The 2020 Bicycle Industry and Market Profile with 2019 figures – prepared by CONEBI in coordination with its national members – is now available: it shows another year of expansion for the EU Bicycle Industry. Strong growth can especially be noticed in both sales and production of pedal assist e-bikes.
The total joint sales of bicycles and e-bikes remains similar to the previous years, amounting to around 20 million units sold in 2019. The overall sales value continues to rise: this is due to the increase in pedal assist e-bikes sold which grew by 23% from 2018 to 2019, surpassing the mark of 3 million units sold annually for the first time and representing 17% of the total bicycle sales. CONEBI expects this positive trend to continue over the next years, predicting e-bikes sales up to more than 6.5 million units in 2025.
Manuel Marsilio, General Manager of CONEBI, states: ‘’The pedal assist e-bike market will continue to thrive if three pivotal conditions are going to be met in the years to come:
- The current favorable status of EPACs (Electrically Power Assisted Cycles up to 25km/h of max assistance and 250W), which at the moment are excluded from the EU Type Approval regulation (meaning no type approval but also no mandatory motor vehicle insurance, no mandatory motorcycle helmet, no driving license and free circulation as a bicycle) remains in place;
- The positive momentum for Cycling in the EU continues as a response to COVID-19 and more cycling infrastructures are built to give space and safety to the growing number of people riding a bike;
- Intelligent Transport Systems are developed within the right EU legislative and technical frameworks in order for cars and buses to detect both bicycles and e-bikes and thus making Cycling Safer.’’
Moving from sales to production, after a slight increase in the production of bicycles and e-bikes from 2017 to 2018 (+0.7%) this trend continues much more strongly in 2019 when an increase of 11% can be noticed. This is due in particular to the fact that the production of pedal assist e-bikes in Europe is growing at fast pace: from 2018 to 2019 the surge, in units, amounts to almost 60%. Looking at the production of parts and accessories, the total value amounts to 2€ billion.
Alongside the boost in production, also the number of direct jobs in the EU increased in 2019 to a total of more than 60,000, to which we have to add more than 60,000 indirect jobs upstream and downstream, for a total of around 120,000: 14.4% growth in comparison with 2018 and 32% in comparison with 2017.
CONEBI President Erhard Büchel: “2019 has been a positive year for the EU Bicycle Industry thanks to the continuous boom of e-bikes as well as the increasing production of bicycle parts and accessories in Europe. CONEBI is in regular contact with the European institutions to represent the Bicycle, E-Bike, Parts and Accessories industries as a leading ecosystem in the EU Green economy and major contributor to the ultimate objectives of the EU Green Deal.’’
For more information about sales, production, employment and imports, as well as specific national market summaries, the 2020 Bicycle Industry and Market Profile with 2019 figures is available as of today. In case you are interested, you can contact Anna-Lena Scherer at anna-lena.scherer@conebi.eu.
