Dutch bike over 1,000 km per year as e-bike sales soar

Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands. The number of bicycle kilometers traveled by inhabitant was 1,018 kilometers last year, compared to 865 kilometers around the turn of the century. Electric bike sales was good for a turnover of more than 414 million euros in 2014. This is according to BOVAG publication Mobility in Figures Two-Wheeler's 2015/2016. Last year Dutch people spent a record amount of 844 euros on average on a new bicycle, nearly 7 percent more than in 2013 and more than double compared to the 400 euros spent on average in 1998. A total of 1.05 million new bicycles were sold last year, 223 thousand of which were electric bicycles. According to BOVAG, the increase in spending and in kilometers can partly be attributed to the popularity of e-bikes. Electric bicycles make it possible for more people to cover greater distances. Over the past decade, the sales share of e-bikes has increased from 3 percent to 22 percent. E-bike sales accounted for 47 percent of the total revenue from bike sales. Almost half of the sold electric bicycles - 48 percent, 107 thousand bikes - were produced in the Netherlands. In all of Europe, only Germany sold more e-bikes last year than the Netherlands - 480 thousand. Belgium followed in third place with 130 thousand e-bikes sold, and France and Italy makes up 4th and 5th place with 78 thousand and 51 thousand sold respectively.