German cycling market knocks on €10Bn value, e-Cargo registers 40% gain

Germany’s cycling market is knocking on the door of a €10 billion sales value with electric bike sales significantly improving the average ticket costs in what has been an exceptional year for sales.

In total, Germany’s bicycle sales of all kinds rose 16.9% during a boom year for the bike business, reaching 5.04 million sold.

As a portion of the marketplace electric bikes took a 38.7% market share at 1.95 million units. Year-on-year that figure represents a 43.4% growth and puts the trend on course to surpass half of all sales in the coming years.

Sales for both bicycles and e-bikes reached €6.44 billion in 2020, an increase of 60.9% compared to 2019. Add to that parts and accessories and overall cycling market sales are knocking on the door of €10 billion in value across all channels.

The average sales price for bikes in the German market is now €1,279, a figure that has risen steadily in line with the higher proportion of electric bike sales.

The e-Cargo bike’s ascendancy in the marketplace is still building steam, according to the fresh market data, which reveals a 40% year-on-year growth.

Gaining popularity as both a personal use and commercial vehicle the e-cargo bike tallied 78,000 sales in 2020, up from 54,400 in 2019, according to transport organisation and data collector ZIV.

The growth was not replicated with standard pedal powered cargo bikes, which will be trickier to get to grips with for some riders; 25,200 of these units sold in 2020 over 21,150 in 2019. This particular segment made up .5% of all bike sales and assisted the segment to break a combined 100,000 annual sales for the first time at 103,200 E and pedal only sales.

Other notable trends flagged in the ZIV report include the increased popularity of leasing and bike sharing schemes. Tax incentives for the purchase of e-bikes for commercial (cargo bikes) and professional use have shown positive effects on uptake.

As for exports, bicycle and e-Bike trade overseas rose to 1.57 million units shipped in 2020, a 7.9% uptick year-on-year. Electric bike exports drove this progress, up 15% like-for-like and adding 0.61 million units.

For data on the UK cycling market CyclingIndustry.News’ fourth annual retail report is now available to purchase, which you can do by contacting the editor here.