E-Bike Demand To Boom in Asia-Pacific in Future!
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), electric bike (e-bike) sales in the U.S. grew by 145% during 2019–2020. The organization further predicts that annual e-bike sales in Europe could surge from 3.7 million in 2019 to 17 million by 2030. The increasing adoption of the new-energy-based two-wheelers can be attributed to the surging government subsidies and financial incentives being offered to manufacturers and consumers of the e-bikes. For instance, the Government of Sweden will offer a subsidy of 25% (up to $1,119) on each e-bike purchased by its citizens, till the end of 2021.
Moreover, the rising deployment of such two-wheelers in shared mobility fleets, owing to the mounting environmental concerns, will also help the e-bike market to advance at 10.3% CAGR during the forecast period (2020–2025). According to P&S Intelligence, the market revenue will increase from $14.4 billion in 2019 to $25.9 billion by 2025. Furthermore, governments of several nations are putting various efforts and introducing targets to integrate e-bikes into public and private bike-sharing services. For example, Mexico City aims to deploy 30% e-bikes in the bike sharing system by 2030.
Additionally, the soaring health concerns and growing pollution levels will also fuel the adoption of e-bikes in the coming years. As high pollution level has become a serious concern for people and governments, they are shifting toward green-technology-powered vehicles for commuting. For instance, people of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany are showing high preference for low-speed electric vehicles (EVs), especially pedal-assist e-bikes, for commuting. The elderly people of such countries are the leading customers of such bikes, as the usage of such vehicles helps them in commuting short distances and overcoming health issues.
In recent years, the increasing integration of smartphones into e-bikes has become a prominent trend in the e-bike market. The feature of attaching smartphone on the bike handle to make it an-on board computer and smartphone charging function offered by such bike have become the attraction point of the two-wheeler. Currently, many e-bike manufacturers are focusing on developing gadgets and software, which will support the integration of smartphones in these two-wheelers.
At present, e-bike manufacturers, such as AIMA Technology Group Co. Ltd., Accell Group N.V., Yadea Group Holdings Ltd., Zhejiang Luyuan Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd., and Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd., are launching new variants of such bikes to attract more customers. For example, in October 2019, Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. launched the FastRoad E+ EX Pro bike, which is equipped with a battery pack, a control unit, and a battery pack to offer enhanced convenience to the riders.
Geographically, Asia-Pacific (APAC) led the e-bike market during the historical period (2014–2019), and it is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period as well. This is due to the mounting sales of low-speed electric two-wheelers in Indonesia, Japan, and China. Whereas, the North American market is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period, wherein the U.S. records higher sales of e-bikes in the region. High-volume sale of such two-wheelers in the country is due to the escalating use of these bikes for health or recreational purpose.
Thus, the rising health and environmental concerns and surging government subsidies and financial incentives for producing and purchasing new energy vehicles will augment the adoption of e-bikes in the forthcoming years.
