Two-Wheeler Sales In Italy Decline In February 2022

Motorcycles are doing fine, but moped and scooter sales have dropped remarkably.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Mar 2, 2022 at 9:51pm ET

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The global motorcycle market ended 2021 on a generally positive note, as the gradual easing of COVID restrictions and partial restoration of economies afforded individuals more buying power. With 2022 looking more and more like the new normal, the industry might be facing a slight decline due to people going back to their routine lives before the pandemic—I'm talking about people who turned to motorcycling as a result of the pandemic.

While it isn't certain as to whether or not the so called new normal is to blame, Italy experienced rather lackluster motorcycle sales in February 2022, as compared to the same period last year. In particular, mopeds and scooters are to blame, as the entire segment saw a sharp decline in sales figures. Motorcycles, however, continue to enjoy growth, but not nearly as much as the decline the scooter and moped segments delivered. By volumes alone, the market in Italy is definitley down versus February 2021.

Scooter sales dropped by 29.3 percent in February 2022 versus the same period last year.

Our friends at Italian motorcycling publication Motociclismo.IT published an extensive, six-page report about this, but we'll just give you a brief overview about the Italian market. Overall, as mentioned earlier, the motorcycle segment, meaning standard two-wheelers such as sportbikes, nakeds, ADVs, and sport-tourers, enjoyed decent sales. Unsurprisingly, the Benelli TRK 502 continues its stronghold in the industry, and is still the best-selling motorcycle in its segment.

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Going into just a little more detail, Motociclismo.IT's article explains that, overall, the motorcycle industry in Italy suffered a decline of 4.8 percent in February 2022 versus the same month last year. For motorcycles specifically, however, the market grew by 27.7 percent, thanks to all the exciting new models released in EICMA. Specifically, motorcycles with dispalcements ranging from 500cc to 750cc saw the largest growth, posting 41.94 percent. Meanwhile, big bikes with displacements of 1000cc and up dropped by a measly 0.35 percent. As for the type of bikes, naked bikes are the most popular, growing by 43.59 percent.

As for scooters and mopeds, the picture is the exact opposite. Mopeds posted a decline of 3.6 percent, and scooters fared the worst with a drop of 29.3 percent. Although the analysis doesn't go into the details of the possible reasons why scooters and mopeds dropped, it could be because people are no longer as reliant to them especially given the reopening of public transportation infrastructure, and the accelerated adoption of electric two-wheelers and e-bikes.

Source: Motociclismo.IT