80 percent of bicycle sales
The e-bike is booming in Germany
06/23/2023, 11:07 am
With a little electrical help, rolling becomes more comfortable. At least that’s what many Germans think. The enthusiasm for e-bikes in the Federal Republic climbs to the top in Europe. Almost every second bike sold is battery-powered – and the trend continues to grow.
Germany is a stronghold in Europe when it comes to the trend towards electric bicycles. A turnover of almost 6.2 billion euros was achieved with e-bikes in Germany in 2022 – almost half (45 percent) of the entire European turnover with electric bikes, shows a Study by the consulting company EY. In Germany, electric bikes accounted for more than 80 percent of bicycle sales, it said.
Across Europe, the share was 62 percent in 2022. The share of sales of e-bikes in the Netherlands was similar to that in Germany, while e-bikes only accounted for 16 percent of total sales in Great Britain. In France the value was around 60 percent, in Spain it was over 40 percent. Because of the significantly higher prices than classic bikes, e-bikes are lucrative for the bicycle industry, especially in Germany. According to the authors of the study, the boom is also likely to continue due to the trend towards electrified cargo bikes.
E-bikes will soon overtake classic bikes
In 2022, almost a quarter of the bikes sold in Europe were already e-bikes, EY also found. In Germany, on the other hand, e-bikes are likely to overtake classic bikes for the first time this year, according to the ZIV bicycle industry association. Sales of e-bikes have quadrupled in this country since 2015, according to the ZIV, and that despite the high prices: in 2022, an e-bike cost an average of 2800 euros, more than five times as much as a mechanical bike (500 euros) . Due to the high demand during the pandemic, the prices for e-bikes in Europe rose by around 40 percent between 2018 and 2022, EY calculated.
The authors believe that e-bikes should now become cheaper again. They expect a price drop of five percent on average in Europe in 2023. There was no forecast for Germany. “The warehouses of the bike shops are full, but demand is not increasing as much as in previous years,” said EY expert Constantin Gall. Consumers could hope for discount campaigns in retail in the short term.
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. Because of the high demand, manufacturers could not keep up, and there were delivery problems. The market has recently cooled off again.
However, EY believes that sales in the European bicycle industry will continue to increase thanks to rising sales figures – by 1.7 percent to 22.5 billion euros this year. For comparison: In 2018, sales were still 13 billion euros. With sales of around 7.4 billion euros in 2022, Germany was by far the largest bicycle market in Europe, followed by Italy (3.1 billion) and Great Britain (2.4 billion).