The Corona pandemic and new legislation allowing 16-year-olds to buy motorcycles drove record motorcycle sales in Switzerland in 2020-2021. Now sales figures are falling again, including some brands falling below important limits.
Complaining in Switzerland despite the sales boom is a kind of widespread disease. Even in the very best of times, one only ever sees the bad first and then perhaps something good. But there is always reason to complain, even though most of the country's inhabitants are doing well. This negative mentality annoys me and many of my comrades-in-arms. It's the same in the motorcycle industry. The Corona pandemic has cost me personally and many other self-employed people and business owners a fortune, but the Swiss motorcycle industry has set a real sales record. After the new law was introduced in 2021 that allows 16-year-olds to buy motorcycles, there was a real sales boom, with the 50,000 mark being exceeded. Now there is some disillusionment again, but that is no reason to complain, yet there are some players who have really lost out.
2023, the negative trend continues. In the first four months of the current year, a minus of over 10% was recorded. This is not a tragedy given the boom in 2020-2021. However, it is important to point out that the market is much more heterogeneous today than it was 13 years ago. In 2010, 42 brands shared the roughly 42,000 motorcycles sold. In 2022, there are already 98 brands vying for the market of around 49,000 motorcycles. This also means that market shares and margins have changed. There are also 2022 brands that are shooting up like a rocket. Benelli, for example, is one such brand. After the Chinese entered Benelli, the portfolio was changed and sales skyrocketed. On the other hand, established brands are losing massive market share.
Suzuki and Harley-Davidson in steady fall
For 10 years, the traditional American brand Harley-Davidson has been fighting the ongoing outflow of customers. In 2011 Harley-Davidson was number 3 in the market, in 2023 it is still in position 11. Sales have decreased by 62% since 2012. That means Harley-Davidson has lost almost two-thirds of its sales anno 2012. The various strategies such as electric motorcycle or travel enduro prove to be a flop and cost Harley-Davidson image and whether the new dealer strategy is the yellow of the egg, one can doubt. This is a tragedy in view of the uniqueness and history of the brand and the legendary spirit that these powerhouses from Milwaukee radiate. And what about dealer acceptance? I'm not the only one to have experienced a certain, absolutely unacceptable arrogance at Harley dealers in Switzerland, which doesn't fit in with the spirit of a biker brand and the "biker family" so conjured up. Harley-Davidson is a biker brand and not a noble private bank, an etepete club or an exclusive luxury brand for millionaires.
Suzuki dropped below 1,000 units
The development at the traditional Japanese brand Suzuki is almost as tragic. The brand had to go through some turbulences in the past when it was still managed by Frankonia AG. From one day to the next, the headquarters were moved from Zurich to the Biel region, contact partners were lost and the product range shrank. Now Suzuki Motorrad has been managed by the Emil Frey Group since 2020, which has been importing Suzuki automobiles into Switzerland for decades. In 2022, they really slipped and fell below the 1,000-unit mark. Only 774 Suzuki motorcycles were sold in Switzerland in 2022, a negative record. In 2023, things are starting to get better again, but you really have to start worrying about the traditional brand, which attracted attention with such unique models as GSX, The Big or Intruder. A real tragedy.
For customers, this actually means that they are in greater demand than they have been for a long time, but don't rejoice too soon, you probably won't get much more enthusiastic service from Swiss dealers, just think of the Swiss whining culture. another boon for buyers of motorcycles is the fact that buyers can find a variety of brands that is more than twice as wide as it was 12 years ago. Actually, from this point of view, one can be very happy about the development of the market. I am already curious to see how the year 2023 will close.
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