After a slow start to the year, third-quarter new-motorbike sales have continued the growth trend seen in the second quarter, with sales for the first nine months now up 13.5% compared with the same period last year, says Association of Motorcycle Industry Distributors (AMID) national director Arnold Olivier.         

He says the commercial segment has shown overall growth of 10.2%. Within this segment, conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) machines are up by 8%, while electric bike (e-bike) sales continue to grow strongly, recording 35% growth.

The largely agricultural-focussed utility quad and side-by-side market is up 18%.

Although e-bikes are clearly the flavour of the day, it is worth noting that it is growing off a comparatively small base, as ICE motorcycles and scooters still dominate this segment with 85% volume-sales.

“At present the commercial e-bike environment is dependent on battery swapping stations to operate effectively,” explains Olivier.

“This has the effect that ownership will, for the time being, rest in the hands of fleet operators who can install and maintain these swapping stations.”

The leisure bike segment continues the strong upward trend shown throughout the year, with sales up 42%, notes Olivier.

Within the leisure segment, youth motorcycles and quads are up 39%, sub-500cc sales are up 43%, and sales in the over-500cc segment are up 16%.

Off-road motorcycles grew by a modest 6%.

The trend towards more affordable products continues, as has been the case throughout the year, says Olivier.

AMID data also shows that used-motorcycle sales are up 1.1% compared with the first nine months of 2025.

“The motorcycle market is showing more liveliness than what has been the case for several years, but will remain very competitive as more brands enter the market, especially in the commercial segment,” says Olivier.

“Current sales trends indicate that total sales could exceed the 46 000-unit level this year, which will make it the best sales year since 2008, when the global economic crisis negatively impacted many markets.”