The market

Current market
There are no exact statistics available for the production, sales, import and export of electric bicycles in the European Union. As for EU sales however, there are various estimates.

Bike Europe, the international trade journal for the European bicycle and scooter market, published the following in their April 2009 issue: “For the entire European Union with its current 27 member states, 2008 sales are estimated by some industry associations at 300,000 units, which seems too low considering that in Holland and Germany alone last years sales stood at about a quarter of a million units. For 2009 the industry associations are expecting sales to grow to about 400,000 units in Europe. This number again seems to be an underestimation given that in Europe’s main markets, Germany and the Netherlands, public interest in e-Bikes is at high level.”

The “Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports – 2010 Update” estimates European sales in 2009 at 750,000 and has a prognosis of 1,000,000 vehicles in 2010. In any case, the European Union is now the second largest market in the world after China. The very high sales volume in China is due to the fact that a large number of cities have legally banned petrol engine mopeds and scooters. People had no other choice than to opt for electric bicycles. In China, the type that can be propelled be the motor itself largely dominates the market.

It is important to note that since 2007, growth in the EU is vigorous. Today, the European market of electric bicycles consists almost exclusively of pedelecs. As for individual member states, the following data have been published.

More information on the current market and the future market can be found in the Policy guide on Electric bicycles .