Mechanical bikes in danger of extinction. Sales plus for pedelecs. Sales minus for mechanical bikes. The electronification virus spreads irretrievably on the mechanical bikes. Lead market the Netherlands indicates what will happen everywhere.
 

 
In a research note, BOVAG and RAI Association state that electric bikes are starting to become the “new normal” in The Netherlands.

The same result comes from a survey by the Dynamo Retail Group. It has found that sales of e-bikes increased by 35% in the first half of 2019 in the Netherlands.

In contrast, mechanical bikes lost sales-turnover by some 15% (Bike Europe Webseite, Jack Oortwijn, 11 Jul 2019). A category that in the meantime no longer plays a role on the Dutch market.

Electric bikes have overtaken mechanical bikes
What nobody imagined 9 years ago, Hannes Neupert (Chairman ExtraEnergy e.V./Executive Director EnergyBus e.V.) predicted at the LEV Conference 2010: "As it has happened to many other products before it will happen to the bicycle as well - the virus of "electronification" will kill the mechanical bicycle within a few years like it has killed many other mechanical products before."

For 2050, Hannes Neupert estimates annual sales of 250 million LEVs (light electric vehicles) worldwide and a total of 1.6 billion.

Flick through the presentation slides of the LEV Conference 2010 online:

>> LEV Conference Reader 2010 (issuu)

Copy, translation and picture: Angela Budde

12th July 2019