Europe’s motorcycle and scooter market recorded a substantial year-on-year increase in the first seven months of 2026. According to the reported figures, 1,159,685 units were sold from January through July, up 10.4% from the same period of the previous year and above 1.15 million units overall.

The result follows a sharp contraction in 2025, when sales fell by approximately 11%. That decline was associated with regulatory changes, the effects of early registrations ahead of Euro 5+, and less favourable economic conditions for consumer spending. The 2026 comparison is therefore being made against a particularly low base. The increase represents a strong rebound, but the available figures do not establish a return to a long-term record.

Several major markets move higher

The improvement was not confined to a single country. Germany recorded growth of 18.8%, Spain 17.2%, Italy 10.1% and France 5%. Spain had been one of the few European exceptions in 2025, when its market still increased by 7.1% while several other major countries declined. The reported Spanish total is 139,691 units during the first half of 2026, alongside a stated prospect of reaching a new historic high. That figure is not directly aligned with the wider January–July reporting period used for the European total, so the two periods should not be treated as identical.

Greece recorded 55,125 sales from January through July 2026, compared with 53,423 during the corresponding period of 2025, representing a 3.19% increase.

Brand performance tells a different story

Honda retained its leading position in the European market despite a 0.8% decline in sales. CFMoto grew by 62.0%, Zontes by 56.9% and Voge by 47.3%—all substantially faster than the market’s 10.4% increase. The performances of CFMoto, Zontes and Voge therefore stand out in the available comparison.

Not every established manufacturer matched the market’s pace. Yamaha, Piaggio, Kawasaki, SYM and Kymco grew more slowly than the overall market, while BMW, Triumph and Ducati recorded negative results. The differences point to a competitive transformation in the European two-wheeler market: a larger total does not mean that every manufacturer benefits equally, and the traditional leaders are not necessarily the biggest beneficiaries of the current growth.

Electric two-wheelers also increase

Sales of electric two-wheelers rose by 18.7%, reaching 48,832 units by July 2026. That increase followed three consecutive years of decline, but electric sales remained below their record level from 2022. The figures consequently show renewed growth in this part of the market without establishing a new peak.

For context, the European market reached 1.43 million units in 2019 and approximately 1.78 million in 2024. Sales then continued increasing for several years after 2019, including during the pandemic period, before the decline recorded in 2025. The 2026 data show a broad recovery across several major markets and a pronounced reshuffling of manufacturer performance, but they do not by themselves confirm a new all-time high for Europe as a whole.