Sales of e-bikes take off, as do internet bike sales, says ABN Amro

DutchNews, May 30, 2018

Dutch consumers are buying more e-bikes and increasingly fewer traditional bikes, according to a study published on Wednesday by ABN Amro. 

Sales of e-bikes soared by 75% over the past seven years and one-third of all new bicycles are now powered by a battery,  the study said. Sales of traditional bikes, meanwhile, have fallen back 37% since 2010. 

ABN Amro is forecasting bike sales 3% higher in 2018. 

More bikes are also being sold online. In 2013, fewer than one in 10 bikes was bought online but that has now risen to over 25%. 

The total Dutch bike fleet is probably over 22.7 million by now – 1.3 bikes for every man, woman and child in the country –  roads lobby group Bovag said recently. 

‘We can’t give exact numbers because bikes don’t have number plates and are not registered centrally,’ a spokesman said.