The epidemic makes electric bicycles a hot model

Entering into 2020, the sudden new crown epidemic has completely broken the Europeans’ “stereotyped prejudice” towards electric bicycles.

As the epidemic began to ease, European countries also began to “unblock” gradually. For some Europeans who want to go out but do not want to wear a mask on public transportation, electric bicycles have become the most suitable means of transportation.

Many big cities such as Paris, Berlin and Milan even set up special lanes for bicycles.

Data show that since the second half of last year, electric bicycles have quickly become the mainstream commuter vehicle throughout Europe, with sales increasing by 52%, with annual sales reaching 4.5 million units and annual sales reaching 10 billion euros.

Among them, Germany has become the market with the most brilliant sales record in Europe. In the first half of last year alone, 1.1 million electric bicycles were sold in Germany. The annual sales in 2020 will reach the 2 million mark.

The Netherlands sold more than 550,000 electric bicycles, ranking second; France ranked third in the sales list, with a total of 515,000 sold last year, an increase of 29% year-on-year; Italy ranked fourth with 280,000; Belgium ranked fifth with 240,000 vehicles.

In March of this year, the European Bicycle Organization released a set of data showing that even after the epidemic, the hot wave of electric bicycles showed no signs of slowing down. It is estimated that the annual sales of electric bicycles in Europe may surge from 3.7 million in 2019 to 17 million in 2030. As soon as 2024, the annual sales of electric bicycles will reach 10 million.

“Forbes” believes that: if the forecast is accurate, the number of electric bicycles registered in the European Union each year will be twice that of cars.

Large subsidies become the main driving force behind hot sales

Europeans fall in love with electric bicycles. In addition to personal reasons such as environmental protection and not wanting to wear masks, subsidies are also a major driver.

It is understood that since the beginning of last year, governments across Europe have provided hundreds to thousands of euros in subsidies to consumers who purchase electric vehicles.

For example, starting in February 2020, Chambery, the capital of the French province of Savoie, launched a 500 euro subsidy (equivalent to a discount) for every household who buys electric bicycles.

Today, the average subsidy for electric bicycles in France is 400 euros.

In addition to France, countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium have all launched similar electric bike subsidy programs.

In Italy, in all cities with a population of more than 50,000, citizens who buy electric bicycles or electric scooters can enjoy a subsidy of up to 70% of the vehicle’s selling price (a limit of 500 euros). After the introduction of the subsidy policy, Italian consumers’ willingness to buy electric bicycles has increased by a total of 9 times, far exceeding the British 1.4 times and the French 1.2 times.

The Netherlands chose to directly issue a subsidy equivalent to 30% of the price of each electric bicycle.

In cities such as Munich, Germany, any company, charity or freelancer can get government subsidies to buy electric bicycles. Among them, electric self-propelled trucks can receive a subsidy of up to 1,000 euros; electric bicycles can receive a subsidy of up to 500 euros.

Today, German electric bicycle sales account for one-third of all bicycles sold. It is no wonder that in the past two years, German car companies and companies closely related to the automobile manufacturing industry have actively built various types of electric bicycles.