LAS VEGAS — National Powersport Auctions Chief Executive Jim Woodruff expects motorcycle sales in 2024 to remain flat with 2023 levels as pandemic-induced demand wanes.
“Most people would agree that what we saw [for demand] during COVID is waning; a white swan event to the industry,” Woodruff told Auto Finance News at the AIM Expo Powersports Tradeshow today. “My prediction for 2024 is if we look at the whole industry, new and used and all product segments, it’s probably going to be roughly flat with 2023. The economy is going to have a huge impact.”
Motorcycle sales in 2023 increased to 660,000 units, up 2% year over year, according to new data from the Motorcycle Industry Council. By comparison, motorcycle sales peaked in 2006, totaling 1.2 million units.
If the economy takes more than a “mild dip,” it could turn out to be a down year for the industry, but unemployment levels holding strong is positive for the industry, Woodruff said. New buyers who were brought in during the pandemic can also help to prop up the industry, he said.
The pandemic “brought in a bunch of new riders and returning riders as well,” Woodruff said, “It was people that always had an interest but didn’t have the time or the money. They had the time and the money during COVID-19, and many of them are going to keep riding.”
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