Following the publication of the 50th issue of the SuperYacht Times newspaper, Ralph Dazert, our Head of Intelligence, takes stock of the performance of the new yacht sales over the first half of 2024 and compares them with the same period of 2023. The numbers corroborate the perceived downturn of the market, but there are also some bright spots…

Sales down by 25%

At first glance, the sales figures for new yachts over 30-metres during the first six months don’t make pleasant reading for shipyard execs, as total sales in numbers of yachts are down by about 25%, from 110 during the first half of 2023 to 83 during the same period in 2024. However, when we zoom in on the various subsegments, the picture is more mixed:

The 30-40-metre market, being the largest segment, also bore the brunt of the downturn in sales, as we noted just 35 new sales until 30 June 2024, compared to 62 in the same period of 2023, a drop of 44%. The strong drop in sales in this segment is also apparent in the sales numbers for Italian builders, who are traditionally strong between 30 and 40-metres. Sales of Italian-made new-builds dropped by 41%, from 80 to 47 yachts of all sizes. Also Turkish shipyards sold no new-builds between 30 and 40 metres in the first six months of 2024 against six in the same period of 2023. Meanwhile shipyards in the UAE and Taiwan posted higher sales in this segment in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The slower sales between 30 and 40-metres also translate into a higher share of in-build yachts for sale in this category. At the start of 2023 this share stood at 21%, while at the start of 2024, it had gone up to 28%, and as of early July 2024 it stood at 32%, almost a third. At the same time, a share of 32% of in-build yachts for sale is not something to be unduly worried about. In early 2021, just as the Covid sales peak was starting, no less 38% of the in-build yachts between 30 and 40 metres were for sale.

The 50-60-metre segment also saw a decline of 20% in sales from 10 to eight yachts, while the 60-80-metre segment was particularly impacted with a drop in sales of 50% from 10 to five yachts. Meanwhile the 40-50-metre segment bucked the downward trend, as 27 new yachts were sold so far in 2024 against 25 in the corresponding period of 2023.

Good news was also to be found in the very large yacht segment over 80-metres. During the first six months of 2023 we noted a mere three sales there but in the same period of 2024, this went up to eight yachts, which already matches the sales number for the full year of 2023 when we also noted eight sales. So it looks like the yards in this top segment are recovering rapidly after a very poor year in 2023, when several prestigious yards in Northern Europe sold no new yachts at all. What’s even more, five of the eight yachts sold in 2024 are over 100-metres against just one in the same period of 2023. As we have noted before, sales over 80-metres seem to have a rhythm of their own, and 2024 is no exception.

The resurgence of sales of very large new yachts has mainly been good news for the Dutch and German yards. We noted 10 sales of new yachts over 30-metres in the Netherlands in the first six months of 2024, against six in the same period of 2023. Meanwhile, we noted three sales in Germany so far this year, against zero in the same period of 2023.

Of course, a roundup like this is not complete without looking at the sailing yacht market. Unfortunately, sales of new sailing yachts over 30-metres remain at a low level, but the interesting fact is that the number of sales is holding steady at five units, both in the first six months of 2023 and in the same period of 2024, while motor yacht sales dropped.

So, while new-build sales in 2024 are definitely down on 2023, it mostly seems to be a situation of “back to normal” after the peak of 2021/’22, while some subsegments continue to perform well or are even recovering after poor results in 2023.

More information: SuperYacht Times