The motorcycle industry appears to be feeling the effects of the UK’s current problematic economy; however it is also showing stronger signs of resilience, in comparison to the car industry. In July this year, there was a 22 per cent increase in bike sales, however, in August the figures lowered by a 12.3 per cent decrease of the 10,104 units of powered two-wheelers (PTWs); that were registered last year in August, according to figures from the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI).

The PTW market is performing better in comparison to the car market, which had faced a 19 per cent fall, in the last month. In the first eight months of this year, 97,655 PTW’s were registered; this signifies a 0.5 drop in the total number registered during the same period last year. However the car industry saw a greater drop registered vehicles of 3.8 per cent. The news may be of interest to users of bike insurance.

Craig Carey-Clinch of the MCI said: “The market is very volatile, the industry has seen strong months this year in February, April, June and July, but clearly, people are being very cautious about their spending – and the appalling weather in August and this year hasn’t done us any favours. It could be that the new September registrations will provide a boost, but overall, a drop so far this year of less than one per cent is a very strong performance.”