In 2021, the United States motorcycle, bicycle, and parts manufacturing gross output reached around 6.2 billion U.S. dollars, a year-over-year increase of approximately 9.2 percent. Consumers in the U.S. bought an estimated 550,000 motorcycles in 2021, up some 8.9 percent compared to 2020 estimates. While sales climbed, the average price of two-wheelers remained relatively stable despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
California records the highest sales
At over 5.62 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2021, on-road motorcycles were the best-selling segment in the U.S. motorcycle market in 2021, dwarfing their off-road and scooter counterparts. On-road motorcycles represented around 73.7 percent of sales that year. The cruiser was the leading on-road motorcycle type in the country, which recorded about 3.4 million cruisers in circulation in the first quarter of 2021. A year earlier, in 2020, most motorcycle users resided in California, where over 785,400 motorcycles were registered. Other popular states for motorcycles included Florida, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. California was also the state recording the highest average annual motorcycle insurance premium in the U.S. as of September 2022. It was 674 U.S. dollars higher than Louisiana's premium, which came second in the ranking.Harley-Davidson leads a diverse market
Wisconsin–based Harley-Davidson is still the leading motorcycle manufacturer in the U.S. market, followed by its main competitor Honda. Between 2020 and 2021, H-D's U.S. retail sales grew by about 21.8 percent to just under 126,300 in the 2021 fiscal year. H-D's key competitors include Minnesota-based Polaris Industries, Audi's Italian subsidiary Ducati, Germany-headquartered BMW, and Asian companies like Honda and Yamaha. These two firms are also among the leading motorcycle manufacturers worldwide. In the 2022 fiscal year, Honda sold around 17.03 million motorcycles worldwide and about 332,000 to motorcycle shoppers in North America, a volume that increased by 105,000 in 2022.
