It is imperative that the incentive program be resumed in 2010

December saw a record number of registrations for scooters (powered 2-wheel vehicles > 50cc), which, on the eve of the incentive program end date totalled 9,688 sales, corresponding to a 50.1% increase. Conversely, motorcycles suffered a setback and stopped at 3,024 units (-36.4%). Thanks to the scooter sales boom, the overall registration figure remained positive, with 12,712 vehicles sold accounting for a 13.4% improvement.
Mopeds also seem to be recovering, with 4,350 units, +7.6% over December ’08.

These results mean that year-end volumes were substantially the same as in 2008, with registered vehicles (> 50 cc) adding up to 404,767 units (+0.3%). But the segment mix has changed appreciably: scooters profited greatly from the incentives and were able to exceed the volumes recorded in 2008 and even in 2007 – with 295,422 vehicles sold, in fact, scooters achieved a 10.8% increase and accounted for a 73% share of total registered vehicles –, but motorcycles, unfortunately, were affected only marginally by the incentive program and did not go beyond 109,345 units with a global setback of 20.2%, which means that, in actual fact, they receded to the volumes of 10 years ago.
Despite the gains of the last two months, with 99,761 units sold, 50cc vehicle suffered a -18.9% plunge compared to the previous year.

“It is clear that without the measures adopted to boost demand, the market would have fared very badly - points out Corrado Capelli, chairman of Confindustria Ancma – and this is the reason why it is essential that a 2010 incentive campaign get underway as soon as possible; it should be organized according to a price list percentage basis to tip the scales in favour of the vehicles possessing higher contents, for the sake of greater safety and friendliness to the environment. To maintain the production structure it is indispensable to provide adequate support to the powered 2-wheel vehicle category. Too many obsolete EURO zero and EURO 1 vehicles still account for 60% of the vehicles in circulation and only strong purchase incentives can accelerate their replacement. Nor should initiatives designed to foster the purchase of protective equipment, such as helmets and back protectors homologated according to the European directives, be overlooked: this is something we have been advocating for a long time, in view of their importance in terms of greater safety for the users”.

The breakdown by engine size (looking at 2009 as a whole) confirms a well-established trend for 125cc scooters, which, with 102,813 units (+28.7%) are the leaders in terms of customer preferences, thanks to competitive running costs and the fact that they can be driven with a B licence. Excellent results were also recorded for 150-200cc scooters, with 70,447 units (+28%). The second most significant segment is that of medium-high displacement vehicles, from 300 to 500cc, which achieved 92,620 sales (+23.2%). On the other hand, 250cc models lost ground, with 27,346 units sold (-47.6%). Free falling are the hyperscooters of over 500cc: with 2,196 vehicles (-50.1%) they account for a meagre 0.7% of total scooter sales.

As for motorcycles, intermediate displacement models, from around 600cc (-26.5%) to 750cc (-23.3%), suffered most, whilst motorbikes with engine size from over 750 to 1000cc stood their ground better, compared to the average for this market, falling by 14.9%, and the same applies to maxi bikes > 1000cc (-19.7%).
The breakdown by segment penalises sports models (-35.3%) and, to a lesser extent, on-road enduro models (-23.4%). Results above the market average were achieved by naked motorbikes (-12.8%) accounting for 41% of the total figure for motorcycles. Higher proportions of the mix were also obtained by custom motorcycles (-12.7%) and supermotards (-15%).

The overall result for powered 2-wheel vehicles (sales of vehicles > 50cc + mopeds) stopped at 504,528 units, down by 4.2% compared to 2008.