The corona crisis has not done the motorcycle industry any harm in the past year. Despite corona restrictions, new sales grew to 15,337 units, a growth of 5.35% compared to 2020. For the twelfth year in a row, BMW closed the year as the market leader.
It almost seems to become a tradition, the final sprint that once again gave BMW the market leadership. With a month to go, sales were led by Yamaha, but by registering a further 151 units in the final month of December (most of which were dealer stock), BMW passed Yamaha at the last minute.
The growth of the market was not accounted for by the top 3, BMW as well as Yamaha (2) and Kawasaki (3) saw sales contract by about 6 percent, which in the case of the Japanese was mainly due to delivery problems, among others. others because of the ship wreck in the Suez Canal and the global shortage of chips.
The biggest percentage growth came from Aprilia, which doubled its market share and sold 150% more engines, thanks to the new 660 platform of which 110 (RS 660: 64 – Tuono 660: 46) have been marketed .
Total market sales figures:
| Brand | 2021 | part | 2020 | part | difference |
| BMW | 2.389 | 15.58% | 2.534 | 17.41% | -5.72% |
| YAMAHA | 2.316 | 15.10% | 2.472 | 16.98% | -6.31% |
| KAWASAKIA | 2.052 | 13.38% | 2.196 | 15.08% | -6.56% |
| HONDA | 1,684 | 10.98% | 1.228 | 8.44% | 37.13% |
| KTM | 1,318 | 8.59% | 1.173 | 8.06% | 12.36% |
| SUZUKIA | 908 | 5.92% | 993 | 6.82% | -8.56% |
| HARLEY DAVIDSON | 832 | 5.42% | 888 | 6.10% | -6.31% |
| TRIUMPH | 779 | 5.08% | 610 | 4.19% | 27.70% |
| PIAGGIO | 628 | 4.09% | 577 | 3.96% | 8.84% |
| DUCATIA | 554 | 3.61% | 446 | 3.06% | 24.22% |
| ROYAL ENFIELD | 275 | 1.79% | 178 | 1.22% | 54.49% |
| MOTO GUZZIA | 224 | 1.46% | 161 | 1.11% | 39.13% |
| HUSQVARNA | 212 | 1.38% | 216 | 1.48% | -1.85% |
| APRILIA | 162 | 1.06% | 65 | 0.45% | 149.23% |
| INDIAN MOTORCYCLE | 151 | 0.98% | 126 | 0.87% | 19.84% |
| ZERO | 129 | 0.84% | 112 | 0.77% | 15.18% |
| BENELLIA | 127 | 0.83% | 121 | 0.83% | 4.96% |
| OTHER BRANDS | 597 | 3.89% | 462 | 3.17% | 29.22% |
| TOTAL | 15,337 | 100.00% | 14.558 | 100.00% | 5.35% |
It will come as no surprise that also in 2021 the BMW R 1250 GS / Adventure with 971 sold units was the best-selling model, although a small caveat should be added.
Strictly speaking, they are two different models swept together by BMW for convenience. Assuming a 50/50% split, that would make the Kawasaki Z900 (516 units) the best-selling model.
It is also remarkable that only 2 (actually 3) BMW models can be found in the top 25, followed by the F 900 R in 20th place. This shows how incredibly important the R 1250 GS is for BMW, the fat Allroad. accounting for 40% of total sales at BMW.
The R 1250 GS is also the only engine in the super-premium segment worth well over 20,000 euros that can be found in the top 10, the remainder is between 8 and 12 thousand euros.
Top 25 best-selling models:
| Brand model | 2021 | 2020 | Difference | |
| 1 | BMW R 1250 GS/ADVENTURE | 971 | 982 | -1.12% |
| 2 | KAWASAKI Z 900 | 516 | 467 | 10.49% |
| 3 | YAMAHA MT-07 | 426 | 494 | -13.77% |
| 4 | KAWASAKI Z 650 | 338 | 257 | 31.52% |
| 5 | HONDA NC 750 X | 334 | 179 | 86.59% |
| 6 | YAMAHA XT 700 TENERE | 317 | 214 | 48.13% |
| 7 | YAMAHA TRACER 900 | 317 | 315 | 0.63% |
| 8 | KAWASAKI VERSYS 650 | 285 | 279 | 2.15% |
| 9 | YAMAHA MT-09 | 281 | 341 | -17.60% |
| 10 | SUZUKI V-STROM 650 | 268 | 274 | -2.19% |
| 11 | KTM 1290 SUPER ADV R/S | 262 | 132 | 98.48% |
| 12 | BMW R 1250 RT | 248 | 189 | 31.22% |
| 13 | KAWASAKI VERSYS 1000 | 221 | 198 | 11.62% |
| 14 | SUZUKI V-STROM 1050 | 208 | 198 | 5.05% |
| 15 | TRIUMPH TIGER 850/900 | 207 | 142 | 45.77% |
| 16 | KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R/GT | 203 | 190 | 6.84% |
| 17 | YAMAHA TRACER 700 | 190 | 166 | 14.46% |
| 18 | TRIUMPH TRIDENT | 184 | 0 | 100.00% |
| 19 | HONDA CB 650 R | 182 | 117 | 55.56% |
| 20 | BMW F 900 R | 175 | 205 | -14.63% |
| 21 | HONDA CMX 500 REBEL | 170 | 129 | 31.78% |
| 22 | KAWASAKI VULCAN CAFE / S | 170 | 129 | 31.78% |
| 23 | SUZUKI SV-650 A | 156 | 180 | -13.33% |
| 24 | MOTO GUZZI V8 | 153 | 119 | 28.57% |
| 25 | KAWASAKI NINJA 650 | 143 | 132 | 8.33% |
Excluding motorcycles up to 125cc and motor scooters (in many countries sales are split in that area) there is a slight shift in the top 5. BMW remains the market leader, but is then followed by Kawasaki.
Yamaha then follows in third place, while KTM and Honda also switch for 4th and 5th place. Also striking is the growth spurt that Royal Enfield has made again, sales rose from 178 to 275 units, which shows that there is a growing demand for no-nonsense motorcycles.
Sales figures motorcycles >125cc:
| Brand | 2021 | part | 2020 | part | difference |
| BMW | 2.299 | 17.36% | 2.392 | 19.07% | -3.89% |
| KAWASAKIA | 2.039 | 15.39% | 2.155 | 17.18% | -5.38% |
| YAMAHA | 1.775 | 13.40% | 1959 | 15.62% | -9.39% |
| KTM | 1.286 | 9.71% | 1.134 | 9.04% | 13.40% |
| HONDA | 1,232 | 9.30% | 894 | 7.13% | 37.81% |
| SUZUKIA | 859 | 6.48% | 929 | 7.41% | -7.53% |
| HARLEY DAVIDSON | 832 | 6.28% | 888 | 7.08% | -6.31% |
| TRIUMPH | 779 | 5.88% | 610 | 4.86% | 27.70% |
| DUCATIA | 554 | 4.18% | 446 | 3.56% | 24.22% |
| OTHER BRANDS | 311 | 2.35% | 158 | 1.26% | 96.84% |
| ROYAL ENFIELD | 275 | 2.08% | 178 | 1.42% | 54.49% |
| MOTO GUZZIA | 224 | 1.69% | 161 | 1.28% | 39.13% |
| HUSQVARNA | 212 | 1.60% | 216 | 1.72% | -1.85% |
| APRILIA | 162 | 1.22% | 65 | 0.52% | 149.23% |
| INDIAN MOTORCYCLE | 151 | 1.14% | 126 | 1.00% | 19.84% |
| ZERO | 129 | 0.97% | 112 | 0.89% | 15.18% |
| BENELLIA | 127 | 0.96% | 121 | 0.96% | 4.96% |
| TOTAL | 13.246 | 100.00% | 12.544 | 100.00% | 5.60% |
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.