Australian motorcycle market falls in 2017
After a strong 2016 – the strongest in six years – the Australian motorcycle market came back to earth with a thud in 2017. Poor results, from traditionally strong market segments and individual models, saw new bike sales slip by almost ten per cent compared to the year prior.
In data supplied by VFACTS and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), nationwide sales of 104,111 motorcycles in 2017 was down 9.3 percent on 2016’s result of 114,783, which in turn was up by 6.6 per cent on 2015.
All four of the main motorcycle categories saw reversals, with road bikes taking the biggest hit of 15.9 per cent, while scooter sales dropped 13.9 per cent and off-road bike sales slipped 5.9 per cent. ATV sales fell by only 0.7 per cent.
Postie Dive, Victory Rise
One model that contributed significantly to the sales slump of more than 10,000 units in 2017 was the Honda NBC110; aka the Postie Bike. Despite being unavailable to the public, the NBC110 is counted in our annual sales figures and has topped the overall Australian market for years. That changed last year when postie bike sales dropped by more than 40 per cent: only 1,447 sales compared to 2,558 in 2016.
On the flipside, the announcement 12 months ago that Polaris was winding up Victory saw sales of that brand increase by 3.6 per cent.
An increase in Polaris sales of 9.0 per cent can be put down mainly to good sales from two particular ATV models and the booming Side by Side (SxS) market that the brand dominates.
Harder to explain are improvements for Indian and Husqvarna. Along with Victory and Polaris, these two were the only other brands to record sales increases in 2017; Husqvarna being the star with a 22.1 per cent jump compared to 2016.
Honda Holds the Summit
Honda was Australia’s Number One motorcycle brand again in 2017, albeit on reduced overall volume and despite not being the top-selling brand in any of the four major categories: outsold by Harley-Davidson in road, Yamaha in off-road, Polaris in ATV and Piaggio in scooter.
Honda did however, have a number of top-selling individual models, including the the CRF50F, which was the top seller in the off road category and top selling bike overall in 2017.
All four Japanese brands saw sales fall, including Yamaha by a concerning 14.1 per cent, but Suzuki did regain the number four slot it lost to Harley-Davidson in 2016.
Harley-Davidson sales fell by 13.4 per cent, but last year’s Q3 debut of the Street Rod, the more recent arrival of the new Softail family and the first Aus-legal Harley trikes, along with other new product expected in the coming months, should see sales improve this year.
Of the other main brands, Ducati recorded the smallest decline of 2.2 per cent, while BMW fell 8.2 per cent. Aprilia and Moto Guzzi dropped by more than 32 per cent each, with other brands hoping for a happier 2018 including KTM (down 12.5 per cent), and Triumph (down 26.4 per cent).
Finally, despite its seemingly strong presence in the market, Royal Enfield hasn’t gained its own listing in the manufacturer ranks - lumped into the “other” category that saw 576 sales in 2017, of which the Indian brand would have to account for a large percentage of.
Top 10 Brands – 2017
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Honda 24,166 (-8.0%)
2. Yamaha 21,387 (-14.1%)
3. Kawasaki 9,986 (-5.7%)
4. Suzuki 9,012 (-9.2%)
5. Harley-Davidson 8,903 (-13.4%)
6. KTM 7,590 (-12.5%)
7. Polaris 6,583 (+9.0%)
8. BMW 3,029 (-8.2%)
9. Husqvarna 2,647 (+22.1%)
10. BRP 2,416 (-4.3%)
Overall Sales – Minibikes rule
Across all categories (excluding ATVs), the sales tumble of the NBC110 meant the top three selling motorcycles in Australia last year were “kids” bikes.
Honda’s CRF50F, the second-best seller from 2016, took the Number One spot in 2017 from the Yamaha PW50 and TT-R50E. Volumes of all three decreased, but only slightly compared to others.
Harley’s Street 500 and Softail Breakout, the only dedicated road bikes in the top ten, both suffered large drops (29 and 23.8 per cent respectively).
While some places were shuffled, the overall top ten was similar to 2016, the only change being Yamaha’s YZF-R3, which was replaced in the overall top ten by Honda’s CRF230F.
Top 10 Bikes – 2017 (all categories, excluding ATVs)
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Honda CRF50F 2,361 (-1.6%)
2. Yamaha PW50 1,845 (-5.9%)
3. Yamaha TT-R50E 1,833 (-5.0%)
4. Honda CRF110F 1,494 (+0.7%)
5. Kawasaki KLX110 1,457 (+1.7%)
6. Honda NBC110* 1,447 (-43.4%)
7. Yamaha WR450F 1,335 (-19.2%)
8. Harley-Davidson XG500 1,182 (-29.0%)
9. Honda CRF230F 1,173 (-1.0%)
10. Harley-Davidson FXSB 1,509 (-23.8%)
*fleet motorcycle, included in national bike sales
Categories - Road
As has been the case in past years, LAMS bikes figured prominently in the road bike sales charts for 2017, accounting for all bar three of the top ten, but of those, combined sales were down by just over 25 per cent compared to 2016.
Kawasaki’s Ninja 300, which was Australia’s top-selling road bike after the NBC110 in 2015, saw sales decrease by 26 per cent last year, with Yamaha’s YZF-R3 experiencing a more precipitous fall.
In slightly better news for Yamaha, the 25.3 per cent fall for their MT-07L was partially offset by the MT-09, which increased sales by 15.5 per cent.
After a stunning debut in 2016, Honda’s Grom looks like it’s more than a “fad” bike, with strong sales again in 2017, but the picture was less rosy for the CBR500R and CB125E (that made the road bike top ten in 2016), both of which fell by more than 20 per cent.
In the road bike subcategories, the LAMS top ten is almost a carbon copy of the road bike top ten, with the only exceptions being the road-registerable enduros - Yamaha WR450F (1,335 sales), Honda CRF250L (820) and Suzuki DR-Z400E (800).
In the naked subcategory, Yamaha’s MT-09 and MT-10 were the only units in the top ten to increase sales, by 15.5 and 2.1 per cent, respectively. The KTM 390DUKE (361 sales), Triumph Scrambler 800 (273) and Bonneville T120 (264), along with Kawasaki’s Z300 (252), all saw minor sales falls.
The sport touring and super sport subcategories saw more notable decreases. In sport touring, the BMW S1000 XR fell by 25.3 per cent, Yamaha’s MT-09 Tracer dropped almost 30 per cent and KTM’s RC390 slipped by more than 44 per cent.
Kawasaki saw solid increases for the Ninja 650L and Ninja 1000 (+24.9 and 25.5 per cent, respectively), while the new-for-2017 Versys-X 300 sold 135 units and the Ninja 300 topped the sport touring group with 1,017 sales.
In super sport, the arrival of Suzuki’s new generation GSX-R1000 (see JUST BIKES #344) saw sales increase by 24.5 per cent, while 210 sales for Ducati’s 1299 Panigale and 158 sales for the new Supersport came at the expense of the 959 Panigale, which sold only 264 units in 2017 compared to 350 the year prior.
Sales of the Yamaha YZF R1 fell by 40.1 per cent, but the largest drop in this subcategory was the Honda CBR300R, which sold only 273 units last year after 611 in 2016.
In the cruiser and touring subcategories, Harley-Davidson features prominently, claiming the top spot in both. In cruiser, Harley’s Dyna Low Rider S took third (665 sales +33.3 per cent) behind the Street 500 and Softail Breakout, with the Night Rod Special accounting for 310 sales in its final year in the charts following Harley’s discontinuation of the V-Rod range at the end of 2016.
Honda’s new CMX500 cruiser notched up an impressive 595 sales in little more than six months on the market, while Indian saw Scout sales increase by 20.4 per cent. Kawasaki’s Vulcan S saw a small increase (590 vs 571), but sales of Yamaha’s long-running XV650/A fell markedly (488 vs 779).
Following the absorption of Harley-Davidson’s Dyna range into the Softail family for 2018, don’t be surprised if there’s a rush on the last Dynas this year, similar to the final Victory bikes last year.
In the touring subcategory, Harley had seven of the top ten sellers. The Street Glide Special led the way (352 sales), followed by the Electra Glide Ultra Limited (221), Road King (141), Road Glide Special (130) and CVO Street Glide (122), but all were down on 2016’s numbers.
The Road King Special that debuted last year (see JUST BIKES #336) recorded 114 sales, while Indian’s Roadmaster saw a healthy increase (82 vs 55 in 2016).
The only non-American models in this subcategory were BMW’s R 1200 RT (-30.4 per cent) and Yamaha’s evergreen FJR1300 (-49.0 per cent).
Finally, in the adventure touring subcategory, the CRF1000 led the pack, followed by the Suzuki DR650SE (448 sales) and BMW’s R 12000 GS (472, +23.2 per cent) and R 1200 GS Adventure (307, -17.0 per cent).
KTM’s new 1090ADVR recorded 190 sales on debut, with Honda’s CB500XA (274 sales) and Suzuki’s DL650XA (189) the only others to see increases.
Top 10 Road bikes – 2017
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Honda NBC110* 1,447 (-43.4%)
2. Harley-Davidson XG500 1,182 (-29.0%)
(Street 500)
3. Harley-Davidson FXSB 1,150 (-23.8%)
(Softail Breakout)
4. Honda Grom 1,086 (-6.5%)
5. Yamaha MT-07L 1,032 (-25.3%)
6. Kawasaki Ninja 300 1,017 (-26.0%)
7. Honda CBR500R 996 (-21.9%)
8. Yamaha YZF-R3 945 (-37.9%)
9. Yamaha MT-09 799 (+15.5%)
10. Honda CRF1000 753 (+1.8%)
*fleet motorcycle, included in national bike sales
Categories – Off Road
Across the entire off road market, Yamaha came out on top, despite a sales drop of 8 per cent, with Kawasaki and Suzuki experiencing similar falls, but Honda improved by 1.6 per cent, joining Husqvarna as the only other off road brand to record an overall sales increase from 2016.
The usually resilient off road market saw falls in all the main subcategories of trail (-1.1 per cent), enduro (-15.5 per cent) and motocross (-13.1 per cent). Farm bikes also took a hit, down 2.3 per cent.
In the trail subcategory, Honda’s CRF230F was the top seller, followed by the CRF250L with 820 units. Improvers were Kawasaki’s KLX150BF (+15.2 per cent) and Suzuki’s DR-Z250 (+17.5 per cent), but the big mover was the Suzuki DR200S, which almost doubled its 2016 total with 113 sales.
In the enduro subcategory, the only bright spot was the Husqvarna FE350, with 358 sales marking a 17.4 per cent increase over 2016. The top-selling WR450F went backwards (-19.0 per cent) and KTM’s 300EXC took a harder hit of 26.5 per cent.
In motocross, Yamaha’s YZ250F was the best seller in 2015 and 2016, but that was reversed last year when the larger YZ450F took the MX mantle by just 18 units from its sibling.
Where the YZ250F went backwards in 2017 (812 sales versus 855), its class rival, the Honda CRF250R, improved notably, with 738 units (+25.3 per cent) for the year. In the reverse of Yamaha’s situation, sales of Honda’s bigger CRF450R motocrosser dropped by 11.0 per cent.
A tumultuous season for Kawasaki’s local MX efforts was reflected in the sales charts, with the KX250F and KX450F seeing falls of 19 and 29 per cent, respectively. Most KTM models also saw reduced sales.
In the farm category, Honda’s new XR190 debuted with a solid 260 sales, and despite a fall of more than 25 per cent, Suzuki’s Trojan still rules this subcategory, with 489 sales.
Finally, the FCAI dropped the ‘fun bike’ subcategory for junior off-road models in 2017, replacing it with SxS - refer to the ATV section for SxS models.
Top 10 Off Road bikes – 2017
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Honda CRF50F 2,361 (-1.6%)
2. Yamaha PW50 1,845 (-5.9%)
3. Yamaha TT-R50E 1,833 (-5.0%)
4. Honda CRF110F 1,494 (+0.7%)
5. Kawasaki KLX110 1,457 (+1.7%)
6. Yamaha WR450F 1,335 (-19.2%)
7. Honda CRF230F 1,173 (-1.0%)
8. Yamaha TT-R110E 1,058 (-11.4%)
9. Yamaha YZ450F 830 (+5.5%)
10. Honda CRF250L 820 (no change)
Categories - Scooter
After the boom times of a decade ago, scooter sales have been in almost perpetual decline, but in a category where total volumes are small, the loss of a few units looks larger than it actually is. As evidence of that, scooters accounted for 3.9 per cent of the total new bike market in 2016, but slipped to 3.7 per cent in 2017. In real numbers, that’s a drop of only 201 on total sales of 2,361 units.
Individually, 2016’s rising star, the Suzuki Address 110, was the top-selling scooter last year, clearing 346 units, while Honda’s NSC110 improved to take the runner up spot. These two were also the only models to record any noticeable sales growth; most others either improved fractionally, or went backwards. Piaggio’s Fly 150, Australia’s #1 scooter in 2015 and 2016, dropped to third overall.
The strong result for the Address meant that Suzuki was the only brand to see an overall improvement (5.8 per cent) in the scooter category. All others went backwards, Aprilia suffering the biggest decline of 44.2 per cent, while VMoto disappeared from the local sales charts entirely.
Top 10 Scooters – 2017
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Suzuki Address 110 346 (+28.6%)
2. Honda NSC110 310 (+7.3%)
3. Piaggio Fly 150 306 (-16.8%)
4. Piaggio ZIP 50 269 (+3.9%)
5. Vespa GTS 300 249 (+0.4%)
6. Honda WW150 230 (-24.6%)
7. Vespa Primavera 150 187 (-18.3%)
8. Honda MW110 186 (-30.1%)
9. Piaggio Typhoon 50 165 (-13.6%)
10. Vespa Sprint 150 113 (-18.1%)
Categories – ATV
While overall volumes in the ATV category are small, sales gains by individual models, particularly the Sportsman 450 from Polaris, have been impressive.
Aiding Polaris in taking the top ATV spot were falls by Honda’s TRX models. Numbers 1 and 2 in 2016, the TRX250TM and TRX500FM fell to fourth and third respectively last year.
After a 67.3 per cent sales increase in 2016, Yamaha’s YFM90R saw a more modest 2.0 per cent gain last year. The larger YFM350F improved by 7.7 per cent, but the standard YFM350 tumbled out of the top ten altogether after 639 sales in 2016.
Suzuki’s kid-sized LT-Z50 made the top ten with 460 sales, but the Polaris Outlaw 50 plummeted after a national recall in June due to asbestos found in brakes and other parts. In 2016, Polaris has sold 753 units of this junior model.
Kawasaki had no individual model in the top ten, but they improved sales across their ATV range by 3.2 per cent; the only other manufacturer apart from Polaris (+9.0 per cent) to do so.
Finally, in our reporting on the 2016 sales data, we predicted that the SxS category would be an emerging factor in the overall new bike market. That was proven in 2017, when the SxS subcategory saw sales amongst the top ten improve by 57.7 per cent compared to 2016, and unlike other off-road subcategories, gains were recorded by ALL models inside that top ten.
The best-selling SxS model for the year was the Polaris Ranger Diesel, with 712 units (+64.1 per cent), followed by Honda’s SXS700 with 683 (+59.2 per cent), but the big movers were Polaris’s Ranger 1000 (444 units, +296.4 per cent) and Ranger 500 (394, +994.4 per cent). If SxS sales were included in ATV, they’d occupy half of that category’s top ten.
Top 10 ATVs – 2017
(sales increase/decrease compared to 2016)
1. Polaris Sportsman 570 1130 (+25.1%)
2. Yamaha YFM90R 826 (+2.0%)
3. Honda TRX500FM 762 (-17.4%)
4. Honda TRX250TM 738 (-29.7%)
5. Honda TRX420FM 568 (-28.0%)
6. Yamaha YFM450FA/P 537 (-34.5%)
7. Polaris Sportsman 450 488 (+94.4%)
8. Yamaha YFM350F 487 (+7.7%)
9. Suzuki LT-Z50 460 (+13.3%)
10. Honda TRX500FA 432 (-4.8%)
