U.S. March new unit sales show rebound
After disappointing January and February results, the industry saw new unit sales rebound in March, with some categories actually up slightly over a year ago.
However, the industry as a whole saw first-quarter new unit sales decline nearly 23 percent from a year ago, according to retail sales data provided by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC). The data includes MIC member companies’ ATV, motorcycle and scooter information, but does not include UTVs, PWC or snowmobiles, nor does it include data from non-MIC manufacturers.
While the first-quarter sales remain significantly behind 2009, results in March nearly matched last year’s levels. On-road motorcycles, the industry’s largest segment, were down just 7 percent from a year ago in March as more than 39,000 units were sold.
Also for March, off-highway sales actually improved nearly 8 percent over a year ago and dual-purpose motorcycle sales also were slightly better than March 2009.
ATV sales decreased 7.5 percent from a year ago for March.
For more on the first-quarter industry results, see an upcoming edition of Powersports Business.