Cargo bikes are delivering jobs and sales growth to Europe
The burgeoning cargo bikes industry’s growth trajectory is continuing for manufacturers and operators, according to the results of the latest Cargo Bike Industry Survey in the European market which polled 43 manufacturers and 25 operators.
Cargo bike manufacturers responding to the survey sold 112,429 cargo bikes in 2022, 36.3% more than 2021, while employee numbers grew 25.8%. Over half named Germany one of their three most important national markets in Europe, followed by France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Despite the current difficulties of the cycling industry and broader economy, cargo bike manufacturers anticipating selling more cargo bikes in 2023 than 2022, at 120,630 (+7.3%).
The survey also noted manufacturers were (understandably) interested in the incoming safety requirements and test procedures through an emerging European EN standard – 30 respondents said they would apply for the EN in future, with 11 considering it.
Cargo bike operators
In a smart move, the Cargo Bike Industry Survey also brings in data from cargo bike operators, which have seen similar positive levels of growth. Average revenue for the 25 participants is forecast to reach €613,636 in 2023, which is a 64% increase on 2022 numbers. Total number of km are up, with the aggregate number of km their fleets covered in 2022 almost 5 million km. Electric cargo bike over 300GW making up the greater share of those numbers, at 4.5 million (91% of the total).
The mean number of employees for the current year is 70.6 per company, an increase on 2022 (mean 68.5).
The majority of cargo bike operator respondents came from France followed by Germany (collectively 68%), but also included a broad range including the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, UK, Italy, Norway and Hungary.
The survey was conducted by Cycling Industries Europe, the Belgian Cycle Logistics Federation (BCLF), Radlogistikverband Deutschland (RLDV), Les Boîtes à Vélo, and the agency Sporting Insights.
