Motorcycle New Registrations 2025, Part Two: The Dry Spell After the Record Year

Contents

The Euro5+ emissions standard for new motorcycle registrations came into effect on January 1, 2025, forcing dealers to offer their remaining Euro5 models at heavily discounted prices or as first registrations. In November and December, the market experienced an exceptionally strong upturn due to these sales promotions, a special boom that provided manufacturers with a strong sales year in 2024. In 2025, however, sales indicate that the motorcycle industry in Germany has not performed as rapidly. While there were 134,516 new registrations in the previous year, there were only 95,190 in 2025 – a decrease of 29.2 percent. For light motorcycles up to 125 cm³, there was a decrease of 35.8 percent. From 32,784 new registrations in November 2024, it dropped to 21,035 in the same period of 2025. Dealers could not compensate for the meager profit in 2025, despite good sales due to discounts.

Electric motorcycles continue to struggle

Electromobility offered no alternative to dealers, and it is not gaining traction at all in 2025. Bikers remain largely skeptical of electric motorcycles, with only 2311 new registrations by November. The much-cited "Urban Mobility" on electric scooters is also not catching on in Germany; a mere 3723 new registrations are laughable compared to the millions of electric bicycles used in this country.

Sixth place: Ducati's unfortunate Monster

Ducati once again secured the MotoGP title and the Superbike World Championship constructor's title this year, but this apparently had little impact on the purchasing behavior of German motorcyclists. The Italian traditional brand, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026, saw a 17 percent drop in new registrations, from 6102 units in November 2024 to 5066 this year, and that after stagnation in the previous year.

The bestseller in the lineup remained the Multistrada V4, which is all the more surprising as even the cheapest variant started at 20,890 Euros and the most expensive at 31,990 Euros. Nevertheless, the Multistrada V4 achieved 802 new registrations. The combination of high power and touring comfort still seems to be appealing, especially since it was updated in 2025. The new Panigale V2 also performed well with 717 initial registrations. This was due to the new V2 engine, which, although producing 35 hp less, weighs less and is easier to ride, and also to the significantly lower price of 16,390 Euros, instead of 20,690 Euros for the beauty from Bologna.

The only other Ducati to make it into the top 50 in Germany was, of all things, an 11-year-old model. The Scrambler, despite, or perhaps precisely because of, its ancient air-cooled V2, still convinces with its retro charm. It received a license plate in Germany 595 times by the end of November 2025. It is concerning that the once high-volume model Monster is finding hardly any buyers. Although the current Monster is a good motorcycle, many fans resent Ducati for the fact that the Monster lost both its trellis frame and its desmodromic valve control in 2024. Apparently, too radical a break. Moreover, at 12,690 Euros, it was also quite expensive in 2025.

Seventh place: Harley-Davidson

The American cult brand Harley-Davidson was hit particularly hard in 2025, with initial registrations plummeting from 6846 to 3586 in Germany, a decrease of 47.6 percent. Harley-Davidson's stubborn model policy is now backfiring; there were no truly new models in 2025, only minor tweaks or slightly better equipment.

It didn't help that the drastic EU tariff hikes on American motorcycles, as a counter-reaction to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on European steel, did not materialize. Harley-Davidson's lineup simply lacks models that could appeal to a large customer base in Europe. Of course, there are still enthusiasts for the huge, air-cooled V2 cruisers and choppers, but the Easy Rider generation is slowly dying out.

Yet, Harley-Davidson has a really good engine in its portfolio with the liquid-cooled Revolution Max 1250 V2, but the surrounding periphery developed in Europe doesn't hit the mark: the expensive Pan America 1250 adventure bike finds as few buyers as the not exactly cheap Sportster S.

Harley-Davidson has stumbled into a disaster with its electric motorcycles; the development of the LiveWire One alone consumed enormous sums and ultimately sold poorly. The desperate outsourcing of electric motorcycles to the LiveWire label was also not a salvation; the small, expensive S2 models only achieved 64 new registrations in Germany this year.

In September, prices for LiveWire models were reduced by up to 9200 Euros, showing the absurd profit margins the manufacturer had previously expected.

Eighth place: Suzuki's flash in the pan has died out

To Suzuki's dismay, the flash in the pan of 2024 – a 27.8 percent increase – had already died out in 2025, with a significant decrease of 43.6 percent. New registrations dropped from 5475 to 3086 by the end of November; only cosmetic corrections are possible in December. Globally, Suzuki is doing very well; in 2024 alone, the brand sold around 2.1 million motorcycles worldwide, and in the first half of 2025, it was already 1.1 million, the vast majority of them in Asia.

However, it's not going well in Germany. In the 1990s, Suzuki was the market leader here, considered innovative, and sold huge numbers with affordable, appealing models like the Bandit series. Little of that remains today. In 2025, Suzuki launched the successor to the still popular DR-Z 400 single-cylinder enduro, introduced at the turn of the millennium, onto the German market, but the new DR-Z4S enduro and the DR-Z4SM supermoto were shockingly expensive at 9699 Euros. The new 776 cm³ inline twin with 83 hp, introduced in the GSX-8S model in 2023, was considered successful, with strong torque and smooth running. However, initial sales figures for the GSX-8S quickly declined; by the end of November 2025, it had 714 new registrations compared to 1355 units for the entire year 2024. One reason was its price of 9400 Euros; for just 300 Euros more, one could get a Honda CB 1000 Hornet with 152 hp and for around 500 Euros more, a Kawasaki Z 900 with 124 hp. While fully faired sportbikes are becoming increasingly popular, Suzuki's GSX-8R only managed 595 new registrations.

Here too, the price of 10,000 Euros was likely a barrier, which was exactly the price of Honda's bestseller CBR 650 R with its 95 hp inline four-cylinder, which achieved 2058 new registrations. Otherwise, Suzuki has been limited to reissues for years; three years ago, the speedbike Suzuki Hayabusa returned, which is still very fast but no longer in line with the zeitgeist. The new Katana, presented in 2019 – a cult bike from the 1980s – turned out to be a visually spruced-up GSX-S 1000. Certainly a good motorcycle, but it found few buyers at 14,400 Euros. Next year, Suzuki wants to offer its legendary superbike GSX-R 1000 again in Germany – with less power than the last version in 2021 and only available from summer, when most people will have already bought their new motorcycle.

Ninth place: KTM rises from the ashes

Of all brands, KTM was hit hardest in 2025, with a decrease of 79.3 percent. The reason lies in the insolvency that the Austrian manufacturer had to enter voluntarily in November 2024. Insane overproduction – around 260,000 KTMs were stockpiled worldwide – and a poor reputation due to quality problems led to the situation, in addition to the completely unprofitable bicycle division Felt Bicycles. After tense months of negotiations, KTM was saved from insolvency by the Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj, which had a long-standing joint venture with the Austrians and manufactured their smaller models in India, through a capital injection of around 600 million Euros. However, long-time KTM boss and co-owner Stefan Pierer had to leave. Bajaj took over the group with its brands Husqvarna and Gasgas.

At the end of 2024, KTM dealers had to push their models onto the market with drastic price reductions and first registrations. This led to the absurd situation that 12,284 motorcycles of an insolvent brand were newly registered in Germany in 2024, as customers were hunting for bargains. It was clear that 2025 could not go well, especially since the production lines in Mattighofen stood still for months and the new models were launched with significant delays, some only after the season was over. By the end of November 2025, only 2537 KTMs were newly registered in Germany. It is therefore not surprising that not a single KTM appears among the top 50.

For many KTM dealers, the situation is existentially threatening, and some have turned to other brands. Some have added the Chinese manufacturer CFMoto, with which KTM has had a cooperation since 2017 to produce the 790 models in China. Unfortunately, the future prospects at KTM remain vague. Even though the new CEO Gottfried Neumeister is making every effort to allay concerns about production in Mattighofen, the new owner Bajaj wants to significantly reduce costs and likely further reduce staff at KTM. Bajaj CEO Rajiv Bajaj's remark in a television interview: "European manufacturing is dead" has also not exactly contributed to building trust. Production in Pune, India, is of course considerably cheaper, as KTM itself has demonstrated with the small single-cylinder models manufactured by Bajaj since 2011.

Tenth place: Aprilia is working on its image

The Italian motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia curiously still struggles with an image problem, despite the brand having won 54 world championship titles to date. Some popular racers like Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Max Biaggi won world championship titles on Aprilias. While the Italian manufacturer Ducati enjoys a stellar reputation, customers remain hesitant with Aprilia. By the end of November, 2498 new Aprilias had been registered in Germany, a decrease of 13.5 percent compared to the same period last year, when there were still 2887 units.

The brand can boast remarkable models, such as the RSV4 superbike, which, with its 220 hp V4 engine and complete assistance package, is one of the fastest on the racetrack. The Tuareg enduro also holds its own against the competition; in fact, it is among the best in its class. Its 659 cm³ inline twin produces 80 hp and accelerates the 207 kg lightweight enduro rapidly. Its very well-tuned, fully adjustable suspension with long travel is particularly impressive. Its price of 11,999 Euros is also at the typical level for its class, yet it remains a rare sight on German roads.

The much prettier RS 660 is seen much more frequently, which kicked off the boom in mid-range sportbikes in 2021. Thoroughly revised for 2025, the now 105 hp and 183 kg lightweight sportbike presents itself fitter than ever. In the Factory version, Aprilia even equips the RS 660 with a suspension entirely composed of Öhlins components, making it a serious contender on the circuit. At 11,799 Euros for the base version, it's not exactly cheap, but that doesn't deter customers; it was newly registered 1076 times by the end of November, accounting for 43 percent of all Aprilias sold in Germany.

(fpi)