Germany's bicycle trade association, Zweirad-Industrie-Verband e.V. (ZIV), estimates that around 2.8 million bicycles and e-bikes were sold to end users in Germany from January to June, up four percent from the first half of 2013 thanks primarily to improved weather. ZIV expects the growth to continue through the remainder of the year.
There was a slight decrease in bicycle and e-bike production. With some 1.6 million bicycles and e-bikes produced, German production fell slightly in the first half of 2014. From the perspective of the ZIV, this is mainly due to the difficult 2013 season. Due to weather conditions at the end of the year, both in industry and the trade there were existing inventories which needed to be reduced in 2014. For this reason, manufacturers were reserved in their production.
According to estimates of the ZIV, imports to Germany slightly declined in the first half of 2014. With an estimated 1.8 million bicycles and e-bikes, 2.5 percent less were imported to Germany than in the same period last year.
In addition to Cambodia and Poland, Taiwan and Bulgaria were the most important countries supplying imports.
Bicycle exports also fell slightly compared to the previous year due to weather conditions.
E-bike sales continue to increase
The upward trend continues for e-bikes, resulting in good sales figures. According to estimates of the ZIV, 450,000 were sold in Germany this year. In the medium term, the ZIV estimates that the e-bike market can achieve an annual share of the total market of around 15 percent in Germany. This would correspond to a total of around 600,000 e-bikes annually.
In view of changed usage behavior in everyday mobility, newly added providers, new model groups, and technical advancements, the ZIV sees this number as realistic.
There are more than 1.8 million e-bikes currently on the road in Germany. This means the German e-bike industry alone has achieved the goal of the federal government of putting more than one million electric vehicles on the streets of Germany.
