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Year-end retail new unit sales drop more than 35 percent

Pockets of the industry showed better performance in December than the rest of the year, but overall year-end retail new unit sales finished well below 2008 levels.

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) reported the industry’s motorcycle, scooter and ATV sales were down nearly 37 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year. The total number of new unit sales amounted to 841,683 vehicles. This total does not include UTVs or vehicle manufacturers that are not members of the MIC.

Off-highway motorcycle and scooter sales performed better in December compared to the previous-year month than they did the rest of 2009. Off-highway bike sales were off only 5 percent compared to December 2008 while scooter sales declined 25 percent.

Here’s how specific segments did compared to a year ago:

  • On-road motorcycle sales declined more than 41.5 percent;
  • ATV sales dropped more than 29 percent compared to a year ago;
  • Scooter sales, for the full year, fell 59 percent against a very difficult comparable in 2008, which saw record sales because of high gas prices.

For more details on the year-end MIC report, see the upcoming edition of Powersports Business.

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