E-bike sales

[flecc]

Bike Europe reports 26% by value of dealer sales of bikes are now e-bikes, which I've found means almost 9% of all bikes sold nationally there are electric assist models. That's far ahead of our recent average of 1% of bike sales being electric in the UK, though our proportion is starting to rise now.

Strange when one considers that e-bikes are thought of as mainly for help on hills and Holland is the flattest country of all in Europe, while we have so many hilly areas in the UK. Perhaps the strong headwinds often faced out in their flat countryside may influence sales.

The bikes the Dutch buy are revealing though, commensurate with their lack of hills. The main five makes bought in order of popularity are from Sparta, Batavus, Gazelle, Giant and Koga-Miyata, those including some of the lowest powered and poorest hill climbing models we know of. It seems the high powered hub-motor models we often favour in the UK have nothing like the same popularity there.
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[stokepa31_mk2]

1 in 10 bikes seems way too optimistic to me!

 

[Mussels]

I guess it's a lot to do with price, low power means low cost. On the flat low power assistance is enough to make cycling easy but in the UK it's pretty pointless. When high power becomes cheap then it might change.

 

[flecc]

1 in 10 bikes seems way too optimistic to me!

The figures are correct, e-bike sales were 124,250 mainly through dealers, and normal bike sales for the last full year's figures rounded to 1.4 million, hence nearly 9% e-bikes.

Of course the high e-bike sales are a very recent trend there, so it will be many years before the proportion of bikes in use on the streets reflects the bias to e-bikes.
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[rog_london]

Bike Europe reports 26% by value of dealer sales of bikes are now e-bikes, which I've found means almost 9% of all bikes sold nationally there are electric assist models. That's far ahead of our recent average of 1% of bike sales being electric in the UK, though our proportion is starting to rise now.

Strange when one considers that e-bikes are thought of as mainly for help on hills and Holland is the flattest country of all in Europe, while we have so many hilly areas in the UK. Perhaps the strong headwinds often faced out in their flat countryside may influence sales.

The bikes the Dutch buy are revealing though, commensurate with their lack of hills. The main five makes bought in order of popularity are from Sparta, Batavus, Gazelle, Giant and Koga-Miyata, those including some of the lowest powered and poorest hill climbing models we know of. It seems the high powered hub-motor models we often favour in the UK have nothing like the same popularity there.
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We're a funny lot when it comes to preferences - I heard that by far and away the greatest proportion of convertible cars (i.e. with a removable roof) get sold in the UK, a country which has just about the most inconsistent weather anywhere in the world.

Holland must be made for cycling - I'm not surprised it's such a popular means of transport. No hills *at all* for all practical purposes is almost fairytale compared to what we have here. Even the largest and most unfit can trundle gently along on a heavy but comfortable bike and put in only as much effort as he/she wishes while still making much more progress than would be possible on foot. No contest.

I've always admired the Dutch. They have a unique approach to almost everything and manage to stand out among all the other European nations as a result.

Rog.

 

[flecc]

I guess it's a lot to do with price, low power means low cost. On the flat low power assistance is enough to make cycling easy but in the UK it's pretty pointless. When high power becomes cheap then it might change.

I don't think so, the average price paid for an e-bike there last year was €1945, and the top five bikes I mentioned are all expensive ones. Apparently cheap e-bikes don't sell well there.

The electricity running costs are negligible so that would be unlikely to affect the decisions.
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[flecc]

We're a funny lot when it comes to preferences - I heard that by far and away the greatest proportion of convertible cars (i.e. with a removable roof) get sold in the UK, a country which has just about the most inconsistent weather anywhere in the world.

I've seen that stated too, perhaps it reflects national optimism about the weather, though on the other hand, it could reflect our wanting to make the best of any chink of sunshine that appears!
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[AndyOfTheSouth]

A quick google produces the figure of 17.6 m adult bikes sold between 1986 and 2004 ie 98000 per year (IMBA.org.uk). 1% of that figure would imply nearly 10000 ebikes per year.

Even assuming that the 1% refers to sales by value rather than unit, this is rather high. It might be that 1% is the lowest figure that the source of this statistic uses ie a lower percentage has been rounded up.

On the other hand, I may be entirely wrong...

 

[flecc]

UK normal bike sales run at around 2 million a year these days, 1986 is far too historic to be of value, while out total e-bike sales are 20,000 a year at most, including cheap sources. Hence the 1%.

The Dutch figures I gave are up to date.

P.S. I think that 98,000 you gave should have read 980,000 for average bike sales in the UK. As said, that's way out of date, sales have increased hugely since then. In both cases I've calculated against all bike sales in Holland and the UK, not just adult bikes, so the comparison is correct.
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[Mussels]

We're a funny lot when it comes to preferences - I heard that by far and away the greatest proportion of convertible cars (i.e. with a removable roof) get sold in the UK, a country which has just about the most inconsistent weather anywhere in the world.

In hot climates having the roof down on a car is not nice, far too hot. Convertables are more suited to the mild climates of northern Europe like ours. The same goes for motorbike leathers, very popular in Germany and the UK but hardly ever seen by the Med because it's just too hot for them.

 

[AndyOfTheSouth]

Hi Flecc

The figure quoted was for the UK and taken from

IMBA UK - MTB Usage Stats

1986 was their starting year for an 18 year period ending in 2004. I agree it is out of date - I wasn't trying to be definitive, just an instant 'back of an envelope' estimate of annual UK bike sales.

They assume that of the annual figure, 40% are adult. I was assuming that this was the appropriate figure to give as the total out of which the ebike proportion could most usefully be estimated, since no ebikes (presumably) are sold to children.

 

[flecc]

That would figure Andy, the 40% estimate bringing us near enough to the industry's current 2 million per year of all types.

The comparison I made was correct though, since I used total sales of bikes each side, so the ratio of 1 to 9 on e-bike sales proportions between the two countries is valid.
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[Conal]

Convertibles

I work in London where the convertible BMW is king. This is not so much a vehicle as a mobile disco driven by a young male whose only aim is to emulate the male peacock. It is for posing and I am sure attracts the oposite sex as it is designed to.

Conal
(an envious spectator)

 

[frank9755]

Those figures tie in with what I posted re my observations on my recent trip to the Netherlands. As you say, Flecc, mostly high price / low power Gazelles, Batavus's and Giants, with hub motors. Halfords (which has a chain of bike shops there) is starting to sell its own electric model, priced much more competitvely, at about €600, which could stimulate the market further.

Edit - this is not correct! Please see below

 

[flecc]

That's interesting Frank, a mainstream outlet for a cheaper e-bike could make that near 10% grow substantially. If this continues and the proportion of all bikes on the roads reaches 10% for e-bikes, the population there will think they're suffering from tinnitus!

Did you notice what sort of bike the cheap Halfords one was, and whether it was the Carrera Sparc they sold here for a while?
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[frank9755]

They are Dutch-style bikes, more like the Gazelles and Batavuses. I've just checked their web site as I thought I'd post a picture. However, the site gives prices starting at €750 for a little folder and €1400+ for the proper bikes. Either the price I saw in the window of their Delft branch was a major reduction or I was looking at the wrong label!

PS my guesstimate, if you didn't spot it, was that about 5% of the many thousands of bikes I saw on the roads were electrics.

 

[flecc]

So it seems a rapidly increasing proportion. It won't take long at the present pace to make them always in sight in the cities, a bit different from here in the UK!
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[stevenwong]

in my opinion,the main sector should be terrain difference.all e bike are limited under 250W.which may not so suitable for hill area.

 

[keithhazel]

1 in 10 bikes seems way too optimistic to me!

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ive seen 6 electric bikes in hull, and i had 3 of them !!!

 

[Fecn]

ive seen 6 electric bikes in hull, and i had 3 of them !!!

I know 8 e-bikers in the UK (not including forum members), but in my 11 months of e-biking I have never seen another e-bike on the road.

In my 5 days in portugal earlier this year (only 3 days of which I was on a bike), I saw 4 e-bikes out and about.

UK definitely has some catching up to do.