 3.0 and 3.6% respectively. Scooter sales were the only two-wheeled segment to decline YOY, down 3.5%. Meanwhile, ATV sales showed a steady 0.5% rate of growth.

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2013 Motorcycle Sales Increase 1.4%
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The 2014 motorcycle sales total marks the fourth consecutive year of modest growth since the market bottomed out in 2010 at 439,678 units sold. Annual motorcycles sales have since increased by 440,899 (2011), 452,386 (2012) and 465,783 (2013) to its current 483,526 total. This gradual recovery follows the dramatic decline of the motorcycle market during the recession, when annual motorcycle sales plummeted from 879,910 in 2008 to 520,502 in 2009.

ON-HIGHWAY SALES GAIN 9801 UNITS

On-Highway motorcycles represents all street-legal models except for dual-sport/adventure bikes and scooters. The MIC claims 334,488 On-Highway models sold in 2014, up 9801 units (3.0%) for the year. The final tally improved from 2014 Q3 totals, which listed a 2.2% increase YOY.

DIRT BIKES UP, SCOOTERS DOWN

Off-Highway bikes demonstrated the greatest improvement for the year with an 81,013 unit total. After a slow first quarter, dirt bike sales grew to a 10.9% YOY increase of 7955 units. The Dual segment, which is composed of dual-sport and adventure models, grew 3.6% for the year with 34,497 units total.

Scooters sales registered a 3.5% YOY decline for 2014. A total of 33,528 scooters were sold for the year, down 1214 units.

ATV MARKET

The annual ATV sales total of 229,552 units is virtually unchanged for the year, up 0.5% (1247 units) from 2013. However, the MIC’s ATV totals are only a partial representation of the 4-wheeled off-road market, as they exclude the popular UTV/Side-by-Side categories.

MIC sales data is compiled by the reported sales of its member brands: Can-Am, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, the Piaggio Group, Victory, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha.