On the eve of the MOTORbeurs Utrecht, BOVAG concludes that the enthusiasm for motorcycling is greater than ever before. Next month the 800,000th motorcycle will be registered in the Netherlands, for the first time there are more than 1.5 million motorcycle license owners and the sale of new motorcycles is at the highest level in 15 years.
The data from BOVAG and data supplier RDC also show that a new milestone can be expected next month with the registration of the 800,000th motorcycle in the Netherlands. At the end of 2014 there were almost 714,000 and until the beginning of 2020 the total grew to 747,000.
Since the corona outbreak, however, interest has increased sharply: at the end of January 2023, the total was almost 795,000.
Sales of new motorcycles reached the highest level since 2008 at 15,527 units last year, while 2023 also got off to a strong start with the highest number of new motorcycles in January in 15 years.
All but one, 1,000 copies were delivered in the Netherlands last month. A record number of used motorcycles were also imported in 2022.
The number of Dutch people with a motorcycle license grew between 2014 and 2022 by almost 95,000 to just over 1.5 million. Of the total population, 8.6 percent hold a motorcycle license and in absolute numbers the large provinces of South Holland, North Brabant, North Holland and Gelderland each have more than 200,000 motorcyclists.
Relatively speaking, however, Drenthe is the motorcycle province of the Netherlands; perhaps the long history of the TT races has a major influence, but the fact is that 11.7 percent of all Drenthes have a driving license. In Zeeland, too, the share of residents with a motorcycle license is much higher than the national average at 10.5 percent. The relative number of motorcyclists is lowest in South Holland at 6.9 percent, followed by the province of Utrecht at 7.7 percent.
Logically, the great interest in motorcycling also translates into crowds at the driving schools. In 2022, according to the figures of the CBR, 33,751 people passed the motorcycle driving test. That is 4.5 percent more than in the previous year and 12.5 percent more than in 2019, the last full year before corona.
The influence of the pandemic on the popularity of motorcycling is evident, as on the one hand public transport was avoided for commuting and on the other hand many people were looking for recreational time use. Many motorcycle license owners thus picked up an old hobby and many of them are now experiencing the benefits of this daily with the increased traffic jams.
To facilitate these ‘rejoiners’ after years of not riding a motorcycle, BOVAG developed the short course ‘Back on the Bike’, which can now be followed at about 70 driving schools across the country.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.