OZ BIKE SALES CONTINUE TO RISE. SEPTEMBER 2007

September 15, 2007 10:08 AM AWST

The Australian motorcycle market is on target for another record year after achieving sales of more than 60,000 for the first half of 2007. Official retail sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 60,192 motorcycles, scooters and ATVs were sold to June 30 - an increase of 7,818 or 14.9% over the same period in 2006.

While dirt bikes continue to lead the way in actual sales, the big growth has been in road bikes, sales growing 27.2% for the first half of 2007 compared to 2006. Honda was the top road bike brand with 21.1% of the market.

Off-road bike sales rose 12.6% for the first six months of the year, where Yamaha is still the dominant brand with 33% of the market. Scooter sales rose 8.2% (7,156 units). Bolwell is the #1 brand in this market.
This year's increase marks the fourth straight year of motorcycle sales rises, with sales for the 2007 calendar year looking likely to break the overall sales record of 119,210 set last year.