‘Europe largest growth market for electric bicycle’
The European market for electric bicycles grew explosively and will continue to grow in size in the coming years. This is reported by the American research agency Mordor Intelligence. They state: ‘Europe’s largest growth market for electric bicycles’. Indeed, Americans have high expectations for the European e-bike market, given spectacular takeovers in the sector. What can we expect in the coming years?
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Doubling in the European growth market
The study covered the period from 2020-2026. In 2020, the European electric bicycle market was $8.1 billion, and according to the agency, this size will more than double to $16.6 billion by 2026. This equates to an average growth rate of nearly 13% per year. in this period.
‘Europe largest growth market for electric bicycle’
That is of course quite a lot for developed economies such as those in Europe, which explains why there is so much interest in takeovers of European electric bicycle manufacturers.
The European market is protected in an old-fashioned, sound protectionist manner for, for example, Chinese bicycles and bicycles from the rest of the world, as a result of which the prices for bicycles in Europe are relatively high, and so are the margins.
But of course the Chinese manufacturers are looking for an opportunity to be able to sell bicycles in Europe as well. American manufacturers also want to sell bicycles, but they have it a bit easier than Chinese manufacturers. On the other hand, the salaries in America are of course a bit higher than in China, which makes this advantage less. This makes Europe the largest growth market for electric bicycles.
More demand due to corona
Remarkably, the demand for electric bicycles has increased, instead of decreased, thanks to Covid-19. This is because public transport, such as buses and trains, is of course an ideal place for the spread of virus particles. The passengers are usually close to each other, so many people avoid public transport. Especially within the city, the electric bicycle is an excellent alternative, as more and more people have discovered. Young people in particular are therefore making explosively more use of the electric bicycle.
Germany large in both production and sales
The researchers expect that Germany will remain the largest market for electric bicycles. No wonder, because Germany is the largest country in the European Union in terms of population. Germany is also one of the richest countries. E-bikes made in Germany are also in demand all over the world. In 2018, 440,000 bicycles were exported by the Germans, an increase of 51% compared to 2017.
Accell acquisition by American fund KKR
The largest group of bicycle repair shops is the Accell Group. This includes well-known brands in the Netherlands such as Batavus, Sparta and KOGA. Accell produces almost a million bicycles every year.
With the stock markets looking somewhat volatile, many Americans prefer to invest in safer funds rather than speculative tech funds. This explains why Accell was taken off the stock exchange by this large American investor. They hope to profit from Europe, the largest growth market for electric bicycles.
