More people are buying electric bicycles in the Netherlands

Sales of electric bicycles in the Netherlands increased last year, and the share of e-bikes in total bicycle sales is growing, reported the industry organizations BOVAG and RAI Association.

Sales of e-bikes rose two percent last year to 486,000 units. A total of 855,000 new bikes were sold, 57 percent of which were electric. A year earlier, that figure was nearly 52 percent. These include electric city bikes, cargo bikes and speed pedelecs. In 2021, however, sales of electric bikes were still down by more than 12 percent. This was due to delivery problems caused by the pandemic.

Total revenue from the sale of new bicycles (including e-bikes) rose slightly last year to over 1.5 billion euros. The average selling price for a new bicycle increased by 9 percent to 1772 euros. According to the BOVAG and RAI Association, this can be explained by the limited availability and rising prices of spare parts, but also by the larger share of e-bikes in sales.

"E-bikes are an excellent alternative to cars for more and more commuters," Huub Lamers of the RAI Association said in a statement. "This partly explains the increasing popularity of e-bikes. After all, they allow you to get past traffic jams green, healthy and smiling. From our point of view, this is a very good development."