The Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) expects the size of the European e-bike market to grow to more than 6.5 million units in 2025. Experts are projecting that e-bike sales will exceed car sales by 2030.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reports that the EU passenger car market contracted by 23.7% to 9.9 million units in 2020.
Bloomberg also anticipates sales to finish 2021 down about 15% from 2019.
While the coronavirus crisis has clearly had an impact, the car market had only been seeing low single-digit growth beforehand.
E-bike sales growth, in contrast, has been huge. Bike Europe reports that some experts are projecting the European market to triple by 2025.
In the UK, one pound in every five spent on bicycles between January and October 2020 was spent on e-bikes. Demand at times outstripped supply, meaning market growth could have been even higher had more stock been available.
The Bicycle Association has called for the government to subsidise e-bikes, estimating that a £250 financial incentive could double sales.
The government has since floated an extension of the 30 per cent subsidy that is already on offer to buyers of other electric vehicles.
Earlier this week we reported how residents living near Scotland’s planned low emission zones (LEZs) can now apply for up to two £500 grants to purchase a bike, e-bike or public transport vouchers.