The Japanese motorcycle market declines -8.2 percent in the first five months of 2024. This follows a -9.1% drop in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year.
This news came as not truly surprising since the newer generation is shunning the motorcycle as a means of transportation and recreation. Japan’s transportation system is excellent and provides many cost effective alternatives to riding or driving.
A survey by Piece of Japan clearly showed that the majority of motorcyclists are between 50 to 60 years old.
However, this news does have a sense of irony since Japanese motorcycles still dominate the global motorcycle market share.
Indeed, Honda who leads the global market declined by -8.5%, Yamaha took a huge -18.1% hit, and Suzuki also saw a double digit drop at -12.1%.
However, the other Japanese manufacturer, Kawasaki saw a big +31% gain.
Other manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson rebounded into the black at +4.6% (yes, Harleys are still popular in Japan), Triumph was up +10.7%, and KTM showed a +23.1% boost.
Seeing the market still declining despite the gains by these other brands just shows the sheer volume of motorcycles sold by the Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki.
This data was put together by MotorCycles Data who tracks the actual deliveries to buyers rather than sales from the manufacturer to dealers.
