What a year!: Key motorcycle industry highlights of 2023
It’s been an enthralling year in the motorcycle industry, with bike sales growing in some important markets, with some brands expanding their ranges into new sectors and with some thrilling racing and big moves in the various World Championships.
The Motorcycle Marketing team attended a number of big industry events in 2023 including EICMA in Milan, Motorcycle Live in Birmingham, the ABR Festival in Warwickshire, MOTORbeurs in Utrecht and MaxlRIDE in Bavaria, along with thousands of other riders.
The events were all packed and we sensed a big buzz throughout the industry everywhere we went this year. The numbers back up that feeling, with over 90,000 attendees enjoying Motorcycle Live over nine days at the NEC and with EICMA attracting more than 560,000 people, the highest figure in the history of the event.
Rising sales in many important markets
More success on track for Ducati
Indeed, the biggest news of the year from the race track was Marc Marquez announcing he was leaving Repsol Honda after 11 seasons with the team in the premier MotoGP class, which saw him win the title six times.
The 30 year-old Spanish star will ride a Ducati Desmosedici for the Gresini Racing team in 2024 as he looks to recapture the World Championship for the first time since 2019. The Desmosedici was put to good use in 2023 by Pecco Bagnaia as the Italian successfully defended his MotoGP title. Ducati Corse’s success in racing is integral to the brand’s image and growth.
Ducati were also busy in the MotoE class in 2023 providing the machinery for the electric class of World Championship racing and they will continue to supply those bikes through to 2026.
MotoGP in Asia and a Chinese team in WorldSBK
MotoGP also visited India for the first time in 2023, with Grand Prix motorcycle racing visiting six different Asian countries this year. Continuing the eastern theme 2023 also saw the arrival of Kove in road racing, as the brand made history as the first Chinese manufacturer to participate in WorldSBK with their Kove 321RR running in the WorldSSP300 class.
It was a learning year for Kove with their China Racing Team effort, building on the racing experience they have gained by already racing in the Dakar Rally.
More big name rider moves
Elsewhere in the WorldSBK paddock there were big headlines as it was announced that six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea would leave Kawasaki after several years of success together, with Rea set to ride a Yamaha YZF R1 in 2024
Also on the move is Toprak Razgatlioglu as the charismatic and brilliantly talented Turk departs from Yamaha to race for BMW next season.The Motorcycle Marketing team will be watching attentively in 2024 as the German brand look to maximise the arrival of Razgatlioglu with their on and off track activity.
Razgatlioglu rode superbly throughout 2023, taking the title down to the final weekend of the season at Jerez, but ultimately unable to stop Alvaro Bautista winning the title for the second successive season.
Bautista was so good in 2023, with a total of 27 victories and breaking multiple records along the way. His dominance was probably a key factor in the WorldSBK rule changes for 2024 to bring in a minimum bike + rider weight to create closer racing, which means that Bautista is likely to have around 7kg of ballast added to his Ducati Panigale V4R in 2024.
Ducati are now dominant in road racing and rival manufacturers will therefore be watching closely as the Bologna-based brand make the move into the off-road scene. The Red from Borgo Panigale Enters Motocross, stated the bold announcement in October.
Former Yamaha and KTM rider and nine-time MX World Champion Antonio Cairoli will join Ducati as high-performance test rider for the new racing program’
Meanwhile, Triumph’s progress with their dirt bike continues with Ricky Carmichael at the helm of the Triumph TF 250-X’s development.
Can Ducati and Triumph challenge the off-road big guns such as the KTM brands and the Japanese giants in the years ahead? It will certainly be interesting to see, after KTM-owned Gas Gas enjoyed success with Jorge Prado’s 2023 MXGP championship win and with the Red Bull KTM Factory Team winning the ‘23 Dakar Bikes title with Kevin Benavides.
KTM have dominated the Dakar for more than 20 years and Benavides will attempt to defend his title in the 2024 rally, which takes place in Saudi Arabia in January.
Away from the sand dunes there were also big plaudits for KTM earlier in the year when Rider magazine announced the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT as its 2023 Motorcycle of the Year.
The Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, meanwhile, was Overall Bike of the Year for 2023 for Motorcycle News, whilst MCN also deep dived on an intriguing Great British bike-off as they compared the Triumph Bonneville T100 directly with its competitor models - namely the BSA Gold Star and the Norton Commando 961 SP.
Indeed, for the Motorcycle Marketing team one of our highlights of the year was seeing the construction of the Commando and the stunning V4SV ‘588’ up close, as we had the privilege of visiting the Norton factory in Birmingham.
The company have an incredible 125-year history behind them and under the ownership of TVS Motor Company - who also build bikes for BMW - Norton’s fascinating revival is a story we’ll also be following closely in 2024 and beyond.
As you can see, there are plenty of highlights to look back on while we’re wrapping up this year and we can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for the industry. If you’re looking to take big steps with your brand next year, make sure to get in contact for support in your marketing efforts.
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