Market reports – Annual report of the motorcycle and scooter market 2012 – The 125 suffer, the big cubes resist

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2012 annual report of the motorcycle and scooter market

Market reports - Annual report of the motorcycle and scooter market 2012 - The 125 suffer, the big cubes resist

Like last year, the general drop in sales of motorcycles and scooters observed in 2012 in France (-8.7%) hides large imbalances, especially between 125 cc and large cubes. Figures, graphs and analyzes: the 2012 report is on Site.

The 125s suffer, the big cubes resist

Despite a low bar in December 2011 (read our), the French motorcycle market ended 2012 with an extremely disappointing twelfth month..

In December 2012, only 6,065 "motorized two-wheelers of 125 cc and more" – the famous motorcycles – left the French concessions. Last year over the same period, they were 7,457: the drop therefore amounts to -18.7%…

Rainy December, unhappy market ?

Badly all year round, 125 cc motorcycles and scooters ended the balance sheet with an alarming loss of a third of their sales: 2,042 models in this MTL category were registered last December against 3,028 a year ago !

Admittedly, the very abundant precipitations in certain regions certainly did not encourage the French to acquire a new 125: "averaged over France, the quantity of water collected is approximately 30% surplus", reports Meteo France in its climate report of December 2012. But the rain does not explain everything…

Last month, the registrations of large cubes were twice as high as those of the 125: 4023 holders of the A license therefore braved the fleet and fell for a new motorcycle – or a maxiscooter! – against 4,429 in December 2011.

The decrease is therefore limited in the category of "more than 125 cc" to a -9.2% that statisticians will cancel without qualms, since December 2012 had two working days less than December 2011.

2012 market: 158,106 registrations (-8.7%)

Once again weighed down by the 125, the evolution of motorcycle sales in France between 2012 and 2011 finally came to -8.7%. In absolute terms, almost 15,000 registrations are lacking to match last year’s score.

A quick glance at the Site graphics is enough to verify that, like last year, the 125 sector is the big one – if not the only one – responsible for this new downturn. The -18.9% drop in small-displacement this year is also modeled on that of 2011 (-18.7%).

For their part, the big cubes would have liked to reproduce their 2011 result (+ 3.5%). Unfortunately, their beautiful summer 2012 did not make it possible to counterbalance the "high seasons" (spring and autumn for motorized two-wheelers) that were too timid: the "over 125" came out at -1.7%.

The bar of 100,000 registrations of motorcycles and scooters "over 125 cc" is still crossed for the second time since the failure of 2010, while that of 60,000 units is not even dropped by the 125 cc : a first since MNC studied the motorcycle market…

While we hoped to have seen them reach a floor value in the first half of 2012 (around 30,000 registrations, read our), the 125 continued to grow in the second half, accumulating only 29,846 registrations in six months. !

Some scooters – a segment which still constitutes three quarters of sales in 125 – nevertheless continue to attract many French motorists every month, but with a little extra: a wheel !

Lower 125, maintain large cubes and MP3 LT !

Because alongside real motorcycles circulate the famous "MP3 LT": considered rightly as tricycles because of their, they do not appear in the files compiled by the Auxiliary Automobile Association (AAA).

Questioned by Site, Piaggio France informs us however that in 2012, 8871 MP3 LT of 300, 400 and 500 cc found takers and that in addition, the new Yourban (LT) 300 attracted 1224 French people: a total of 10 095 scooters "over 125 cc but accessible to motorists", comparable to last year.

Even among bikers – the "real ones", holders of the A license! -, scooters held a hell of a rating in 2012! The breakthrough is particularly impressive in the 501-750 cc family, where the BMW C 600 Sport and C 650 GT and the Yamaha Tmax 530 arrived..

Not content with having broken all records in terms of sales of maxiscooters, the replacement for the Tmax 500 moved to the top of the rankings, beating the favorite motorbike of the French: the Kawasaki Z750 (at the end of its life certainly, but everything even)…

The Tmax 530 is crowned in 2012 !

After seven years of reign, the Zed bowed to the new Yamaha benchmark. In addition to ceding the crown of large engines to the Tmax, the Z750 bequeaths its scepter of the "kingdom of motorcycles" to its brother ER-6 … While waiting for the Z800 to seize the witness in turn ?!

Among the 125s we also find a Yamaha scooter at the top of the list: the Xmax, which is ahead of the Honda PCX and the Piaggio XEvo as in 2011. As for the Peugeot Satelis (old and new version), it gains one place compared to last year and climbs to fourth place.

The basic Yamaha YBR may well have slowed down significantly in 2012, it remains the best selling 125 motorcycle in France ahead of the exuberant KTM 125 Duke! The Honda CBF125 completes the podium, far ahead of the Varadero trail and the sporty YZF-R 125.

Among maxi roadsters also the bestseller Honda CB1000R is seriously slowing down, but its comfortable lead over the Kawasaki Z1000 in 2011 allows it to remain n ° 1 in sales in the segment. The BMW R1200R finished third ahead of two other European models: Triumph Speed ​​Triple and Ducati Streetfighter 848. Premium brands continue to gain ground !

Japanese, not bad…

The Japanese manufacturers still realize two other doubled in the department "Trail of medium displacement" and "Supersport": NC700X and V-Strom 650 on one side, YZF-R6 and ZX-6R on the other. In the road, it’s definitely a full box since the Top 5 is 100% Japanese !

Overall, we note that Yamaha and Honda manage – despite the drop in their sales – to grab a few hundredths of market share. Behind these two heavyweights, on the other hand, Suzuki completely lost ground and gave up its third place last year to Kawasaki..

The decline of the Hamamatsu firm is such (-24%) that in 2012, Japanese-brand motorcycles and scooters represented a little less than 50% of the market (49.9% to be exact), against 50.9% last year and … 63.2% in 2005 (read our) !

We can estimate that the point of PDM lost by the top quartet was directly recovered by the fifth: BMW, which signs the best progression of the year within the Top 20 (+ 9.3%) and beats again this year its record of motorcycle registrations – and now maxiscooters! – in France.

While the German is now familiar with the Japanese, the Italian Piaggio (and Vespa) hoists his scooters beyond 6% market share (not counting the MP3 LT tricycles). Another specialist, this time custom, takes 7th place again this year: Harley Davidson "cruise" at the same pace as the market.

Really not in the same boat

KTM is the first to change the order of the ranking established last year: 10th in 2011, the Austrian jumped to 8th place in 2012 ahead of French Peugeot and Briton Triumph. Ducati remains 11th (+ 5.7%), still ahead of the two Taiwanese Kymco and Sym that nothing separates now !

Already in the red purple last year, the Korean Daelim fell even more in 2012: -34.6%, this is the biggest drop among the top twenty brands and this allows Aprilia and MBK to nibble a place each.

The only brand to disappear from the Top 20 in 2012 is called Gilera. It is replaced by another Italian brand: Beta (-4%). Note that in 21st place crouched another off-road specialist: Sherco, who finished 5 short lengths from his competitor !

Matthieu BRETILLE – AAA figures

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