Motorcycle Demand Continues To Soar In The Face Of Plummeting Car Market
It shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to notice that there’s a correlation between rising gas prices and the number of people gobbling up motorcycles and scooters. During 2007 to 2009, when gas prices seemingly spelled doom for America’s love of four-wheeled conveyances, street-legal motorcycle sales soared 94%.
But even after gas prices settled in the period since then (until this pesky Middle East unrest this year), even as people canceled their Prius preorders and went back to trucks and SUVs, motorcycle sales continued to rise. While new car registrations increased steadily at a rate of 8% between 2009 and 2010, motorcycle sales also grew 4%.
The big brands in the motorcycle industry leading these sales figures are Harley-Davidson, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. Harley-Davidson alone sells one out of every three new bikes in America, despite taking a bailout to stay afloat.
Hey, maybe people took one ride and got hooked. It isn’t hard to do so.
[Source: Polk]
More by Blake Z. Rong
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