Market update: Italy’s electric bike segment reaches 10% of trade

New data on the Italian bike market has, like many other European countries, seen e-Bike sales surging ahead in an otherwise flat bicycle market.

Overall 1,688,000 bikes of all kinds were sold, up 1% on 2016’s levels. Of these 148,000 electric bikes were sold, a 19% rise year-on-year, representing 10% of the entire share. Of imported bikes, 21% are now electric.

Of these sales, it is said that the majority were sold by standalone bike shops with a greater level of advice required by the consumer. Interestingly, e-MTB led the charge at 65% of sales.

Pedal-powered bicycle sales were down 1% year-on-year, which isn’t as sharp a decline as seen in many other European territories during 2017.

Domestic bike firms employ some 20,000 people, said to generate the production of 2.3 million bicycles and invoices worth €5 billion in 2017.

Of this, domestic production of electric bikes equated to 35,000 units, up from 23,600 in 2016 (up 48%).

Exports as a result proved one of the stronger elements of Italian trade adding 17% year-on-year to reach 1,560,000 and €186 million in value. Imports registered 6% higher rising to 630,000.

“The market data for 2017 confirms the great change taking place in previous years: e-Bikes are changing the way people ride bikes,” says Andrea Dell’Orto, president of Ancma Confindustria. “ANCMA has created, together with the bikes and the quadricycles, an Electric Vehicles Group to give the correct support to this new mobility. There are more and more fans of 2 wheels that choose pedal assisted bicycles to get into urban traffic and to play sports, especially in the mountains. The agility and reduction of fatigue in travel are only two positive indicators of this growth both in production and in exports. With the advent of e-Road we will witness an even more significant increase in sales thanks to the tradition of Italians towards this bicycle.”

For information on the UK market, head here, or enquire about CI.N’s own 2018 Independent Retail Channel Study.

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