Between motorcycle dealerships, e-bike manufacturers, and powersports dealerships, this is the third Chapter 11 bankruptcy piece I've written this week. It's no secret that the powersports market has been volatile for the past couple of years, and the e-bike manufacturer referenced above produced batteries that exploded, but the high-end motorcycle market is growing, so it's strange that Motos America filed for bankruptcy.
Motos America is a leading dealer of brands that include Ducati, BMW, Triumph, and Vespa—high-end brands—but has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid financial uncertainty. Apparently, the reason comes down to interest rates. Rising interest rates have increased the inventory-floorplan costs for many motorcycle dealerships. The reason this is particularly worrying for dealerships that carry premium brands, like Motos America, is that expensive models are slow to move.
So we have a clash between the fact that the world is getting hungrier for motorcycles, but variable-rate floorplan loans are crushing dealerships for carrying premium brands. “The global motorcycle market size was $71.92 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from $75.82 billion in 2025 to $119.09 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period,” according to data from Fortune Business Insights.
