The bicycle boom in Germany continues: Sales increased sharply last year, thanks to the trend towards pedelecs and e-bikes. Conventional two-wheelers have risen in price neatly.
The Germans like to move on two wheels: at least the sales of bicycles from the year 2018 allow for this conclusion. The Institute for Trade Research (IFH Cologne) and the trade consultancy BBE have determined in a study that in Germany last year, the number of bicycles increased by two million to a good 75.5 million pieces. Of these, 4.5 million were e-bikes.
The bicycle business, including the sale of accessories and wheel components, grew by 11.9 percent compared to the previous year. „This is the strongest increase since the beginning of the calculations in 1995,“ the Federal Statistical Office announced.
Imports from Hungary, Vietnam and the Netherlands
A large proportion of the increased sales have electrically powered bicycles. Revenues grew by 15.8 percent in 2018 to almost 4.2 billion euros. The growth drivers were once again the e-bikes, with a plus of 23.8 percent.
Alone 888,000 of these electric bikes with a capacity of up to 250 watts were imported to Germany last year. This corresponds to an increase of 32.3 percent. Many pedelecs and e-bikes come from Hungary, Vietnam and the Netherlands.
Prices for conventional bikes have risen sharply
For electric bikes, consumers had to pay an average of around 1.8 percent more from 2015 to 2018. By comparison, prices for bicycles without an electric motor increased by 4.5 percent during this period.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, prices for bicycles vary slightly depending on the season. Around the turn of the year, the trade offers cheaper than in the summer.
