E-bikes boost turnover in key European markets

Fluctuating Italian bike market drops 10%

The Italian bicycle market closed 2022 with a 10% drop in total sales compared to 2021, but on a positive note the sector's turnover has risen 52% since 2019. The growth of e-bike sales on the Italian market is showing no signs of stopping as the 4% rise in market share shows.

A ‘physiological slowdown’ is how Confindustria ANCMA, Italy’s national association for the bicycle, motorcycle and accessory industry, explains the 2022 bike market trend, which is down 10% on the previous year.

In truth, sales in the traditional bicycle sector have been fluctuating over the past four years. After a booming 2020 (+14% on 2019) sales have registered a gradual decline, with -3% in 2021 and -15% in 2022, or -5% over the four-year total. This is roughly in line with what has also happened in many other European countries.

E-bikes going from strength to strength

Increasingly, e-bikes are leading the sales with the market share rising to 19%, up from 15% in 2021. 52% of electric bicycle sales are urban and city bikes, 43% e-MTB, 4% e-road and e-gravel bikes. Interesting, for a country like Italy, is the increase of e-cargo bikes: +100% compared to 2021 or from 1,500 to 3,000 units sold.

Over 1.7 million (1,772,000 to be precise) bicycles were sold in 2022, of which 337,000 e-bikes and 1,435,000 traditional bikes, representing a turnover of €3.2 billion. These bikes were sold through four sales channels mainly: supermarkets or large-scale distribution, large-specialised retails, online channels and 3,800 bicycle shops. ANCMA’s figures show that Italian cyclists still trust their local dealer since the specialised shops contributed more than 68% of the yearly turnover.

Urban bicycles and e-bikes take the lead in Spain

After two record-breaking years, the Spanish bicycle industry closed 2022 with a downward readjustment in sales and turnover, but very positive figures for employment and national production. Some 1.357 million bicycles were sold last year, 13.6% less than in 2021.

The market adjustment is in line with the trend as in other European countries. In both 2020 and 2021 more than 1.5 million bicycles were sold in Spain. Due to the supply chain problems it was already clear that this situation was not sustainable and resulted in a sales slow down last year. The industry’s turnover declined by 6% to €2.714 billion according to the latest market statistics published by the Spanish Bicycle Industry Association (AMBE).

‘Not an easy year’

“2022 has not been easy for the bicycle industry, but the increase in employment, the creation of companies and the positive performance of electric and urban bicycle sales reflect what the sector can offer to the Spanish society: cleaner mobility, jobs and business opportunities,” said Javier López, President of AMBE.

The bicycle categories with the best sales performance in 2022 were city bikes, which increased sales by 22.5% with 146,572 units compared with 2021. The performance of city bikes is all the more remarkable knowing that cycling has always been very much focused on sports. City bikes now hold a market share of 10.8%. The number of e-bikes distributed in Spain rose by 5.7% last year to 236,183 units. For the third consecutive year, e-bikes strengthened their market position as the leading category in terms of turnover. In 2022 e-bikes generated 45.66% of the total market value.

Belgium now biggest growth market for e-bikes

The Belgium bicycle market recovered remarkably from the sales dip in 2021 caused by supply chain constraints. The total market volume increased by 19% from 584,913 units in 2021 to 685,871 bicycles and e-bikes last year. Like in many other EU markets, also in Belgium it was the e-bike that took up the majority of the sales growth.

Compared to neighbouring markets like Germany and the Netherlands, the e-bike market share in Belgium in recent years was rising slowly. However, in 2022 sales of e-bikes have been catching up at an unprecedented high speed. The number of e-bikes put in the market increased by 47% from 226,294 units in 2021 to 328,080 last year. These and other figures were reported by the Belgian industry organisation Traxio.

Both e-bike and bicycles sales increased

According to Traxio spokesman Filip Rylant, the share of e-bikes increased enormously last year: “The Belgian bicycle market made a good spurt in 2022 now that many corona-related problems are largely behind us. Bicycles and e-bikes are now widely available again and that is reflected in both sales and in the replenished stock. Both topics partly explain the enormous increase in the market volume. Besides the growth in e-bikes, even regular bicycles reported an increase, though only 2.6%.”

Traxio also points out that the figures and the increase in the bicycle market in 2022 must take into account the fact that more stock will have been built up again in 2022. In Belgium the major sports chains, online sales, DIY and supermarkets hold a market share of 36% of the total market. The remaining 64% are distributed via IBDs.