Bicycle manufacture has increased along with the demand for bicycles and environmentally friendly transportation. A total of 13.5 million bikes were produced in the European Union in 2021, an increase of 11% from the previous year.
Eurostat, the EU’s statistics body, reports that Portugal, which produced 2.9 million bicycles in a single year, was in first place, followed by Romania (2.5 million), Italy (1.9 million), Germany (1.4 million), and Poland (1.4 million) (1.2 million.)
Over 43,000 bicycles were produced in Belgium last year by manufacturers. Belgians frequently purchase foreign bicycles.
The European Union shipped electric and non-electric bicycles worth €921 million to non-EU nations in the same year. With a total value of €1.8 billion, motorcycles are still imported into Europe more than they are exported.
The United Kingdom (30% of non-electric bike exports) was the leading destination for EU bicycles, followed by Switzerland (21%), the US (6%), Norway (both 5%), and Australia (both 5%). The UK (38%), Norway (13%), and the US (8%) receive the most electric bikes from the EU.
The demand for more environmentally friendly means of transportation has caused the market for electric bicycles to expand dramatically in recent years. The EU shipped 315,800 electric bicycles for a total of €488 million last year.
1.15 million e-bikes worth €849 million were imported by the EU. In 2021, the EU exported 15% more electric motorcycles than it imported, a 37% increase over 2020.
Taiwan produced 57% of the electric bikes that entered the EU.
According to a report, the worldwide bike industry is expected to expand by another 50% over the coming seven years as a result of increased bicycle electrification, governmental incentives for urban mobility, and shifting public perceptions of riding as a mode of transportation.
Approximately 5.5 million bicycles are now in use in Belgium. As motorists increasingly made way for walkers and bikes, the number of cyclists in the capital of Belgium at the beginning of the year had increased by up to 32% the previous year.
