Honda has replaced major revenue losses from its former share of the quad bike market with a blazing result in motorcycle sales
Honda has disregarded the loss of high-volume sales and profit it was making with ATV models, brought about by the company’s refusal to comply with Federal government legislation that meant all ATV’s sold here, needed to be upgraded.
By finishing 2021 calendar year as the overall number one motorcycle brand in Australia, with 26.1% market share and over 32,000 units sold, 32,244 to be exact.
Honda showed an impressive increase of 38.4% over the 2020 result, while the overall market only grew by 13.4%.
This result helps to ease massive sales losses from when the ATV legislation was enacted in its second and final stage on 11 October 2021, all the great traditional ATV models seemingly disappeared overnight, including Honda. And with it went millions of dollars in sales revenues.
All that was left for farmers to choose, were far lesser known models that did comply to the legislation and have now moved into to the top selling ATV category.
Badges such as TGB were brought back into the country following a five-year hiatus out of the market and became instant farmer favourites, with fully compliant models. See more about TGB models on this link.
The former great names in Quad bike sales were prepared to throw away combined incomes from Quad bike sales estimated at US$312.6 million (AU$400.1 million) by 2024.
And on top of this the sales of quad bikes for use in agriculture were expected to grow faster than for any other segment of the Australian market. such was their appeal to local farmers.
Take a comprehensive look at what drove the big ATV makers into abandoning their Quad bike models following lengthy discussion even prior to the legislation being adopted on this link.
Changes from 11 October 2021
What it means now for quad bikes buyers is that all new models sold need to meet the minimum stability requirements now set that includes lateral roll stability (tipping sideways on two wheels), as well as front and rear end longitudinal pitch stability (tipping forward or backwards on two wheels).
In addition, all new quad bikes must be fitted with an operator protection device (OPD) or have one integrated into its design. The purpose of an OPD is to protect the rider from the risk of death or serious injury as a result of being crushed or pinned in the event of a rollover. The OPD is expected to hold the bike off the ground and prevent serious injury from crushing.
Sometimes called a roll bar or Crush Protection Device, a quad bike must have one of the following devices fitted or integrated into its design, an ATV lifeguard, a Quadbar or a device of a type that offer the same, or better, level of protection for operators from the risk of serious injury or death as a result of being crushed or pinned in the event of a rollover
For anyone looking to buy a quad bike, new or second hand, make sure it meets the 11 October 2021 requirements of the Standard, and is fitted with an OPD. Perhaps a side-by-side vehicle may be an alternative, but again these must be used with care like a quad bike.
If you have one or more quad bikes already, look in to retrofitting an OPD on each and every quad bike now. Some jurisdictions offer rebates to improve the safety of quad bikes. Contact your state work health and safety authority for more information.
Honda fills gap with motorcycles
While holding an impressive share of the ATV market prior to 11 October 2021, Honda has filled part of that income void by as the overall number one position in motorcycle sales and led the off-road segment with 30.6%, while motorcycle road snared 17.7% of the market and and scooter grabbed a healthy 38.3% market share.
This result reflects the comprehensive range of models Honda has available, and how it appeals to multiple customers in different model segments. Honda also has the top two selling models in Australia. The CRF110F and CRF50F repeating their one and two result from last year, respectively.
And 2021 also saw the introduction of some key models added to Honda’s line-up, including the completely redesigned CRF250R motocrosser, the all new CMX1100 cruiser, the refreshed crowd favourite GROM, and the popular CRF300L.
According to Mr. Tony Hinton, Honda Australia Motorcycle and Power Equipment General Manager, “2021 was a challenging year for the Motorcycle Industry as a whole, not only Honda.
“We faced stock shortages, multiple disruptions in the supply chain, including logistics and distribution in a global scale, and components supply affecting production in multiple manufacturing facilities for multiple brands.
“But even in tough times like these I am really proud to see the great results delivered by Honda, and how our combined effort with our dealer network meant we could keep as many customers as possible happy despite the adversity”
“I’m looking forward to better times in 2022, as we continue working hard to please local customers. For this we have a few important models coming soon, including the NT1100 tourer, the refreshed CB500 series, and a few surprises that will be announced in the near future”, said Mr. Hinton.
An important information sheet for Quad bike users in rural workplaces to read and be better informed can be downloaded and handed to all riders, go to this link.
Compulsory roll bar protection as directed by the government will go part of the way to help reduce needless fatalities from the Quads crushing their riders in the case of a roll-over.
But the most logical approach has always been to restrict novice riders from being put into perilous positions in the first place.
