When I came across these sales figures for 2013 motorcycle sales, I was quite shocked. I guess the Harley brand is stronger than I thought. Honda produced some pretty cool bikes last year. The power of Marketing I guess.
Motorcycle sales in the U.S. rose 1.4 percent in 2013 over 2012, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, which tracked sales results for 20 brands representing 75 percent of the industry.
Sales of dual-purpose bikes were up 7.8 percent to 32,979. Sales of street bikes were up 2 percent to 324,691. Sales of off-road bikes were up 5.7 percent to 73,371. But sales of scooters were down 15.5 percent.
Worldwide sales of Japanese motorcycles dropped for the Big Four in 2013, the third consecutive year of decline. Production decreased 5.4 percent to 563,169 bikes. On a brand-by-brand basis:
– Honda was down 29.8 percent to 141,800.
– Kawasaki was down 5.3 percent to 72,651.
– Suzuki was up 16 percent to 173,319.
– Yamaha was up 4.9 percent to 173,918.
By comparison, American brand Harley-Davidson sold 260,839 new bikes last year, while European builders KTM and BMW sold 123,859 and 115,191 bikes respectively.