The sale of bicycles in Spain – which broke records in 2020 and 2021 driven by new lanes and interest in outdoor sports – falls for the second consecutive year, and the sector attributes this to the lack of support from the administrations for the measures to promote sustainable mobility. In 2023, 1.22 million bikes were sold, 10% less than the previous year, and far from the 1.5 million of the two years with restrictions, according to data published this Friday by the Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain (AMBE), the sector’s employers’ association. However, and despite the context of inflation, electric bikes continue to grow, widely used for daily trips to work or school.
“In 2020 and 2021, many more bikes were shipped than the historical trend, and that has an impact on future demand, because those who already have a new bike take a while to buy another one,” says Jesús Freire, general secretary of AMBE. “In addition, in those years we saw many policies that favored cycling, such as temporary bike lanes, the announcement of low-emission zones… But over time, that impulse has been relaxing, the low-emission zones are not arriving, Some cities have even eliminated bike lanes. Administrations can do much more to increase demand,” he continues.
Manuel Marsilio, general director of the Confederation of the European Cycling Industry (Conebi), agrees: “The paradigm shift in mobility could have been more effective in many countries. It is clear that the bicycle industry is essential to ask the authorities not to waste time in the necessary and urgent transition towards more sustainable mobility.” And he adds: “The decrease in sales is occurring throughout Europe and has several reasons, including the supply problems that existed during the pandemic and the record sales of those years. “We have great confidence that it will grow again in the coming years.”
Laura Vergara, manager of the Coordinator in Defense of the Bike (Conbici), puts an optimistic note: “It is true that many opportunities have been lost after the pandemic, but we are still in the execution period of the Next Generation funds, which will to be the largest investment effort of large cities in cycling infrastructure, and in the promotion of cycle tourism. In addition, there may also be a process of recovering old bicycles to face inflation. “Just because sales stop does not mean that use does not grow.” The latest Bicycle Barometer, published in 2022, showed huge growth in use – regular cyclists went from eight to 11 million in four years – but the next one won’t be ready until later this year.
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Back to the AMBE figures, if in 2022 Spaniards bought 1.35 million velocipedes, the following year there were 1.22 million (10% less), with a turnover of 2,475 million (8.79% less) . Despite the reduction in sales, bicycle production in Spain recorded its third best year in the historical series, with 301,100 bicycles produced worth 245.5 million euros in 2023, and with employment levels similar to those of the previous exercise. Compared to 2019 – the last pre-pandemic year – the turnover of the bicycle sector in Spain in 2023 was 32.3% higher than the reference year prior to the pandemic.
By category, mountain bikes decreased (23%) and urban bikes (17.5%), although electric bikes continued to grow (2.2%), exceeding 241,000. “The electric bicycle is the best-selling electric vehicle in Spain and also continues to have a lot of room for growth. These types of bikes have a daily mobility component, they are usually used to go to work, study centers or other obligations, due to their ability to make longer trips, in more complicated terrain, and because they allow carrying children or cargo. . For families, they are a very positive bet,” says Freire.
Bet on cargo bikes
For the first time, the employers’ association provides data on cargo bicycles, those that can be used to move goods or carry several people: in the last year, 2,500 were purchased, the vast majority of them electric. “We are waiting for the next Moves Plan to include this type of aid. In Germany they provided aid of up to 6,000 euros per vehicle and it has been a real explosion: they sold 165,000 in 2022 and another 189,000 in 2023. Many are for companies that replace cars in this way. In Spain there are state subsidies for those who buy an electric car, but not for those who buy an electric bike. For now, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition does not confirm what the new aid will be like, nor if it will include this measure.
Vergara, from ConBici, trusts that future low-emission zones will promote cleaner mobility, where cargo bikes can play a key role: “Restrictions on polluting vehicles can make more people pay attention to cargo bikes , which are capable of replacing cars and vans in a cleaner and much cheaper way.”
What else can be done? Freire responds: “City councils have to build more bike lanes and bicycle parking next to schools and public and private facilities.” Furthermore, “there is a lack of aid for the purchase of bicycles, electric or not; a reduction in VAT to 10% for bicycles can be proposed, as Portugal has already done [y prometió el PSOE en 2018]; and tax incentives can be put in place for companies that purchase bikes in leasing [una modalidad que permite alquilar la bici por una pequeña cantidad mensual y, al final del periodo, comprarla mucho más barata]”In Germany it was applied and they have sold more than a million bicycles with this format.”
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