Experts from the Institute for Automotive Market Research analyzed statistics on motorcycle registrations and identified the most popular brands in three segments: used imports, domestic resales, and new motorcycles.
Motorcycle market dynamics
The motorcycle segment is the most seasonally dependent among vehicles designed for transporting passengers or cargo. The diagram shows how the market becomes more active in the summer, during the high motorcycle season, and how sales volumes decrease in the off-season.
The total volume of officially registered purchases of motorcycles of all types in September amounted to 7 thousand. These volumes are 18.1% lower than in the previous month (August), but 11.2% higher than in September 2024. The approach of cold weather is taking its toll, but this part of the market is still growing.
Among the total number, 56.6% of motorcycles were new (imported from abroad), in quantitative terms this is 3,982 units.
2,491 motor vehicle purchase and sale agreements were concluded on the domestic market, which accounted for 35.4% of the total.
Another 7.9% of motorcycles were imported used from abroad (559 units).
By individual subsegments, the dynamics of motorcycle sales, where seasonality is very clearly expressed, and year-on-year comparison is of primary importance, looks as follows (MM — compared to the previous month, YY — compared to the same period last year):
- Domestic resales: −7.5% MM, +13.9% YY
- Used imports: −19.8% MM, +34.1% YY
- New imports: −23.4% MM, +7.0% YY
It is in the annual comparisons that the numbers in all three subsegments are positive.
The most popular motorcycles in the domestic market
In the domestic market, Honda holds the lead, but the second and third places are taken by Chinese brands — Lifan and Geon, which have pushed Yamaha to fourth place with a very small difference. And this process cannot be called a struggle for the consumer in the "secondary" market, which can bring different results from month to month, since the market is being replenished as actively as possible with new motorcycles, mainly of Chinese production, so in the future we will see Japanese, American or German brands lower and lower on the list.
The most popular used motorcycles imported from abroad
In the segment of "customized" — so far, a set of long-known "old-timers" of the market. The most imported classic "Japanese" — Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki remain the unchanged four leaders, chosen by both beginners and experienced riders. There is also a certain share of motorcycles "with character": Harley-Davidson confidently holds in the middle of the list, and Ducati, Indian, KTM and Triumph — remind that for some a motorcycle is not just a means of transport, but a lifestyle. And despite their age, these machines arrive with ambitions for a new life on Ukrainian roads. Even if in such small quantities.
The most popular new motorcycles
In the segment of new motorcycles in Ukraine, three brands seriously fought for the first place last month: Spark, Lifan and Mustang. The difference was literally in a few motorcycles sold, but it is still there, and based on it, these brands are placed in the Top 10.
It is also worth noting that, unlike previous periods, this time there was no place for anyone other than Chinese and Indian motorcycle brands in the top ten most popular new bikes.
This most likely indicates that motorcycles in Ukraine are mostly purchased as primary means of transportation (when opportunities prevent the purchase of a car), rather than as additional ones, for sports, recreation, or entertainment.
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