Sales of electric scooters in France plunged in 2023, which increases market concern. It must be said that regulations, ever more drastic, do not help.
The French are buying fewer electric scooters, and they are buying them at lower prices. In 2023, the market is in sharp decline (-10.7%) compared to 2022, with a total of 678,000 small rolling machines sold over the whole year. Does the end of the Covid pandemic crisis with a return to normal life explain this fall? Unless it is because of regulatory pressure and its abundant legislation? A bit of both actually…
The electronic scooter market has become tense, not without reason(s)
When we take stock of the years 2020-2023, we can say that the electronic scooter market has experienced great growth since the start of the decade, with 3.25 million units finding buyers and 1.14 billion euros of turnover. And if sales indicators fell last year, the market also lost value (-20%), to 277 million euros.
What does that mean ? That the French bought fewer scooters, and that those who decided to take the plunge spent less money than in previous years. The average cost of a machine has, for the first time, decreased in 2023, to 408 euros, a drop of 9.9% compared to 2022.
The Federation of Micromobility Professionals (FPMM), which provides this data, reassures itself as best it can by indicating that the average price remains significantly higher than those of 2020 (322 euros) and 2021 (341 euros). Except that inflation, the rise in the cost of energy, the replacement of certain scooters for more durable models, the evolution of the practice with shorter journeys and the drop in sales have all happened. But there is also another reason, and not the least!
Increasingly restrictive regulatory pressure for users
When you ride an electric scooter, insurance is mandatory, you cannot in theory carry a passenger, your machine must be equipped with sound horns, brakes and retro-reflective devices as well as front and rear lights, among other things.
On March 23, 2024, a new decree published in the Official Journal further tightened the regulations, with the extension of the application of certain signs intended for cyclists to users of scooters.
For example, we can cite traffic lights which include bicycle figures, two-way cycle signs or even signs which prohibit bicycles from circulating, to name a few. So many rules which will perhaps end up deterring scooter enthusiasts.
Sources: Progress, French Micromobility Federation
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