Market reports – January on the hats of wheels –

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January on the hats of wheels

Market reports - January on the hats of wheels -

The two-wheeler market has barely signed a very positive result for 2005 when it starts afresh for the month of January: + 9.7% in large displacement, + 34.3% in 125 and a total of 12,546 sales … as long as it lasts !

After having recorded very good results for the whole of the 2005 financial year (read our), the two-wheeler market continues to grow.

In fact, the 125 cc market is even starting the New Year with a bang! With an increase in their sales of 34.3% compared to January 2005, the "cups" exceed 5,000 units. Leading the procession – by far! – Yamaha figure and his particularly muscular trio composed of XMax, Majesty and YBR.

Less impressive in terms of development (+ 9.7% compared to January 2005), the "over 125" are not to be outdone and even display a total sales significantly higher than that of their little sisters with more than 7 500 units sold. And once again, Kawasaki and Triumph are the most dynamic.

Market 125

The 125 – and even more so the scooters – are still more and more popular with the French. Certainly, until the French cities resemble the Asian cities crowded with Honda Cub – whose global giant has just announced the release of the 50 millionth! -, there is still room. But none of the Top 10 manufacturers recorded a drop in sales compared to January 2005 and only Peugeot declined slightly compared to the results for December.

It is undeniable: whether they are motorists tired of traffic jams, users tired of transporting in common sardine cans, broke students or bikers attracted by the sobriety, maneuverability and comfort offered by the small 125 in urban areas, the French more and more people are falling for eighths of a liter !

This month, Yamaha has the best operation (23.6% market share), taking advantage of the explosion in sales and the stagnation of those of its two main competitors, Honda and Piaggio. Special mention for the new XMax from the tuning forks brand (read), which made a very remarkable entry into the Top 10 (now Top 15) of best sales by model by directly taking first place !

The elegant and sporty look of the XMax – close to that of the TMax, the best seller of maxi scooters – seems to have seduced buyers. The YBR and the Majesty also posted good results thanks to more than attractive prices.

Piaggio, who does not want to get into the price war (read our interview with), tries to resist with his X8, X9 and Vespa Granturismo and LX. In vain: because if Yamaha is in the lead, the more extensive range of the world number one, Honda, also got the better of the "small" Italian brand … within 15 units !

Suzuki sticks its head above water after a laborious fall, but its results are practically limited to sales of its Burgman (270 out of a total of 341 sales of 125). The same is true for MBK (Skyliner and Skycruiser), which saw its sales increase by a third compared to January 2005. At the same time, Aprilia experienced a substantially identical increase but for a volume which remained lower (166 sales)..

Peugeot Motocycles missed the boat last year but intends to make up for it: "The 125 market experienced very strong development in 2005 and we no longer had any new products to offer. Fortunately for 2006 this trend is confirmed and it is a very good opportunity for the launch of our Satelis"assures Eve Lavril of the communication department, who also recalls that Peugeot is"above all a manufacturer of two wheels".

The Lion thus hopes to carve out a worthy share of its name in the 125 cc market " at least 15%", thanks to its new Satelis and Geopolis and a"powerful communication". To watch therefore.

With a surge in sales (+ 465.2%!), Daelim once again explodes the counters but in the end, the Korean brand delivered only 130 vehicles in January 2006. The real challenge will only begin with the spring, which in 2005 marked the beginning of a record year for the brand. It will then be a question of confirming these good results…

Large engine market

On the large engine side, the French market is growing by almost 10%. Kawasaki, second manufacturer in December (read), lost one place in the standings but at the same time signed a record January with 1,135 motorcycles sold.

With 410 and 375 sales, the Kawasaki Z750 and the new ER-6n are respectively second and third in the Top 15. The ER-6f will soon arrive in concession – soon to be tested in Moto-Net! – should strengthen Kawa’s presence in the very buoyant medium-displacement sector.

The Z750 is not the best-selling motorcycle in France, so which motorcycle dominates the French market? The Bandit 650, premiered last December? Never mind: the Suz is marking time with 311 sales. The Hornet? No more: the little Honda still struggles with only 180 sales, placing itself behind the GSX-R 1000, the R1200 RT and the R1 !

At the head this month is quite simply the Yamaha Fazer 600 – of which certain 2005 models are available for less than 6,300 € – with 464 copies sold. But if the little Fazer is solidly supported by its sporty cousins ​​R1 and R6 (188 and 111 sales) and the maxi scooter TMax (179 sales), the tuning fork brand no longer follows the progress of the market as it had done in 2005. (read).

Suzuki took the opportunity to establish its status as number one in France (in addition to 125) and placed no less than five models in the first 15 places, including its hypersportive GSX-R 1000 which sold 248 copies! The radars crackle in advance … The new GSR roadster (read) has made a good entry on the French market with 285 sales for its first month and confirms – if it was still needed – the appetite of French for the lively and agile 600 roadsters. Suddenly, Suzuki pockets more than 23% of market share.

Behind this trio with heterogeneous results, Honda is like its Hornet 600: losing speed … With -7.4% compared to January 2005 and 12.8% of market share, the Japanese giant is struggling . Its overhaul, the key word of which is "quality" (read our interview with) is in the medium term and leads to the slogan: "patience"…

Similarly, KTM saw its sales decrease by 6.7%, suffering from the general decline in off-road sales. The Austrians are now focusing more on their road products, which are selling like hot cakes but in even reduced volumes (read our interview with).

In 2005, BMW had saved its month of January thanks to its recent R 1200 GS (read). This year, the Bavarian firm almost equalizes its results with its adventurer always in great shape when the roads are more tricky (13th sale) and its faithful R 1200 RT (199 sales).

Besides Kawasaki, three brands recorded a very good month, starting with Triumph (+ 44.7%) which is counting on its new Scrambler and Daytona (read) to consolidate its excellent results for 2005 (read our interview). The Italians are also progressing: Ducati and Piaggio register increases of 25.2% and 36.7% respectively.

Note also the clear progress of Aprilia and Moto Guzzi which doubled their sales compared to January 2005 (respectively 90 and 51 units). On the other hand, the opposite trend is for Husqvarna, which goes from 50 to 30 sales for the first month despite the brand’s good results in the various Supermoto championships (read our interview with).

Finally, the French Voxan sold 20 motorcycles against 30 in January 2005.

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