Bicycle sales volume in Italy 2000-2021

Bicycle sales in Italy peaked at 2 million units in 2007. Sales declined in the following years before rebounding to around 1.7 million units in 2019. By 2021, sales volume were just below 2007 levels.

Growing popularity of e-bikes

Demand for electric bicycles gained steam in 2011, reaching 280,000 units in 2020. This 44 percent rise reflects a broader trend in the EU, where e-bikes are becoming more popular every year. Not only did customers buy more electric bicycles every year, but manufactures export more e-bikes outside of the EU as well. The Covid-19 pandemic helped fuel e-bike sales as more consumers in Italy and across the globe were looking for socially distanced alternatives to their daily commute.

Bike sharing on the rise

It seems that Italians are discovering bike sharing services as a useful method to reduce pollution and contribute to the protection of the environment. According to a 2016 survey, 46 percent of the respondents reported that bike sharing services contribute to lower polluting emissions. Bike sharing was most popular in the Nothern part of Italy, with the majority of bike sharing services located there. Even though the number of electric bikes in bike sharing services in Italy was on the rise between 2015 and 2018, e-bikes still represented less than one percent of the total number of bicycles available in sharing mobility services.