Japan: domestic sales value of Japanese companies' bicycles 2023

In 2023, the value of bicycles produced by Japanese companies and sold in Japan amounted to about 91.56 billion Japanese yen, up from around 88.2 billion yen in the previous year. Even though their sales value grew continuously after a low in 2014, domestic unit sales experienced weaker growth rates. Consequently, the average value per bicycle sold has increased.

What is driving the price of bicycles?

This increase can be partially attributed to the growing popularity of electric bicycles, in particular pedal electric cycles (pedelecs). While the relatively cheap city bicycle accounted for around 56 percent and the e-bike for seven percent of new unit sales in 2015, they constituted roughly 45 and 12 percent respectively in 2021. Sports bicycles also increased their sales share significantly. Naturally, the production of these bicycle types is considerably more complex and, hence, more expensive.
However, from the perspective of regular motorized bicycles with full-engine propulsion (internal combustion or electric), pedelecs are still relatively cheap. Due to the affordability of pedelecs, the demand for these types of motorized bicycles has fallen significantly.
As pedelecs have found a favorable niche in the world of the two-wheeler, many people substituted their vehicle of choice for an e-bike. However, there could be a further contender to the traditional bicycle in the future: the e-scooter, also known in Japan as ‘electric kick scooter’ or ‘electric kickboard’.

Recent developments in individual e-mobility

Although e-scooters have already been introduced in many countries worldwide, they are still rarely found in Japan. That is primarily for legal reasons, since e-scooters like Segways count as varieties of motorized vehicles or special automobiles and are, therefore, subject to stricter traffic laws than pedelecs. They require, for example, proper registration and a number plate for use on public streets.
Moreover, e-scooters are not allowed on bike lanes. To counteract this particular legal obstacle, the government has been conducting field experiments in which users of e-scooter sharing services are temporarily allowed to ride on bike lanes of designated areas. Depending on the outcome of those tests, a reform could take place.
Sharing services seem to favor e-scooters over Segways due to their lower price and familiar handling. However, e-scooters - as personal vehicles or sharing devices – have multiple limitations, legally and technologically, making exact market forecasts difficult. It remains to be seen whether electric kick scooters will gain a foothold in the same way as the pedelec.