Motorcycles (Russian market)

2023

Imports of motorcycles, mopeds and scooters to Russia for the year soared by 64% to 181.9 thousand units

In 2023, 298.9 thousand motorcycles, mopeds and scooters were imported to Russia, which is a record figure. This is 64.3% more compared to 2022, when 181.9 thousand such vehicles were imported. Market trends are addressed in the BusinesStat survey published in early October 2024.

According to estimates, in 2019, the import of motorcycles, mopeds and scooters to Russia amounted to 135.6 thousand units. A year later, the figure increased by 17.3% - to 159 thousand units. In 2021, there was an increase of another 31.7% with a final result of 209.4 thousand units. The demand for these vehicles among Russian buyers remains high, which is explained by several reasons. The price of motor vehicles is lower than cars, as are maintenance and fuel costs. Tuition for a Category A driver's license is also lower than for Category B, and training programs are more affordable. In addition, when using motor vehicles, there are usually no problems with parking in urban conditions.

In 2022, as noted in the study, the import of the vehicles in question in the Russian Federation decreased by 13.1%, which is due to the deteriorating geopolitical situation. Due to sanctions and logistics problems, deliveries of motorcycles to the American company Harley-Davidson were suspended. The European Union has officially imposed a ban on the export to Russia of European motorcycles worth more than €5 thousand euros. In addition, the purchasing power of Russians has decreased.

According to the results of 2022, the supply of motorcycles, mopeds and scooters from Belarus decreased by 14.1 thousand units in relation to 2021, from China - by 3.8 thousand units, from Germany - by 3.6 thousand units, from India - by 1.8 thousand units, from the USA - by 1.7 thousand units, from Italy - by 1.5 thousand units, from Japan - by 1.4 thousand units. But already in 2023, imports recovered - primarily at the expense of Belarus and China.^[1]

Russians bought a record number of used motorcycles in a year - about 103,700 pieces

Russians in 2023 bought a record number of used motorcycles - about 103,700, which is 16% more than a year earlier. The volume of the Russian used motorcycle market overcame the annual volume of 100 thousand units for the first time. This is evidenced by the data of "Autostat," published in February 2024.

About every second used motorcycle bought by Russians in 2023 - 49% - was produced by the Honda brand. In total, 24.1 thousand such vehicles were purchased in the Russian Federation. In addition, the Yamaha (16.3 thousand units) and Suzuki (10.4 thousand units) brands were popular. The five popular brands are closed by Kawasaki (9.1 thousand units) and BMW (8.8 thousand units).

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The list of the most popular motorcycle models in the secondary market was headed by Honda CBR with a result of 5 thousand purchased copies for 2023. In second place is Honda CB (4.3 thousand pieces). The TOP-5 also included Yamaha XVS (2.5 thousand units), Suzuki GSX (2.2 thousand units) and Yamaha YZF (2 thousand units).

According to JSC PPK, 27,196 new motorcycles were sold on the Russian market in 2023, which is 76% more than in 2022. It is noted that most of all new motor vehicles in the history of the Russian market were sold only in 2014 (30,227 pieces).

The leader among brands in motorcycle sales in 2023 was the domestic distributor of Chinese brands Regulmoto with an indicator of 3753 copies sold. It is followed by Racer (3129 pieces), Bajaj (2,831 pieces), Motoland (2,441 pieces) and Kayo (1,349 pieces). Voge (1290 pieces) also overcame the mark of 1000 sold copies of motor vehicles.

The most popular model on the Russian market of new motor vehicles in 2023 was the Racer RC300 (1,662 copies sold). In addition, Motoland XL250 (1262 units), Racer RC250 (1111 units), Kayo T2 Enduro (1066 units) and Regulmoto Sport (1025 units) were included in the Top^[2]

2022

Reduction in sales of powerful motorcycles by 2.6 times to 1.2 thousand units.

In 2022, about 1.2 thousand new powerful motorcycles were sold in Russia (with engines ranging from 1200 to 2000 cubic centimeters) against 3 thousand units a year earlier. Such data analysts BusinesStat led in mid-September 2023.

According to the researchers, the lack of established mass production of powerful motorcycles puts Russia in high dependence on imported supplies, which were seriously hampered.

So,, European Union,, and in Switzerland Australia USA Japan 2022 established a direct ban on the supply of motorcycles to Russia. They were also supported by the largest manufacturers:, and. Harley-Davidson Suzuki BMW added Government of the Russian Federation the products of these companies to the list of goods for parallel imports, and an acute shortage of motor vehicles was avoided, but delivery times increased significantly. Some consumers, in conditions of high inflations and uncertainty with the supply of spare parts, postponed the purchase at the beginning of the motorcycle season - just when the first sanctions were introduced, and during the year demand never leveled off, which brought down sales, experts explain.

As noted in BusinesStat, motorcycles with a large engine volume allow you to comfortably move both on public roads and off-road, which expands the scope of their use. However, the high engine mileage significantly increases the price of the vehicle. Therefore, Russians are more inclined to purchase used motorcycles from Germany, the USA, Japan. The supply of such equipment is carried out even by official dealers, and the purchase is absolutely legal. In this regard, the secondary market for motorcycles with an engine capacity of 1200 to 2000 cubic centimeters is several times higher than the primary, analysts add.^[3]

15.9% reduction in motorcycle sales

The volume of the Russian motorcycle market in 2022 amounted to 15.4 thousand units, which is 15.9% less than a year earlier, when sales of such new vehicles were measured 18.4 thousand units. This is evidenced by the data of "Autostat," published on January 20, 2023.

According to experts, if the first three months of 2022 the number of motorcycles bought by Russians was growing and showed positive dynamics, then the market began to go "into the red." According to Avtostat, the biggest drop was in May: then the market for new motorcycles sank by about 40%. In the summer months, the situation began to change for the better, seasonal demand corrected the market position, but in the fall, a significant decline in sales in the segment began again. So, in December 2022, the market for new motorcycles in the Russian Federation fell by 34%.

Sales of motorcycles in Russia for the year decreased by 15.9%

The top 5 most popular brands on the Russian motorcycle market in 2022 included:

• Bajaj (2.3 thousand units; -4,3%);
• Regulmoto (1.9 thousand units; + 86%);
• Motoland (1.8 thousand units; -2,7%);
• BMW (1 thousand units; -62,9%);
• Avantis (912 pcs.; 2.4-fold growth).

The agency's experts also note that in 2022 there were serious changes in the structure of the market for new motorcycles in the Russian Federation by country of origin. If in 2021 the share of manufacturers from China in this market segment was 31.9%, then a year later it increased to 48.5%. The market share of Indian motorcycles also increased from 13.3% to 15.1%. But the share of new Japanese and German motorcycles in Russia has decreased by more than 2 times: Japanese - from 14.3% to 7.1%, German - from 15.4% to 6.8%.

The statistics were prepared by Avtostat experts based on data from the vehicle electronic passport system.^[4]

Bajaj comes out on top

According to the results of the 1 half of 2022, the leader changed in the market of new motorcycles in Russia. BMW not only lost 1st place to the Indian brand Bajaj, but also ended up in 4th place. In January - June 2022, the Russians purchased 1501 motorcycles of the Bajaj brand, 1114 - Motoland, 1046 - Regulmoto, 841 - BMW.

2021: Motorcycle sales in Russia increased by 12.6%, to 18.4 thousand units

In 2021, 18.4 thousand new motorcycles were sold in Russia, which is 12.6% more than a year ago, which was 16.4 thousand. Such data in February 2022 was published by the Avtostat agency.

The most popular brand among Russians is BMW Group: sales of motorcycles of this German brand in 2021 reached 2.8 thousand units, an increase of 27.7% on an annualized basis.

As for the regional structure, Moscow in 2021 there was about a fifth of this market (20.9%) or 3.9 thousand new motorcycles purchased. In second place in this - with Moscow region a result of 2.1 thousand pieces. The third is, St. Petersburg the inhabitants of which purchased 1.4 thousand units of new motor vehicles.

Motorcycle sales in 2021 in Russia increased by 12.6%

Of the non-capital regions, the Krasnodar Territory (875 pcs.) Leads, overtaking the Sverdlovsk region (867 pcs.). In the remaining regions, the volume of the motor vehicle market at the end of 2021 amounted to less than 500 units. It is noted that in the top ten leading regions, the majority (8 out of 10) have improved their results compared to 2020. In a small "minus" only the Chelyabinsk region (-2.6%) and the Krasnoyarsk Territory (-3.8%). The largest growth was registered in the Krasnodar Territory (+ 34.8%).

According to experts, the purchase of motorcycles is traditionally seasonal. The analysis showed that in the second quarter the volume of the motor vehicle market was the largest. This is the only quarter in which positive dynamics was noted (+ 58.6%). But here, according to experts from the Avtostat agency, not only seasonality played a role, but also low market volumes in April-June 2020, when many points of sale of motor vehicles were closed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

According to Авто.ру, by December 2021, relative to January, prices for new motorcycles fell by 14%.^[5]

2020: Market growth by 25% to 16.4 thousand units

In 2020, the Russian market for new motorcycles grew by 25%. For 12 months, 16.4 thousand motorcycles were sold. The leaders were brands from China, which accounted for 35% of all sales. Japanese and German motorcycles account for 14% and 13.6% of the market, respectively, Indian and American motorcycles - 11.6% and 7.6%, respectively.

See also

• Automotive market of Russia

Notes