Motorcycle industry closes 2022 with growth of 18.2%

Motorcycle industry

Motorcycle industry – The manufacturers installed in PIM (Polo Industrial de Manaus) produced 1,413,222 motorcycles last year. A survey by the Brazilian Association of Motorcycle, Moped, Scooter, Bicycle and Similar Manufacturers – Abraciclo reveals that the volume was 18.2% higher than that recorded in 2021 (1,195,149 motorcycles) and represents the best result for the segment since 2014 (1,517 .662 units).

In the assessment of the president of Abraciclo, Marcos Fermanian, these numbers prove the resumption of growth in the segment after facing a challenging first two months due to the covid-19 pandemic that hit the city of Manaus again. “After that, the pace of production grew month after month to cater to the consumer who started to use the motorcycle as a work tool, avoid agglomeration in public transport or have greater agility and mobility in urban centers”, he explains.

The final volume was very close to the revised projection, which was 1,420,000 units and growth of 18.8%.

Retail sales

Last year, 1,361,941 motorcycles were registered, up 17.7% compared to 2021 (1,156,776 units), being the best result in eight years (1,429,692 motorcycles). Abraciclo’s expectation was to close the year with 1,350,000 licensed motorcycles.

Street was the most licensed category, with 686,807 units and 50.4% market share. “The factories prioritized the production of this model to meet the high demand, mainly influenced by the large professional use. Other categories also recorded a significant increase in licensing, such as Custom, Motorcycle, Scooter and Trail”, says Fermanian.

See how the annual ranking of registrations by category was:

The North region had the highest percentage growth in the volume of licensing in 2022. Last year, 173,763 motorcycles were licensed, up 35% compared to 2021 (128,680 units).

In absolute numbers, the Southeast region led the retail sales ranking. From January to December, 521,157 motorcycles were licensed, which corresponds to a 38.3% market share. In second place was the Northeast (405,233 units and 29.8% of the market). Then came the North (173,763 licensed motorcycles and 12.8% of the market), the South (131,558 units and 9.7%) and the Midwest (130,230 motorcycles and 9.6%).

Exports

Exports totaled 55,338 units in 2022, which corresponds to an increase of 3.5% compared to the previous year (53,476 motorcycles). The revised projection was to ship 59,000 units abroad.

According to a survey by the foreign trade statistics portal Comex Stat, which records total shipments each month, analyzed by Abraciclo, Colombia was the main destination, with 15,686 units and 27.6% of the exported volume. In second place was Argentina (13,538 motorcycles and 23.8% of exports), followed by the United States (12,211 units and 21.5%).

Results in December

In the last month of 2021, 85,117 motorcycles were manufactured, a volume 11.5% higher than that registered in December 2020 (76,359 units) and 34.1% lower compared to November (129,216 motorcycles). “The retraction was expected due to the collective vacations that were already scheduled”, explains the president of Abraciclo. “During this period, the factories take the opportunity to carry out maintenance services and install new equipment in the production centers”, he emphasizes.

With 132,204 units licensed, the market reached the second best result of the year and was only behind May (133,344 units). The result is 17.7% higher compared to December 2021 (112,363 motorcycles) and 7.3% higher than the 123,214 units registered in November. According to a survey by Abraciclo, this was the best performance for the month since 2013, when registrations totaled 140,583 motorcycles.

Check the ranking and comparison with the previous month and year:

With 22 working days, the average number of registrations in December was 6,009 units/day. Compared to the same month of 2021, which had one more business day, there was an increase of 23% (4,885 units/day). In relation to November, with two working days less, there was a decrease of 2.5% (6,161 motorcycles/day).

The Southeast region led the licensing ranking, with 47,139 units and 35.7% of the market. Next came the Northeast (40,753 motorcycles and 30.8% of registrations), North (19,772 units and 15%), Midwest (12,538 motorcycles and 9.5%) and South (12,002 units and 9.1% ).

With 108,775 units sold at retail, low displacement motorcycles represented 82.3% of the market. The medium displacement models had 19,724 units licensed, which corresponds to 14.9% of the total volume of licenses. High-capacity motorcycles accounted for 2.8% of the market, with 3,705 licensed units.

In December, 3,926 motorcycles were exported, a volume 19.6% higher compared to the same month in 2021 (3,283 units) and 6.3% higher than shipped in November (3,695 motorcycles). According to Comex Stat data, which records total shipments for each month, analyzed by Abraciclo, the main destination was Argentina, which received 1,440 units, which corresponds to 25.8% of total exports. In second place were the United States (1,238 motorcycles and 22.2% of exports), followed by Australia (1,160 units and 20.8%)

Projections for 2023

Abraciclo estimates that the manufacturing units installed in the PIM should produce 1,550,000 motorcycles in 2023. The volume represents an increase of 9.7% compared to the 1,413,222 units that left the assembly lines in 2022.

In retail, the prospect is that 1,490,000 motorcycles will be licensed, which corresponds to an increase of 9.4% compared to 2022 (1,361,941 units). Exports should reach 59,000 units, an increase of 6.7% over the volume registered last year (55,338 motorcycles).

“After three years of the pandemic, we are increasing production to meet the growth in market demand, which is gradually returning to previous volumes. On the other hand, we are attentive to possible economic uncertainties, a consequence of the increase in global production costs, the definition of the new government’s policy, the progress of political and administrative reforms, the Brazil Cost factor, among others”, analyzes Fermanian.

PROMOT M5

On January 1, 2023, the 5th phase of PROMOT (Program for the Control of Air Pollution by Motorcycles and Similar Vehicles) came into effect. As a result, Brazilian products began to be equipped with a series of new technologies, allowing them to be aligned with the emission levels of the most demanding markets (EURO 5).

All motorcycles produced in Brazil are now equipped with OBD (On Board Diagnosis), equipment that sends alerts on the instrument panel in the event of a possible failure in the emissions system; and canister, which absorbs and reuses the gases released in the tank. They also have new catalysts (which are more capable of converting toxic gases into carbon dioxide and water) and improvements in the calibration of electronic injection systems.

To comply with this CONAMA (National Council for the Environment) resolution, Abraciclo’s associates made a series of investments to improve the levels of gas emission control on motorcycles. “Brazil is an international reference and one of the countries with the most advanced legislation in the world with regard to vehicle emissions”, emphasizes the executive director of Abraciclo, Paulo Takeuchi.

The numbers prove this claim. A motorcycle produced in 2003 emits around 390 kg/year of CO2 (30,000 km test). In 2023, this index drops to 30 kg/year: a reduction of 92%.