Motorcycle sales roar ahead on Costa del Sol but brakes stay on clean fuel

It is easy to see why the Costa del Sol and the rest of Malaga province is a paradise for motorcycle lovers. But here, and nationally, it is proving hard to get bikers to move over to clean fuel. The ratio between conventional and electric motorbikes sold in the first six months of this year locally is 31 to one, meaning the industry is far behind the car market in the race to net-zero.

From January to June, 243 electric motorbikes were sold in Malaga province, 5.4% of national electric bike sales. And this was a year-on-year fall in these sales of no less than 20.8%, according to data provided by Anesdor, an industry association.

But what continues to grow is the purchase of motorbikes with conventional fuels. In the first six months of this year, there were 7,585 bikes, including scooters sold in Malaga province This made up 6.4% of the national market and a growth on 2023 of an estimated at 8.7%.

The figures place Barcelona above 20,000 units and Madrid above 13,000 as the top two in terms of sales. But it is striking that more than half as many motorbikes are sold in Malaga as in Madrid, when the difference in population is five times less than in that province.

National data shows that 86% of sales are to private individuals; 52% opt for the scooter format, while 44% go for options more suited to highway use, and, finally, half of the purchases correspond to options up to 50 cc.

The next bracket, up to 750 cc, accounts for 32% of purchases, and, finally, more powerful bikes make up 18% of the market.

The top ten best-selling bikes are Yamaha NMax 125, Honda PCX 125, Honda SH 125 Scoopy, Symphony 125, Yamaha X-Max 125, Kymco Agility City 125, Piaggio Liberty Iget ABS, Honda Forza 125, Honda ADV 350 and Yamaha Rayzr.