Always the quickest to compile its data, the latest new PTW registration numbers from ANESDOR, the motorcycle industry trade association in Spain, is the first to be seen that give us an insight into how any of the major markets performed in March 2020, and they do not make pretty reading.
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| Jose Maria Riano, General Secretary of ANESDOR: "March was going quite well in Spain, until around March 13, which was when the Spanish Prime Minister effectively declared a state of emergency - the market became paralyzed straight away." |
Spanish PTW motorcycle registrations were +12.17% in 2019, with 194,663 units registered, compared to 173,545 in 2018 - the best market performance in Spain since before 2008. They even grew by +8.34% in December, having been +27.28% in November.
The year was off to a good start, with January +13.45% and February +21.43%, with over 14,000 new PTWs sold in each of the first two months of the year. Compare this to the 16,201 registrations recorded in March 2019, March 2020 gives us a glimpse of the damage being done by the pandemic with registrations down by -43.66% at 9,128 units.
For the year to date, the first quarter of 2020, the market in Spain is -6.88% cumulatively (38,047 units), having been +18.69% (40,858 units) for Q1 of 2019 (34,425 units/+18.85% for Q1 of 2018).
'coordinated solutions - social and economic'
Statistically, the figures are even worse in Spain when looking at motorcycles alone. The market there was -46.64% (7,997 units) in March, having been +19.28%/12,825 units in February and +11.96%/12,373 units in January.
For the first quarter as a whole, the motorcycle market in Spain is -9.79% (33,188 units), having been +18.13% (36,789 units) for Q1 2019 and +24.49% (31,144 units) for Q1 2018.
Moped registrations in Spain were -6.91% for March (1,131 units), having been +39.76% (1,761 units) for February and +23.78% (1,973 units) for January. For the YTD they are +19.42% at 4,895 units for Q1.
Jose Maria Riano, General Secretary of ANESDOR, says that March was going quite well in Spain until around March 14, which was when the Spanish Prime Minister effectively declared a state of emergency - the market became paralyzed straight away.
In percentage terms, ANESDOR says that it should be noted that until March 13 growth was running at +37.8% and then fell by -89% in the second half of March.
Riano said: "With every day that passes with the market closed, any recovery becomes more difficult for the companies in the sector. In this emergency we are going through, it is necessary to take the appropriate measures to minimize the social and the economic impact. It is necessary to think about a crash plan to recover the automotive and motorcycle sectors if we want to preserve jobs.
"All kinds of motorcycles, which make up the bulk of the market here in Spain, have seen a decline of -45.7% from +34.4% through to March 13.
"ANESDOR is keeping the communication channels open with the Government of Spain and, through ACEM in Brussels, with the European Commission with the objective of seeking coordinated solutions in this situation of health crisis - social and economic."
Honda is market share leader with a 19.8% share, followed by Yamaha (15.7%), Kymco (10.0%), with BMW 4th and Piaggio 5th. The top seller YTD is the Kymco Agility City 125, followed by the Honda PCX 125 and the Silence S02.