The Austrian Bicycle Market Shines In 2020

The Austrian bicycle market is pleased with the growth in 2020. Sales volume increased by 13% compared to last year, reaching approximately 496,000 vehicles. In total, approximately 878 million euros were generated. The main sales driver is electric bicycles.

In 2020, Austria’s bicycle sales generated nearly 878 million euros (a 26% increase over the previous year) and approximately 496,000 bicycles were sold. The main factors are the sales growth of electric bicycles and the demand for higher quality products and materials. The average cost of one bicycle was 1,769 euros (an increase of 11.6%), and the average price of an electric bicycle was 3,012 euros (an increase of 7%). Sales of electric bicycles amounted to 613 million euros, accounting for approximately 70% of total sales. In addition, more than 200,000 electric bicycles were sold for the first time, which accounted for 41% of the market share of the total number of bicycles sold. The growth of electric cargo bikes has been particularly significant. With nearly 950 electric cargo bikes sold, the market segment has almost doubled.

The development of electric bicycles continues

Austria was able to defend its leading position as an electric bicycle sales, with Germany's market share of 38.7% and Switzerland's 34.1% in 2020 (source: ZIV/Velouisse).

Gernot Kellermayr, Chairman of the Austrian Sportswear Manufacturers and Sports Equipment Manufacturers Association confirmed: "In addition to skiing and outdoor areas, bicycles and electric bicycles have become the largest sales of Austrian sports goods in recent years.

According to Michael Nendwich, managing director of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Sporting Goods Trade Spokesperson VSSÖ, electric cargo bikes will also increase significantly in 2020: “Especially in urban areas, demand is increasing due to a wide range of applications. In order to fully utilize the potential of cargo bikes in transportation , Political and economic incentives must be adopted, which is why things such as federal climate protection, environment, energy, transportation innovation and technology are so important."

The impact of the corona pandemic on drivers

During the corona pandemic, Austrians became more and more aware that bicycles are an attractive alternative to cars in many applications. The number of bicycle commuters has increased, and more transportation routes have been completed using electric cargo bicycles. For Austria, the impact of the corona pandemic on the industry can be summarized as follows:

The demand for services has increased. Many customers have refurbished and repaired old bicycle models. As a result, bicycle repair shops have higher and higher demand for spare parts, and higher and higher frequency requirements.

In a relatively short period of time, bicycle sales have increased. Due to the closure of trade in the spring of 2020, an important sales phase has been cancelled. Within a short time after the reopening, these high inventories were sold off, which created a catch-up effect.

The demand continues. There is a huge demand for bicycles in the world, which has caused a bottleneck in the production chain. Due to the corona crisis, some factories have not yet reached full capacity or cannot keep up with the production schedule. In addition, sometimes there are problems with transportation. These bottlenecks will still be obvious in 2021.

The "bicycle boom" must be viewed in a different way. Last year demand was higher than actual supply. Therefore, many dealers have sold out in the summer. It could have sold more, but many suppliers have also been snapped up. VSSÖ assumes that the market will stabilize at a higher level. The question will be whether wheel manufacturers can respond to increasing demand and expand their production capacity accordingly.

In 2020, the employment situation in the bicycle industry is also good: Austria’s bicycle industry employs about 1,000 people and bicycle sales are about 7,000-8,000 (professional bicycle and sporting goods retailers).