Honda retains top spot in Australian bike sales during 2010
The new for 2010 Yamaha YZ450F topped the motocross sales charts last year.
Official figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 105,766 motorcycles, scooters and all-terrain vehicles were sold last year – a decrease of 8.9 percent (10,354 units) over 2009.
Honda retained the top spot in 2010 with 23,086 sales followed by Yamaha with 20,500 sales and then Suzuki with 14,749 sales.
The Honda CRF50 mini bike was the highest overall seller last year – knocking the CT110 from the top spot – while Kawasaki’s Ninja 250R was the top selling road bike in third overall.
The highest selling 450 class motocross bike was the Yamaha YZ450F at number one overall, as Honda’s CRF250R came in second overall as top selling 250 class bike.
In the enduro ranks, Suzuki’s DRZ400E was the top seller ahead of Yamaha’s WR450F. KTM’s 300 EXC two-stroke was the only bike in the top 10 to increase its sales by a massive 21 percent, ranking a solid fifth overall.
Of the top 1000cc sportsbikes on the market, Honda’s CBR1000RR Fireblade ranked highest ahead of the Yamaha YZF-R1, with the Honda CBR600RR the top selling supersport machine.
“The market showed early signs of a recovery in the last quarter of 2010 providing us with some hope of a turnaround in the New Year,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.
“To sell more than 100,000 motorcycles in any year is a good outcome. This is a competitive market which will reward buyers intending to take up riding or upgrade their motorcycle during 2011.
“Buyers need to be mindful that they are getting effective value for money – stick with those brands that have a proven commitment to service and quality,” he said. “Be wary of low quality imitations and ‘grey’ imports.”
Impressively, Honda models made up four of the top 10 best-selling off-road bikes (Honda CRF50F, CRF250R, CRF450R, CRF230F) and five of the top 10 best-selling fun bikes (Honda CRF50F, CRF70F, CRF80F, CRF100F, CRF150F).
Honda's Fireblade was the top selling 1000cc sportsbike on the market in 2010.
Honda Australia general manager, motorcycles, Tony Hinton said the result is a huge positive for the Japanese manufacturer.
“The FCAI sales comparisons are obviously an important industry tool to measure our market performance, and once again the results are extremely positive for Honda,” he commented.
“As well as our overall number-one ranking, it is fantastic to have such strong retail figures across the board in many diverse motorcycle and ATV categories in a challenging environment.
“We are extremely proud of our position as the market leader in Australia and we work very hard as a company to maintain that year in and year out with competitive pricing and outstanding service.
“I think, ultimately, our leading sales figures reflect the exceptional quality, performance and style of Honda products and the well-earned public confidence in the Honda brand.”
Off-road bikes were the most popular segment in the marketplace with 38,423 sales (down 9.7 percent) followed closely by road bikes with 37,968 sales (down 11.1 percent).
There were 18,942 ATV sales during the year (down 7 percent) and scooter sales stabilized with 10,433 sales (down 0.6 percent units).
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