During the Corona pandemic, bicycles practically sold themselves. The industry has not yet recovered from the ensuing slump. That doesn’t have to be bad for customers.
The European bicycle industry continues to face strong headwinds, while customers can hope for deep discounts. According to a study by the consulting company Roland Berger, sales of new bikes in the next two years will remain well below the level of the record year 2021, when 22.1 million bikes were sold across Europe due to the corona pandemic and sales of 21.2 billion euros were achieved became.
Although the average price per bicycle is rising significantly as a result of the e-bike boom, the authors expect revenues of around 20 billion euros to remain below the record in 2026. To achieve this, 15.9 million bikes would have to be sold. According to the forecast, this year there will be 15.3 million bikes with sales of 17.5 billion euros.
Large stocks everywhere
The manufacturers are sitting on large quantities of fully assembled wheels and expensively purchased components, while retailers hardly order more because they first have to reduce their own inventories. A recovery will not begin until the 2026 season at the earliest, according to the market study, for which 40 industry insiders were qualitatively surveyed.
In stores, bikes are often only sold at high discounts. “The current margins for me as a retailer are so low due to the ongoing discount campaigns that it is significantly riskier to order goods from my bicycle brands than to forego the additional sales,” the managing director of a retail chain is quoted as saying.
Because retailers ordered much less than expected at Frankfurt’s leading trade fair “Eurobike”, the majority of study participants expect further declines in sales. A large e-bike manufacturer says it is planning a 15 percent decline in volumes by 2025.
E-bikes could become cheaper on average
The study, in which the Bicycle Press Service also contributed, sees the overarching mega-trend towards CO2-free mobility in Europe’s cities as remaining intact. Sales growth will be achieved through the growing share of e-bikes, which already account for more than half of all sales in the German market. Other European markets only have e-bike quotas of 30 percent, so there are additional sales opportunities. The average prices for e-bikes are likely to settle at a slightly lower level with simpler technology. In Germany, widespread company bike leasing has so far favored particularly expensive bikes.
Source: Stern
