The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has released its motorcycle and off-highway vehicle (OHV) sales data for the first half of 2026, showing a market in strong growth off the back of a resurgent off-road segment.
Between January and June, a total of 46,023 units were sold, up 8.2% on the 42,549 units sold across the same period last year. The result was driven almost entirely by the off-road motorcycle segment, which continued a run of improving monthly results through the first six months of the year.
As with all FCAI reports, it’s important to note these figures reflect only sales reported by FCAI-affiliated brands. Several major importers do not contribute data, meaning the actual number of motorcycles and OHVs sold nationally is likely higher.
Segment Overview
Off-Road Motorcycles Steer Market Growth
Off-road motorcycles were the standout category, with sales climbing 21.6% to 20,417 units for the half-year. The segment now accounts for 44.4% of total industry volume, making it the largest single contributor to the market’s overall result.
Growth within the category was uneven across sub-segments. Kids off-road bikes rose 32%, while the trail sub-segment more than doubled, up 131% on the first half of 2025. This points to a broadening of interest in off-road riding beyond the core adult recreational rider, rather than growth concentrated in a single product type.
Road Motorcycles Edge Lower
Road motorcycles held largely steady, with 16,170 units sold, down 0.5% on the first half of 2025. The segment remains the second-largest by volume, representing 35.1% of total sales, and the smaller half-yearly decline suggests the segment has stabilised since posting a 3.2% fall in the March 2026 quarter.
Off-Highway Vehicles Hold Steady
OHV sales were effectively unchanged year on year, with 6,764 units sold in the first half of 2026 compared with 6,760 in the first half of 2025, a movement of just 0.1%. The result points to a stable market for this segment, consistent with agriculture and farming buying cycles.
Scooters Post the Only Decline
Scooters were the only segment to record a decline, falling 2.7% to 2,672 units. The category remains the smallest by volume at 5.8% of total sales, and the dip is worth monitoring as an early signal rather than treating it as a settled trend.
Market Commentary
Motorcycle H1 Sales 2025-26 Comparison
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber attributed the half-year result to the sustained strength of the off-road category, noting it had ‘continued to improve over recent months’ and had become the segment now shaping the overall market outcome. He framed the rest of the market as settled rather than weak, pointing to road motorcycles and OHVs tracking close to prior-year levels while off-road carried the result.
A Strong First Half for the Industry
The first half of 2026 has delivered a significant step up in growth for the market. Off-road motorcycles have done the heavy lifting, with the kids and trail sub-segments, in particular, suggesting new pockets of demand are opening up within the category.
Road motorcycles have avoided further decline, extending a two-year trend of shrinking losses rather than reversing them outright. Scooters, by contrast, appear to have broken from the growth they carried into this year, the one segment moving against the market’s overall direction. Whether the off-road momentum can be sustained, and whether road sales can convert stability into growth, will shape how the second half of the year unfolds.
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