The motorized two-wheeler business has always known that Germany is a displacement country. On the other hand, in Italy, France and Spain, the countries with the largest quantities, 125cc scooters and light motorcycles are particularly favoured. Useful things for everyday life are often more important than fun things for leisure time. The annual statistics 2022 of the European motorcycle industry association ACEM document the end of this special path: Big is apparently no longer particularly beautiful. The fact that Germany's two-wheeler market still grew minimally last year is almost entirely due to the "small stuff" that was once only noticed out of the corner of an eye. There is not much missing that the scooters of all classes plus the 125cc light motorcycles together come together to the same number as seasoned motorcycles.

This has been the case in the south of Europe for a long time. Who skims off the cream in this country? The Vespa, mother of all scooters, is it. Eight years ago, all Vespas from 125 to 300 cc together achieved just 62 percent of the figures achieved by the eternal lodestar of the German motorcycle sky, the large GS from BMW. With around 8500 registrations per year, unlike many other motorcycles, this has not weakened over the years. But the Vespas together are now more than twice as much ahead of the BMW workhorse. Retailers know that more motorcyclists are now keeping their money together. And the B196 driving licence regulation, in force since 2020, is still in force. And because the B196s are not youngsters, but often earn a decent amount of money, it may be the expensive, but stable value Vespa. Also a form of normality.