Bicycles with electric drives are popular – the entire bicycle industry benefits from this. The trend is particularly strong in Germany.
The boom in e-bikes brought good business to Europe’s bicycle industry last year. Despite the waning Corona tailwind for the industry, sales of bicycles and bikes with electric drives grew by 7.4 percent to a total of 21.2 billion euros, the Association of the European Bicycle Industry (Conebi) announced in Frankfurt.
Sales of bikes with electric motors in the EU and Great Britain increased by a total of 8.6 percent to 5.5 million, while their production shot up by almost a fifth (19 percent), the association reported at the Eurobike trade fair. Overall, sales of bicycles and bikes with e-drives fell by a good nine percent to 20.2 million and production by five percent.
“Despite the slowdown in bicycle sales in Europe in 2022, the overall industry and market trend is positive,” said Conebi Managing Director Manuel Marsilio. The number of direct and indirect jobs has reached a record level of 190,000.
E-bikes are overtaking classic bikes
In Germany, the largest bicycle market in Europe, the trend towards e-bikes is particularly strong. The ZIV industry association expects e-bikes to overtake classic bikes in sales for the first time this year.
The bicycle industry experienced a boom during the pandemic, as customers shied away from public transport and discovered cycling in the fresh air with a low risk of infection. Due to the high demand, production jumped up and there were delivery problems. The market has recently cooled off again.
The economic basis of the industry is intact and the popularity of cycling unbroken, said Kevin Mayne, head of the Cycling Industries Europe association. “Governments at all levels – EU, national, local and regional – are investing, adding about 7 percent of new cyclists every year.”
Source: Stern
