Motorcycle New Registrations 2025, Part One: The Hangover After the Record Year

Contents

The motorcycle industry in Germany did not perform optimally in 2025, at least compared to the record year of 2024. On January 1, 2025, the Euro5+ emissions standard for new motorcycle registrations officially came into effect, which triggered a rush for Euro 5 models in the last two months of the previous year. Dealers were forced to drastically reduce prices on their remaining Euro 5 models or offer them as daily registrations. Many buyers had speculated on this and bought in large numbers in November and December – precisely in the months when hardly any motorcycles are normally newly registered. The result of new registrations in 2024 was therefore extremely good for manufacturers.

Some brands were hit very hard

Although they knew that 2025 would be difficult, some brands were hit hard. According to the available figures up to the end of November 2025, not much will change by the end of the year. While there were still 134,516 new registrations in the same period last year, there were only 95,190 in 2025 – a decrease of 29.2 percent. The figures for light motorcycles up to 125 cm³ were even more dismal: a minus of 35.8 percent. From 32,784 new registrations in November 2024, it dropped to 21,035 in the same period of 2025.

These are alarming figures for dealers, because even though they sold many motorcycles in 2024, there was often little profit left due to price pressure. This year, sales for some brands have drastically declined, and as a consequence, the already struggling dealer network could thin out further in the future.

Sports motorcycles set the trend

A surprisingly large number of fully faired sports motorcycles are among the new registrations in 2025, indicating a clear trend. In 4th place, and thus Honda's best-selling model, is the Honda CBR 650 RR, an affordable mid-range sportbike, with 2058 new registrations. In 10th place is the Kawasaki Ninja 650, another low-budget sportbike. In 16th place is the stylish Aprilia RS 660, the best-selling model of the Italian manufacturer.

Even the expensive superbike BMW S 1000 RR achieved over a thousand new registrations. On the other hand, travel enduros are in reverse. Apart from the perennial bestseller BMW R 1300 GS, no enduro made it into the top 10; travel enduros that were previously in high demand, such as the Honda Africa Twin and Honda Transalp, or the Yamaha 700 Ténéré, are in sharp decline.

Indian and Chinese bikes in the Top 50

Remarkably, in the 2025 registration statistics, motorcycles from Chinese and Indian manufacturers have made it into the top 50 in Germany for the first time. In 37th place is the Voge DS 900 X, a strikingly affordable travel enduro from China, which reached 647 new registrations by the end of November. In 48th place, the Indian single-cylinder enduro Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is holding its own with 581 new registrations, also benefiting from its very low entry price.

This is a harbinger of many more models from the two Asian countries to come. With their aggressive pricing, broad model range, and constantly growing quality, models from China and India will become attractive to customers in this country as well. The production of major manufacturers like BMW and KTM helped the Asian partner companies build their own capacities. CF Moto has gone from being a partner to a competitor of KTM.

First place: BMW remains ahead

BMW remains the leader in new registrations in Germany with a market share of 21.6 percent by the end of November. In total, the Bavarian brand reported 20,559 newly registered motorcycles, with a high proportion traditionally being registered by legal entities – i.e., dealers or BMW itself. Nevertheless, a decrease of 22.5 percent compared to the previous year is not good news even for BMW. The undisputed bestseller remains the boxer travel enduro R 1300 GS with 7795 new registrations by the end of November, which is even more than in the entire year 2024.

However, the drop to the second-best model in the BMW ranking, the F 900 R with 1406 new registrations, makes it clear how dependent BMW is on its large boxer enduro for its market leadership. But the two parallel-twin travel enduros F 800 GS with 1264 units and BMW F 900 GS (Test) with 1152 units also contributed to BMW's success. Two other BMW models are noteworthy: The S 1000 RR is by far the best-selling superbike with 1004 new registrations – a class in which competitors are hardly selling any motorcycles anymore. The brand new BMW R 12 G/S had 743 units registered. It was supposed to uphold the old G/S virtues: more off-road capability and less weight using the proven 1200 boxer engine. Although it only hit the market in the summer, BMW customers don't seem entirely enthusiastic about the new G/S (yet) and prefer to stick with the R 1300 GS.

It is also noticeable that among the top 50, there are no other boxer BMWs; neither the new naked bike R 1300 R nor the sport tourer R 1300 RS made the cut, although they also only came onto the market in the summer.

Second place: Honda held its ground well

For Honda, it was a good year considering the circumstances, although the brand had to accept a slight decrease of 4.7 percent. Honda achieved 19,133 new registrations by November and, unlike other manufacturers, is represented with many models in the top 50. With a share of 20.1 percent, Honda is closing in on BMW, the long-time market leader, which will particularly please the Japanese manufacturer. This was mainly due to its Hornet models – the new CB 1000 Hornet, powered by a slightly detuned superbike four-cylinder, achieved 2048 new registrations.

The naked bike offered at an affordable price of 9700 Euros clearly struck a chord with buyers. Close behind was the CB 750 Hornet with 1972 units, which already sold excellently last year, also boosted by an affordable price. However, the bestseller in Honda's lineup is, surprisingly, a fully faired sports motorcycle: the CBR 650 R achieved 2058 new registrations. The well-shaped 95 hp mid-range bike was available for 10,000 Euros.

Even the high-revving supersport bike CBR 600 RR for over 12,000 Euros achieved 911 new registrations. The two models are strong proof that sports motorcycles are making a comeback, while adventure bikes are slowly losing popularity: The CRF 1100 Africa Twin had 1196 units newly registered – about 400 more the year before. The number of newly registered XL 750 Transalp (Test) more than halved to 1206. However, naked bikes remain the most popular category in Germany, such as the two Hornet models, but the CB 650 R with 1238 new registrations also ranks high. The fact that niche models can also be successful is shown by the small cruiser CMX 500 Rebel (982 new registrations) and the retro bike GB 350 S (Test) (808 units) in the entry-level class. Both were characterized by very affordable prices; the 350 was available for as little as 3900 Euros.

Third place: Kawasaki with moderate decline

Kawasaki, like all manufacturers, has to report a decline in new registrations, but at minus 5.4 percent, it is still moderate. 14,005 units by the end of November are exactly 800 less than in the same period last year, which corresponds to a market share of 14.7 percent. The lime green brand owes this primarily to two models: The Z 900 remains the undisputed bestseller in Kawasaki's lineup. With 4486 new registrations, it ranks 2nd in Germany. The combination of a powerful inline four-cylinder engine, aggressive design, and an affordable price (the Z 900 started at 9845 Euros in 2025) continued to prove a successful concept.

Just one place behind is the two-cylinder Z 650, a smaller version of the Z 900, with 2195 new registrations – at only 7345 Euros, buyers didn't hesitate. Kawasaki also found that fully faired sports motorcycles are becoming popular again, as the Ninja 650 landed as the third best-selling Kawasaki with 1267 new registrations, ranking 10th overall in Germany. Even the powerful supersport bike ZX-6R (Test) for 12,595 Euros achieved a respectable 660 new registrations. Small cruisers also sold well at Kawasaki, popular with beginners due to affordable prices and low seat height: The Eliminator 500 with 705 new registrations and the Vulcan S with a 650cc engine and 653 registrations. However, Kawasaki's attempt to gain a foothold in Germany with the electric motorcycles Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 and the hybrid models Z7 and Ninja Z7 proved to be a complete flop; all four models combined achieved only 67 new registrations.

Fourth place: Yamaha achieves fourth place despite significant losses

Yamaha is probably not in a celebratory mood right now; sales in Germany have plummeted, with only 6919 new registrations by the end of November, a minus of 36.2 percent. In the same period last year, it was 10,847 units. The world's second-largest motorcycle manufacturer probably didn't expect this at the beginning of the year when it revised three of its previous bestsellers.

The most popular model in the lineup remains the MT-07 naked bike with 1985 new registrations by the end of November, but at the end of 2024, it was still at 2512 units. For 2025, Yamaha had finally equipped it with a new look, an upside-down fork, ride-by-wire, more assistance, and several other features. While it still holds 6th place in Germany, it seems to have lost some popularity.

The larger MT-09, revised in design and with electronic assistance systems, proved to be more consistent; the three-cylinder naked bike achieved 1769 new registrations by the end of November and still has a chance to catch up to last year's 1866 units by the end of December. The 700 Ténéré experienced a massive sales drop with only 1039 new registrations, less than half of last year's figure. It was also revised in terms of appearance, ergonomics, and technology. It's quite bitter for Yamaha: only the sport tourer Tracer 9 with 641 units made it into the top 50 new registrations in Germany.

Fifth place: Triumph climbs, with losses

Triumph can look back on 2025 with mixed feelings. A minus of 10.3 percent by the end of November in Germany means 6014 new registrations instead of the 6707 in the previous year. However, Triumph is likely to be very pleased with 5th place in the brand ranking in Germany; last year the traditional brand was still in 7th place.

Triumph has clearly done a lot of things right, while other manufacturers have lost significant favor with buyers. The English brand's model with the most new registrations is the Bonneville T120 with 613 units. The retro bike still excites many fans who appreciate the nostalgic look combined with modern technology and strong torque. Close behind is the Tiger 900, with the adventure bike achieving a total of 606 new registrations across its GT (cast wheels) and Rally (spoked wheels) versions.

The mid-range model Trident 660 (Test) continues to sell well thanks to its affordable price, with 571 initial registrations. Directly behind it is the new Tiger Sport 800 with its excellent three-cylinder engine; the stylish crossover bike achieved 553 new registrations. The attractive Scrambler 400 X no longer made it into the top 50; last year, 1025 units were newly registered, this year the number has almost halved.

(fpi)