Motorcycle sales in China by month 2022-2023
In December 2023, approximately 1.44 million motorcycles had been sold in China. In the recent two years, the highest monthly motorcycle sales record was in September 2022, with nearly 2.09 million units.
Motorcycle industry in China
According to the graph at hand, motorcycle sales in China are highly sensitive to cyclical fluctuations. Figures had reached a low in February 2022 and January 2023, coinciding with China's week-long Spring Festival holiday. Annual motorcycle sales in China display a steady decline in demand over the past years. In contrast, passenger vehicles sales in China have grown steadily.
Various factors may contribute to the decline of the motorcycle industry in China. To begin with, China has no developed motorcycle culture like the one found in the United States, for example - a fact that most international manufacturers seem to struggle with. Also, the Chinese domestic market is still highly regulated and import barriers are high, reducing motorcycle imports to between 1,200 and 4,800 units per month in 2017. Moreover, about 200 municipalities and cities have banned motorcycles completely from their downtown areas. In Shanghai and Beijing, motorcycles without a local license place are officially forbidden from entering the urban area. This restriction is focused on heavier bikes with larger engine sizes, as can be seen from a breakdown of motorcycle sales figures by capacity. Another reason behind the declining motorcycle sales could be the rivalry with low-end Chinese cars. The cheap cars produced by domestic carmakers pose a threat to the motorcycle's market share.
Nevertheless, China has the largest domestic motorcycle market worldwide. As of 2020, every fifth Chinese household owned a motorcycle. In comparison, a statistic demonstrates that only 2.5 percent of U.S. households owned a motorcycle.
