Kiwis prefer bikes over cars as fuel costs soar

[Bob]

New Zealanders responding to high petrol prices and a weak currency are turning to motorbikes according to the latest statistics from Land Transport New Zealand.

Motorbike sales rose for their 27th consecutive month, with sales for the first half of 2006 standing at 45 per cent ahead of the first half of 2005. In comparison, June car registrations were down 19.2 per cent on the previous year.

[avgas]

Hmmm last 6 months...... sold a motorbike (-1), sold a car (0), bought a motorbike (+1)....the maths....it works

[SARGE]

yup Bob .. im seeing that .. and its NOT just the GN250's and SJ50's .. selling heaps of gixxers and SV's

[N4CR]

yup Bob .. im seeing that .. and its NOT just the GN250's and SJ50's .. selling heaps of gixxers and SV's

No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.

[Karma]

No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.

Yeh, they should have a recycling station for them, drop off your crashed gixxer for a discount on the new one

[James Deuce]

Same here avgas.

For the record Bob, "they" aren't buying motorcycles, "they're" buying scooters. It wasn't until petrol went over $1.70/litre that "they" started riding them in bad weather either. Sarge can say what he wants but scooters are accounting for a large proportion of the two-wheeled registration figures.

Under 60cc figures
http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/sta.../table-21.html



Over 60cc Figures
http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/sta.../table-20.html

The scooter sector is going up in 100% chunks while the motorcycle sector is going up in 20% chunks

[SARGE]

No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.

why do you think i sell Suzuki's and ride Yamaha's?

[Gremlin]

why do you think i sell Suzuki's and ride Yamaha's?

Because they're slower, hence not as dangerous for you??

Hell... no wonder you switched to selling suzukis... you could see the benefit of repeat customers. Have you started up something like, buy 5 in a month, get one free??

Not only are those cage muppets buying more scooters, they are crashing them more too (has been a news article hear as well I think), and guess what? Suddenly they are screaming about how slippery paint is.... no shit

Then again, if they survive, they may switch to bikes... which is good and bad as well

[BeakerRAT]

Yeah soon we'll have hordes of scooters zipping down the motorway, like in Malaysia.

[Motu]

I don't see them out there.....At least not in the numbers we had in the last scooter craze in the late '80's early '90's,back then scooters were everywhere,everyone had one.We had one as a shop runabout were I worked,rather than use the thirsty Cruiser we jumped on the Nifty Fifty for local chores.

[SARGE]

Because they're slower, hence not as dangerous for you??

yea.. my bike is slow and has never been modified in any way.. only runs on 3 cylinders..

thats what the rough idle is ... not a cam.. really..

Hell... no wonder you switched to selling suzukis... you could see the benefit of repeat customers. Have you started up something like, buy 5 in a month, get one free??

not good business man.. you know how many i'd be giving away?

[Finn]

Yes Bob. I usually see 5 motorbikes on my way to work each day. Today I saw 6.

[Motu]

I commute 85 km to work - I saw one bike today,who knows,tomorrow I might not see any at all.So where are all these bikes being sold?

[Biohazard]

So where are all these bikes being sold?

Sitting in garages waiting for the sun to come out and play i'd guess!

[Swoop]

Motorbike sales soar on fuel prices

Wednesday July 5, 2006
By James Ihaka and NZPA


Motorbike sales are rocketing as New Zealanders turn their backs on cars to combat the soaring cost of fuel.

Motorbike registrations rose for the 27th consecutive month in June, when 758 machines were sold. That figure is up by a third on sales at the same time last year.

And it is a 45 per cent increase in motorbike sales since January, compared with the first half of last year, Land Transport New Zealand figures show.

June car registrations are down 19.2 per cent on the same time last year.

Climbing fuel prices have been blamed on the rising cost of oil internationally. In June 2004, petrol cost about $1.20 a litre. A year later it was about $1.30 a litre. Yesterday the price was $1.70 a litre.

Mike O'Sullivan, of Mt Eden Motorcycles, said people were finding alternative transport options.

He said sales were "unbelievably out of control" as more "non-motorcyclists" bought scooters and motorbikes to combat crippling fuel prices.

"It's been three really good years of business and it's looking even better for the future.

"If a motorcycle dealer is not doing well, even though it's winter, they are doing something wrong."

High-performance and high-output motorcycles were the most popular among people with money to spend.

But others were being more frugal, buying smaller machines such as 50cc motor scooters.

Mr O'Sullivan said the lure of filling a scooter for between $6 and $10 was great when car owners had to spend close to $100 for a tankful.

"There's a big percentage out there buying scooters now," he said. "It's the frugal people who can't afford to fill their cars any more."

The Land Transport New Zealand figures also show car-buyers are increasingly opting for small vehicles.

These made up 40 per cent of cars sold in the first half of this year, compared with 30 per cent last year.

In the first six months of this year, 37,115 new cars were sold, compared with the 37,263 sold in the first half of last year.

Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the drop in registrations was a sign of economic weakness and belt-tightening, as the value of the New Zealand dollar had fallen 15 per cent this year.

But the Motor Trade Association said the sharp fall in car sales was not unexpected after booming sales last year and early this year.

"The drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar earlier in the year meant that car-buyers had looked to snap up lower-priced stocks before import costs rose," said the association's communications manager, Andy Cuming.

"Likewise, buyers choosing to downsize to smaller cars in the face of higher fuel costs had brought forward their buying decisions for maximum advantage."

Last year, registrations were buoyed by the strong domestic economy and lower car prices caused by the strong currency.

But slow car sales suggested the economy was struggling to grow, and Mr Eaqub said he was comfortable with his forecast of 1 per cent economic growth this year.

"While recent business surveys have been buoyed by improvement in export sector sentiment, the weakness in motor vehicle registrations is an important reminder of spreading weakness in the domestic economy and the household sector more generally."