Overall, the value of motorcycles exported by all countries rose by an average 60.4% for all exporting countries since 2017 when motorcycle shipments were valued at $24.8 billion.
Year over year, the value of exported motorcycles accelerated by 27.4% from $31.2 billion during 2020.
The 5 biggest exporters of motorcycles are China, Germany, India, Thailand and Japan. Collectively, the 5 major motorcycle exporters generated well almost three-fifths (58.1%) of the total value for international motorcycle sales in 2021.
Among continents, countries in Asia sold the highest dollar worth of exported motorcycles during 2021 with shipments valued at $24.3 billion or 61% of the global total. In second place were European exporters at 35.3% while another 2.9% of worldwide motorcycle shipments originated from North America.
Tinier percentages came from Latin America (0.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.3%) and Oceania (also 0.1%) mostly Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 8711 for motorcycles including mopeds and cycles fitted with an auxiliary motor. This includes motorcycles with or without side-cars.
Motorcycle Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of motorcycles during 2021.
- China: US$11.2 billion (28.2% of total exported motorcycles)
- Germany: $3.26 billion (8.2%)
- India: $2.95 billion (7.4%)
- Thailand: $2.88 billion (7.2%)
- Japan: $2.8 billion (7%)
- Italy: $2.18 billion (5.5%)
- Austria: $2.13 billion (5.3%)
- Netherlands: $2 billion (5.1%)
- Indonesia: $1.58 billion (4%)
- Taiwan: $1.56 billion (3.9%)
- Belgium: $1.1 billion (2.8%)
- Vietnam: $987.3 million (2.5%)
- United States: $856.2 million (2.2%)
- France: $587.8 million (1.5%)
- Spain: $472.5 million (1.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 92% of global motorcycles exported in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing motorcycles exporters since 2021 were: India (up 60.7%), Thailand (up 45.7%), United States of America (up 41.7%) and Italy (up 36.2%).
Three European countries posted the slowest increases in their exported motorcycles sales namely France (up 11.2% from 2020) and Germany (up 12.7%).
Countries Generating Largest Trade Surpluses for Motorcycles
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for motorcycles during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported motorcycles and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- China: US$10.3 billion (net export surplus up 30.3% since 2020)
- India: $2.9 billion (up 57.2%)
- Thailand: $2.5 billion (up 47.6%)
- Japan: $1.8 billion (up 34.9%)
- Indonesia: $1.5 billion (up 15.5%)
- Austria: $1.41 billion (up 33.4%)
- Taiwan: $1.37 billion (up 26.1%)
- Italy: $792.6 million (up 52.3%)
- Vietnam: $599.8 million (up 22.8%)
- Bulgaria: $368.8 million (up 25.8%)
- Hungary: $344.2 million (up 7.3%)
- Brazil: $95.5 million (up 95.1%)
- Germany: $92.6 million (down -68.6%)
- Czech Republic: $39.5 million (up 14.3%)
- Lithuania: $20.9 million (up 108%)
Mainland China earned the highest surplus in the international trade of motorcycles. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms strong Chinese competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Facing Worst Trade Deficits for Motorcycles
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for motorcycles during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported motorcycle purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$2.8 billion (net export deficit up 28.6% since 2020)
- France: -$1.72 billion (up 25.4%)
- Philippines: -$1.68 billion (up 69%)
- Australia: -$766.3 million (up 72.6%)
- Spain: -$762.8 million (up 23.7%)
- United Kingdom: -$678.3 million (up 61.4%)
- Nigeria: -$619.6 million (down -47%)
- Switzerland: -$578.3 million (up 8.9%)
- Canada: -$549.5 million (up 84.1%)
- South Korea: -$530.2 million (up 22%)
- Mexico: -$396.4 million (up 76.4%)
- Argentina: -$373.1 million (up 70.8%)
- Peru: -$350 million (up 83.5%)
- Belgium: -$328.7 million (up 1195.4%)
- Guatemala: -$302.7 million (up 60.8%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of motorcycles during 2021. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for motorcycle-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Motorcycle Exporting Companies
Below are global motorcycle makers that represent established players engaged in the international motorcycle trade. The home country for each company’s headquarters are shown within parenthesis.
- Bajaj Auto (India)
- Baotian Motorcycle Company (China)
- BMW Motorrad (Germany)
- Ducati (Italy)
- Harley-Davidson (United States)
- Honda (Japan)
- Indian (United States)
- Janus Motorcycles (United States)
- Kawasawki (Japan)
- Suzuki (Japan)
- Yamaha (Japan)
- Zero Electric Motorcycles (United States)
Searchable List of Motorcycle Exporting Countries in 2021
The top 100 countries in the automated database below account for 99.999% of the overall international sales of motorcycles in 2021.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2020 data is available.
| Rank | Exporter | Motorcycle Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $11,225,563,000 | +30.5% |
| 2. | Germany | $3,259,728,000 | +12.7% |
| 3. | India | $2,947,810,000 | +60.7% |
| 4. | Thailand | $2,878,124,000 | +45.7% |
| 5. | Japan | $2,802,467,000 | +33.2% |
| 6. | Italy | $2,178,833,000 | +36.2% |
| 7. | Austria | $2,127,169,000 | +28.9% |
| 8. | Netherlands | $2,042,497,000 | +19.1% |
| 9. | Indonesia | $1,584,571,000 | +16.9% |
| 10. | Taiwan | $1,564,971,000 | +26.9% |
| 11. | Belgium | $1,123,994,000 | +15.8% |
| 12. | Vietnam | $987,331,000 | +15.4% |
| 13. | United States | $856,215,000 | +41.7% |
| 14. | France | $587,843,000 | +11.2% |
| 15. | Spain | $472,519,000 | +35% |
| 16. | Hungary | $453,615,000 | +15.5% |
| 17. | Bulgaria | $399,967,000 | +28.3% |
| 18. | Czech Republic | $303,096,000 | +29.6% |
| 19. | Canada | $225,506,000 | +27.6% |
| 20. | Switzerland | $219,267,000 | +18.3% |
| 21. | Portugal | $199,008,000 | +89.1% |
| 22. | Brazil | $139,816,000 | +77.7% |
| 23. | Romania | $107,983,000 | +26% |
| 24. | Hong Kong | $99,594,000 | -50.5% |
| 25. | Poland | $90,779,000 | +57.4% |
| 26. | Togo | $83,527,000 | +26.3% |
| 27. | Mexico | $74,828,000 | +37.2% |
| 28. | Lithuania | $72,353,000 | +71% |
| 29. | United Kingdom | $72,201,000 | -80.2% |
| 30. | Denmark | $72,081,000 | +3.3% |
| 31. | Turkey | $64,439,000 | +40.7% |
| 32. | Slovakia | $58,432,000 | +10.9% |
| 33. | Sweden | $50,778,000 | +15.8% |
| 34. | Singapore | $49,212,000 | -32.9% |
| 35. | South Korea | $27,758,000 | +40.6% |
| 36. | Slovenia | $23,533,000 | +23.9% |
| 37. | South Africa | $23,103,000 | +25% |
| 38. | Philippines | $22,034,000 | +90.5% |
| 39. | Australia | $21,349,000 | +21.1% |
| 40. | Cambodia | $20,459,000 | +371.8% |
| 41. | Greece | $19,398,000 | +102.1% |
| 42. | Russia | $17,976,000 | +20.6% |
| 43. | Finland | $16,637,000 | +301.3% |
| 44. | Norway | $16,017,000 | +160.3% |
| 45. | Croatia | $12,508,000 | +19.4% |
| 46. | Belarus | $12,020,000 | -14.5% |
| 47. | Estonia | $12,013,000 | +53.2% |
| 48. | Malaysia | $11,856,000 | -43.5% |
| 49. | Colombia | $11,383,000 | +13.2% |
| 50. | Latvia | $8,758,000 | +45.4% |
| 51. | Serbia | $7,714,000 | +18.3% |
| 52. | Guatemala | $7,393,000 | +380.4% |
| 53. | United Arab Emirates | $7,210,000 | -52% |
| 54. | Luxembourg | $6,987,000 | +24.6% |
| 55. | Pakistan | $4,306,000 | +165.5% |
| 56. | Kenya | $3,833,000 | +584.5% |
| 57. | Chile | $1,785,000 | +26.9% |
| 58. | Benin | $1,777,000 | +110% |
| 59. | Sri Lanka | $1,570,000 | +70.3% |
| 60. | Panama | $1,077,000 | -94.4% |
| 61. | Uruguay | $983,000 | +458.5% |
| 62. | Morocco | $958,000 | -71.6% |
| 63. | Ireland | $860,000 | -34.1% |
| 64. | Mauritius | $847,000 | +28.1% |
| 65. | Bangladesh | $839,000 | +18.7% |
| 66. | Macao | $802,000 | +568.3% |
| 67. | New Zealand | $743,000 | +29.2% |
| 68. | Honduras | $652,000 | -25.6% |
| 69. | Peru | $647,000 | +927% |
| 70. | Egypt | $605,000 | +84.5% |
| 71. | Tanzania | $578,000 | -36.6% |
| 72. | Burkina Faso | $567,000 | -80.2% |
| 73. | Dominican Republic | $440,000 | +32.1% |
| 74. | Costa Rica | $374,000 | -10.7% |
| 75. | Andorra | $344,000 | +177.4% |
| 76. | Armenia | $297,000 | +4850% |
| 77. | Iceland | $265,000 | -13.1% |
| 78. | Cyprus | $264,000 | +1453% |
| 79. | Israel | $262,000 | -59.4% |
| 80. | El Salvador | $226,000 | -20.7% |
| 81. | Rwanda | $222,000 | +7300% |
| 82. | Qatar | $214,000 | -99.2% |
| 83. | New Caledonia | $209,000 | +124.7% |
| 84. | Lebanon | $193,000 | -76.9% |
| 85. | Cameroon | $190,000 | -14.4% |
| 86. | Bahrain | $157,000 | -84.2% |
| 87. | Nauru | $148,000 | +23.3% |
| 88. | Niger | $132,000 | -89.1% |
| 89. | Ukraine | $127,000 | +225.6% |
| 90. | Kyrgyzstan | $117,000 | +1200% |
| 91. | Tokelau | $98,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Georgia | $91,000 | -57.7% |
| 93. | Montenegro | $87,000 | +8.8% |
| 94. | Kuwait | $84,000 | -96.1% |
| 95. | Mozambique | $82,000 | +173.3% |
| 96. | Oman | $82,000 | -21.9% |
| 97. | Angola | $78,000 | -36.6% |
| 98. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $76,000 | +40.7% |
| 99. | Senegal | $73,000 | -88.6% |
| 100. | Malta | $67,000 | +9.8% |
Drilling down on the international sales for these top 100 exporters, 73 increased the value of motorcycles exported from 2020 to 2021 while the remaining 27 experienced reduced sales.
Year over year, the fastest percentage gains for selling exported motorcycles belong to Rwanda (up 7,300% from 2020), Armenia (up 4,850%), Cyprus (up 1,453%), Kyrgyzstan (up 1,200%) and Peru (up 927%).
See also Top Electric Cars Exports by Country, Car Exports by Country, Truck Exports by Country and Bicycles Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 14, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 14, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 14, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 14, 2022
Wikipedia, List of motorcycle manufacturers. Accessed on July 14, 2022
