BMW not only manufactures some of its motorcycles in Germany but is also the leading brand in motorcycle sales in the country. BMW's sales are nearly twice as high as those of Honda, its closest competitor in the German market. Both manufacturers were able to benefit from heightened interest in motorcycles in 2020 , as the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged many people to seek alternatives to shared transportation. This included products ranging from scooters and light motorcycles, particularly useful in an urban setting, to motorcycles suitable for longer distance journeys.
New driving license category is popularizing light motorcycles and light scooters
The COVID-19 pandemic was not the only significant factor impacting motorcycle sales in Germany in 2020. At the beginning of the year, a new motorcycle license category called B196 was introduced. It provides drivers in Germany—who hold a class B driving license for passenger cars—with a quicker path to a motorcycle license, which is valid for motorcycles and scooters with an engine of no more than 125cc. This new category for light motorcycles has a training and age requirement but no practical or theoretical test component. The new license class is currently only valid in Germany; however, a review of driving license classes recognized by the EU planned for 2023 may include the B196 license, which would extend the validity to all other EU member states.This new license class substantially increased interest in light motorcycles and light scooters, and, between 2019 and 2020, light motorcycle sales rose by over 80 percent . Motorcycles over 125cc also experienced a spike in 2020; however, motorcycle sales in this segment only grew by around 18 percent between 2019 and 2020 and has subsequently fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, registration of light motorcycles remained more than two-thirds above pre-pandemic levels in 2021 and 2022.
Electric motorcycles: A small but growing market
Next to light motorcycles and scooters, electric two-wheelers are another emerging and sometimes overlapping trend in the motorcycle market. The most popular electric motorcycle on the German market in 2022 was the Vmoto TC MAX, which is a light motorcycle and legal to ride with a class B196 license. However, alternative fuels are currently only a marginal phenomenon in motorcycle sales. Out of the 4.8 million motorized two-wheelers on the road in Germany in 2022, just under 19,000 were battery-electric vehicles, Germany's most common type of alternative fuel for motorcycles . In 2022, only about 1,600 electric motorcycles were newly registered, making up about one percent of the market that year.The picture looks somewhat different for electric scooters, however. Just over 8,000 electric scooters were registered that year, accounting for 14 percent market share, and the number of new electric scooters nearly tripled compared to the previous year. Overall, motorcycle and scooter sales are projected to rise, and it can be expected that electric models will play an increasingly important role in this growth.
