Australian motorcycle and off-highway vehicle (OHV) sales have increase 51% in the first quarter over the same period last year.

It’s a similar story to the soaring Aussie housing market and new car sales (up 22.4%), with similar supply and price ramifications for buyers.

Motorcycle dealerships are looking bare at the moment with rising demand as people look to spend their money on luxury items since they can’t travel overseas.

With new bike supply tight and demand high, this has resulted in an end to the past few years of manufacturer and dealer discounting.

It’s also led to a clean-out of second-hand models. Great news if you want to sell a bike, but bad news if you want to buy one.

It’s not just dealerships reporting high sales and prices, but also private sellers and auction houses which are reporting high clearing rates and top prices.

The official Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) figures show exceptional growth in the 2021 first quarter sales results for motorcycles.

Total sales for the period from January to March 2021 were 27,256 units, an increase of 9279 motorcycles, scooters and off highway vehicles. This represents a 51.6% increase on the same period in 2020 when 17,977 sales were recorded.

It should also be noted that sales in Australia did not collapse during the first few months of the pandemic as they did overseas. Australia recorded a drop of only 2.6% in the first quarter of 2020.

In the first quarter of 2021, road bikes increased 20.9% to 8684, a notable increase but actually the lowest increase of all four sectors of the market.

Dirt bikes also recorded strong growth, with 11,642 units sold during the first quarter – an 88.9% increase on the 2020 first quarter.

OHVs continued their significant sales growth during the past year, accounting for sales of 5455 units this quarter. This is an increase of 1984 units, or 57.2%, over the same period in 2020 when 3471 were sold.

Scooter sales were up 26.9% to 1475, or 313 more than in the first quarter of 2020, when 1162 were sold.

“The results are clearly reinforcing the view that motorbikes, scooters and OHVs are continuing to be a favoured mobility choice across the country,” says FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber.

“It also reflects a growing confidence in the economy as people use their disposable income to either upgrade or buy a motorcycle for the first time.

“The big increase in off-road motorcycles also suggests that the changed social environment brought about by COVID 19 has encouraged many people to look to this area as a positive form of recreation,” he said.

It should be noted that the FCAI figures no longer include a breakdown of manufacturer results or sales per sector (such as cruisers, tourers, sports bike). Several manufacturers are also not included in the FCAI results, most of them minor. However, CFMoto is not included and it is likely within the top 10 sellers in Australia.

Australian sales figures:

Segment	YTD 2021	YTD 2020	Percentage +/-
OHV	5,455	3,471	+57.2 per cent
Off-road	11,642	6,162	+88.9 per cent
Road	8,684	7,182	+20.9 per cent
Scooter	1,475	1,162	+26.9 per cent
Total market	27,256	17,977	+51.6 per cent

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com