Europe's biggest bike market? German bicycle market continues to grow strongly in 2023!
In 2023, the global bicycle market will slow down. However, in the low tide of the market, the German bicycle industry has shown a unique resilience and vitality, and has maintained a good development trend.
The bicycle market is not yet saturated
In 2023, the total German bicycle and electric bicycle market reached 84 million, an increase of 1.2 million compared with 2022, and the total market of electric bicycles reached 11 million, accounting for 13%. The huge bicycle stock has made the number of bicycles per capita in Germany close to the Netherlands, which is known as the kingdom of bicycles, especially the growth rate of the German bicycle market in recent years is far ahead in Europe. In addition, German consumers have a large number of replacement demand for new cars, while the introduction of different purpose vehicles such as urban, sports and freight vehicles by suppliers has also stimulated consumer demand for different types of products, which has not yet saturated the market to show great potential for development.
Synchronous growth of production and sales - Ebike has become the main driving force of the market
From the sales point of view, in 2023, Germany's bicycle and electric bicycle sales totaled 4 million units, and sales reached 7.06 billion euros. Among them, 1.9 million bicycles were sold and 2.1 million electric bicycles were sold. Overall sales decreased slightly, but still showed a positive development trend compared with the pre-epidemic period. At the same time, the sales of electric bicycles exceeded the traditional bicycle for the first time, and the average price also rose year by year, and the average sales price of electric bicycles rose to $2,950 in 2023, and the bicycle dropped to $400, and the electric bicycle has become the main driving force of the German bicycle market.
Production also maintained the same growth trend, affected by the fall in global market demand, the output of traditional bicycles and electric bicycles in 2023 in Germany fell to 2.3 million, of which electric bicycles were less affected, down 5.9% compared with 2022. In addition, the German Bicycle Association said that many German companies choose to build factories in other countries, according to statistics, Germany through foreign factories to produce a total of 710,000 two-wheeled vehicles, so German bicycle production is higher than the data show.
Ebike exports have grown, with strong demand within the EU
Bicycle imports to Germany in 2023 were 2.26 million units, down 24% from the previous year. The majority of imported bicycles come from EU countries (49%) and Asia (46%). In Asia, Cambodia is the main supplier, accounting for 20% of the total imports. This shows that while Asia remains an important source of imports, the EU also plays an important role in meeting domestic market demand.
The import of electric bicycles reached 1.22 million in 2023, compared with bicycle imports, affected by the expansion of EU production and the transport cost of intra-EU trade, Germany's electric bicycles mainly come from EU countries, and the proportion of EU imports increased from 69% in 2022 to 71% in 2023. That's nearly three times the share from Asia, where imports have also been hit by anti-dumping duties on Chinese e-bikes.
German bicycle exports fell to 800,000 units in 2023, but demand for German-made e-bikes remains strong abroad, especially in the European Union and EFTA countries. In contrast to bicycle exports, the export volume of electric bicycles has grown in the face of market difficulties, increasing from 580,000 units in 2022 to 610,000 units in 2023, with the majority of export vehicles going to EU and EFTA member states. The high demand for German bicycle products in these countries reflects the leading position of German brands in the European market.
Urban travel, commuter based bicycle market
German bicycle market demand is mainly for urban travel and commuting. In the bicycle market, urban bicycles account for 74% of the market share, among which Treking accounts for 42%. The sports sector has also increased, among which the share of mountain bicycles has increased slightly to 5%, and racing and other sports bicycles account for 9%. Reflects the rising trend of outdoor activities and fitness.
In the e-bike segment, electric mountain bikes (E-MTB) accounted for 39% of the market share, while electric freight bikes saw the most significant growth, from 165,000 units in 2022 to 189,000 units in 2023, an increase of 14.5%. Germany is also one of the most promising markets for freight bicycles, reflecting the demand for efficient and environmentally friendly transport by businesses and individuals.
In terms of distribution channels, consumers are more inclined to buy bicycles from channels that provide professional services, so professional retail channels are dominated, accounting for 77% of the market share, of which physical professional retailers are 74%, and the proportion of Internet sales is also increasing, accounting for 3% of sales. In addition, the market share of hypermarkets, hardware stores and discounters declined significantly, from 4% in 2021 to 1% in 2023.
In Germany, the bicycle market has stabilized at a high level and is expected to emerge from the overall negative consumer environment. Consumer demand for high-quality, technologically innovative bicycles is particularly strong, especially electric bicycles. Uwe Woll, Managing director of the German Cycling Association (VSF), said: "Even in turbulent times, the stationary bicycle retail industry has shown exceptional stability. At present, the rising cost of transportation, energy, rent and living standards, as well as increased awareness of the environment and health, will be important factors driving the popularity of bicycles and e-bikes."
Source: ZIV
