E-bikes in Germany - statistics & facts
E-bikes now dominate the German bicycle market. More than every second bicycle sold in Germany in 2023 was equipped with electric pedal-assist. Although e-bike sales have been on the rise for years, 2023 marked the first year in which e-bikes had outsold conventional bicycles. At an average sales price of 2,950 euros, more than six-fold the average price of non-motorized bikes, e-bikes have been critical to maintaining sales revenue in the bicycle sector in the last few years. Following the boom in bicycle sales in 2020, bicycle sales dropped, and the market entered a difficult phase of decreased demand from consumers, while retailers still held excess inventory that had been ordered in response to skyrocketing demand in previous years. Revenue from regular bicycle sales decreased by as much as 26 percent between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, the decreasing but nonetheless, more consistent demand for and higher per-unit cost of e-bikes was able to soften the drop in overall bicycle revenues somewhat.
Meanwhile, the largest growth in the European e-bike market can be found in less saturated markets. Norway, Sweden, and Belgium can expect the highest growth in the e-bike market of between 12 and 15 percent from 2024 to 2025. In contrast, Germany’s market is projected to contract slightly by 0.4 percent in the same period.
E-bike range anxiety?
The high price of an e-bike compared to a regular bicycle is an important factor not only for retailers but also for consumers. Over half of e-bike owners responding to a survey cited price and budget as one of the most important criteria for choosing their e-bike, making it the most frequently cited reason for choosing their current bike. A close second, though, was battery range, which just under half of respondents cited. Close to half of e-bike owners reported that their e-bike’s battery range was 60 kilometers or more, although around a third of respondents did not know what their bike’s battery range was. With around 60 percent of e-bike owners cycling no more than this distance in a week, this battery range is likely to be sufficient for most e-bike owners, and newer e-bikes are increasingly efficient and promise higher battery ranges. Nonetheless, nearly three-quarters of e-bike owners would like their battery range to extend to at least 80 kilometers.The largest e-bike market in Europe
Germany has been the largest bicycle market in Europe for years, and with the widespread adoption of e-bikes, it has now become the largest e-bike market as well. Germans bought nearly three times as many electric bicycles in 2023, as the French, the second-largest market for e-bikes on the continent. While the Netherlands comes third in the ranking, with a little under a quarter of the German sales figures, it has been consistently ahead of Germany in terms of e-bike market share, although this gap has been closing. In 2023, 57 percent of e-bikes sold in the Netherlands were electric, compared to Germany’s 53 percent.Meanwhile, the largest growth in the European e-bike market can be found in less saturated markets. Norway, Sweden, and Belgium can expect the highest growth in the e-bike market of between 12 and 15 percent from 2024 to 2025. In contrast, Germany’s market is projected to contract slightly by 0.4 percent in the same period.
