435,473 vehicles sold in 2007. Scooters improved (+6.5%) and motorcycles declined (-2.9%). A boom for maxi-bikes of over 1000cc, up by 25.8% compared to 2006.

Strong recovery in December (+32%) for two-wheel vehicle registrations, though it should be noted that, as observed in the past for the car market, registration figures went up at year end as dealers rushed to meet their annual targets, and, furthermore, that the last EURO 2 vehicles were registered. These vehicles will then be sold as “kilometre zero” units. Motorcycles achieved a stunning upswing (+80%) with an increase of more than 2000 units over the previous year. Scooters went up by 10.6%.
Keep in mind that December only accounts for 2.6% of the annual total.

“On the whole, with 435,473 vehicle sold, 2007 should been seen as a good year – claims Guidalberto Guidi, Chairman of Confindustria ANCMA. – Compared to the previous year we get a 2.1% decrease, but if we disregard the scooters delivered to the Postal Service in 2006, the overall result improves to +2.9%. The development of the scooter segment (+6.5%) was significant, with 279,001 units; whereas, after the record year of 2006, motorcycles suffered a minor setback (-2.9%) with 156,472 units registered.”

“The incentive scheme that generated record sales for motor cars, – pointed out Guidi – was not effective for motorcycles for two reasons: firstly, no true incentives were provided, other than a rebate on the ownership tax spread over a 5 year period (for 125cc and 150cc models it comes to a saving 100-150 Euro in all), secondly, the tax relief does not apply to buyers trading in a EURO 0 “Fifty” to buy a bigger sized EURO 3 model, i.e., precisely the request that dealers get from a majority of their customers.”

The final figures for the year reflect a substantial increase in scooters powered by 300-500cc engines (+23.9%), to the detriment of other models, and a growth in maxi-bikes of over 1000cc (+25.8%): among the year’s top ten we find 7 naked models, a segment that suffered from a slight setback (-6%) but, with 63,855 units, continues to be most important in the market; it is followed by naked (-10.9%) and enduro models (-8%). Among the emerging segments a prominent place is occupied by tourist motorbikes (+24.4%), custom models (+8%) and supermotards (+1.5%).

The mopeds market experienced a significant recovery: in addition to the upswing in deliveries to the dealers recorded in December (+22,3%), the year ended with a total of 130,696 units, up 11.9% over 2006, also thanks to the incentives made available by the Ministry of the Environment.

The grand total for two-wheel vehicles – registrations + deliveries – came to 566,169 units: +4.9% over the previous year (again, after subtracting the volumes taken up by the Postal Service).