April 09, 2009 02:48pm - Adelaide Now.
THE rush by Australians to switch from four wheels to two has taken a blow with sales of motorcycles and scooters falling 15 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
After demand rose to record levels in 2008, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) on said 26,241 new bikes, scooters and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were sold to the end of March.
The result was down 15.5 per cent on the 31,064 sold in the same period last year and followed a 19.2 per cent fall in sales of new cars and trucks over the first quarter.
FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said that while there had been a decline, the motorcycle market was coming off a period of high demand, driven partly by high petrol prices last year.
He said there were still good reasons why motorists should consider buying a new bike or scooter.
"There are signs that the motorcycle market has softened in the past three months, however it has to be remembered that it is being compared to the record sales result of 2008,'' Mr McKellar said.
"There are obvious financial benefits of motorcycle ownership and in these economic times people should look seriously at their transport needs.''
Sales of road bikes held up the best in the March quarter with demand falling just 6.8 per cent to 10,794.
But demand for ATVs was down 13 per cent and off-road bike sales slumped by almost 20 per cent.
Scooter sales also suffered in the downturn with only 2996 retailed to the end of March, a fall of 31 per cent.
Mr McKellar said scooters remained a fashionable, convenient and economical mode of transport. "But it is clear that the tightening economy has affected sales of this previously rapid growing segment,'' he said.
Yamaha was the top selling brand in the first quarter with 5,197 units ahead of Honda on 4,917 and Suzuki on 3763.
Iconic brand Harley Davidson performed better than most with demand down just 3.6 per cent to 1902. (some good news at least )
The best selling bike was the Kawasaki EX250-F with 552 retailed over the three months, ahead of the Honda CT110 on 479 and the Suzuki DR-Z400E.
Honda had the top selling scooter with the SCV100 snapped up by 160 buyers, an increase of 90 per cent over the same period in 2008.
