Bicycle trade in Europe contracted in 2023 after a strong 2022. The European Union exported €1.03 billion and imported €1.98 billion of electric and non-electric bicycles from non-EU countries, while EU production of non-motorised bicycles fell to 9.7 million units. These customs and production figures sit alongside CONEBI’s broader estimate of 11.7 million bicycles sold across the EU27 and United Kingdom.
Contents
- EU trade scale and annual change
- Electric and non-electric bicycle trade
- Trade partners and supply sources
- EU production and national leaders
- European sales, investment and employment
- India’s bicycle trade
EU trade scale and annual change
Eurostat’s customs statistics measure the European Union’s trade with countries outside the EU. They do not represent all bicycle sales inside the single market. On that extra-EU basis, the EU exported bicycles worth €1.03 billion in 2023 and imported bicycles worth €1.98 billion. Both totals include electric and non-electric bicycles. The figures come from Eurostat’s “Decrease in trade of bicycles in 2023”.
The year-over-year movement was negative on both sides of the trade balance:
- Export value was 10% lower in 2023 than in 2022.
- Import value was 21% lower in 2023 than in 2022.
- The EU exported 293,000 electric bicycles in 2023, down 21% from 2022.
- The EU imported 867,000 electric bicycles, down 27% from 2022.
- The EU exported 852,000 non-electric bicycles, down 17% from 2022.
- The EU imported 3.5 million non-electric bicycles, down 34% from 2022.
These are observed customs values and quantities for 2023 compared with 2022. They should not be read as a measure of the entire European bicycle market, because intra-EU shipments and retail transactions are outside this specific extra-EU trade scope.
The value totals also cannot be treated as average prices without additional product-level calculations. The reported series combines the value and quantity of the relevant electric and non-electric customs categories, while the source presents year-over-year changes separately for those categories.
Electric and non-electric bicycle trade
Eurostat defines the electric category as pedal-assist cycles with an auxiliary motor continuously rated at no more than 250 watts. The non-electric category uses the specified non-motorised CN codes. This distinction matters because electric bicycles represent a smaller number of traded units than conventional bicycles but are reported as a separate product group.
| EU trade category, 2023 | Exports | Imports | Change from 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric bicycles | 293,000 units | 867,000 units | Exports -21%; imports -27% |
| Non-electric bicycles | 852,000 units | 3.5 million units | Exports -17%; imports -34% |
The non-electric category was therefore larger in physical trade volume in both directions in 2023. The source reported 852,000 non-electric bicycles exported and 3.5 million imported, compared with 293,000 electric bicycles exported and 867,000 imported.
The two product groups also differed in their reported trade-value geography. Switzerland received the largest named shares of EU exports outside the EU: 30% of non-electric bicycle export value and 46% of electric bicycle export value in 2023. The United Kingdom received 20% of non-electric and 26% of electric bicycle export value. The United States accounted for 6% of non-electric and 10% of electric bicycle export value, while Norway accounted for 9% of electric bicycle export value.
The percentages are shares of extra-EU export value, not shares of units. A higher-value product mix can therefore produce a larger value share without representing the same share of physical bicycles.
Trade partners and supply sources
The EU’s 2023 import profile was concentrated among a relatively small number of named origins, especially for electric bicycles. Taiwan supplied 59% of EU electric bicycle imports from outside the EU by value. Vietnam supplied 16%, Switzerland 11% and China 6%.
For non-electric bicycles, Taiwan supplied 32% of extra-EU import value. Cambodia supplied 28%, while China and Bangladesh each supplied 8%. These figures describe the origin shares reported by Eurostat for the specified product categories; they are not production shares for the global bicycle industry.
The partner pattern on the export side was also different by product type. Switzerland received 46% of EU electric bicycle exports by value, followed by the United Kingdom at 26%, the United States at 10% and Norway at 9%. For non-electric bicycles, Switzerland received 30%, the United Kingdom 20% and the United States 6%.
| Product group | Leading named destination or origin | Share of extra-EU value |
|---|---|---|
| Electric exports | Switzerland | 46% |
| Electric exports | United Kingdom | 26% |
| Electric imports | Taiwan | 59% |
| Electric imports | Vietnam | 16% |
| Non-electric exports | Switzerland | 30% |
| Non-electric imports | Taiwan | 32% |
| Non-electric imports | Cambodia | 28% |
Because these percentages are value shares, they should be kept separate from the unit totals. The same 2023 Eurostat release reports both measures, but they answer different questions: customs value describes the monetary scale of trade, while units describe the physical volume.
EU production and national leaders
Eurostat reported EU production of 9.7 million non-motorised bicycles in 2023, down 24% from 12.7 million in 2022. In 2022, production had increased 10% compared with 2021 and was 29% higher than in 2012. The long-term comparison therefore shows that the 2023 decline followed a higher production level, rather than defining the entire decade.
The 2023 estimate is based on PRODCOM code 30921000. Some country data were confidential or unavailable. In the comparable reporting group, 14 of 17 EU countries recorded lower production in 2023 than in 2022. France, Germany, Belgium, Latvia and Slovenia lacked 2023 data, and three countries were exempt from collection. These limitations mean that country rankings should be understood as rankings of available non-confidential data, not a complete uncensored league table.
Among the available 2023 country figures, Portugal produced 1.8 million bicycles, Romania 1.5 million, Italy 1.2 million and Poland 0.8 million. Eurostat identified Portugal as the largest available non-confidential national output, followed by Romania, Italy and Poland. The source is “EU production of bicycles down to 9.7 million in 2023”.
The largest reported decreases were 1.0 million fewer bicycles in Romania, 0.7 million fewer in Italy and almost 0.4 million fewer in Portugal compared with 2022. Those changes are reported production differences for non-motorised bicycles, not changes in total bicycle sales.
For context, the 2022 national figures were higher in the leading reporting countries: Portugal produced 2.7 million bicycles, Romania 2.6 million, Italy 2.5 million, Germany 1.7 million and Poland 1.0 million. These 2022 figures and the decade comparison appear in “EU produced 14.7 million bicycles in 2022”. Portugal’s 2022 figure was reported as production-on-own-account quantity, and the source includes country-level availability notes.
European sales, investment and employment
CONEBI’s Bicycle Industry and Market Profile uses a wider geography and a different methodology from Eurostat. Its figures cover the EU27 plus the United Kingdom and combine member-association data, non-member data, expert input and estimates where official data are unavailable. They are not directly interchangeable with Eurostat customs or PRODCOM figures.
For 2023, CONEBI reported 11.7 million bicycle units sold across the EU27 and United Kingdom, compared with 14.7 million in 2022. It reported 5.1 million e-bikes sold in 2023, versus 5.5 million in 2022. Combined bicycle and e-bike sales were valued at €19.3 billion in 2023, with sales value down 8.9% from 2022.
| CONEBI measure | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycles sold | 14.7 million | 11.7 million |
| E-bikes sold | 5.5 million | 5.1 million |
| Combined sales value | Not stated here | €19.3 billion |
| Industry investment | €2.1 billion | More than €1.9 billion |
Despite the annual decline, CONEBI reported that 2023 European e-bike unit sales were more than 50% above pre-pandemic levels. That is an estimate against a pre-pandemic baseline, not a forecast. The organization also reported more than 1,200 companies in the European bicycle industry in 2023.
Industry investment exceeded €1.9 billion in 2023, compared with €2.1 billion in 2022. Average employment decreased 5.5% in 2023 compared with 2022, although CONEBI said the employment change differed substantially by country. These market and industry estimates are documented in “European Bicycle Industry shows resilience and growth potential despite 2023 economic challenges”.
The differing totals illustrate why a bicycle-trade statistic needs a defined population and measurement system. Eurostat’s 9.7 million refers to EU production of non-motorised bicycles. CONEBI’s 11.7 million refers to estimated sales across the EU27 and United Kingdom and includes its reported market categories. Neither figure is a substitute for the other.
India’s bicycle trade
India’s official trade figures provide a separate national view using HS 8712, which covers bicycles and other cycles. The Indian government reports trade value in US dollars and fiscal-year periods, not physical units. In fiscal year 2023-24, India exported HS 8712 products worth US$54.39 million and imported products worth US$13.17 million.
For April through October of fiscal year 2024-25, India exported HS 8712 products worth US$41.37 million and imported US$2.74 million. This is a partial fiscal-year period and must not be compared directly with the full-year 2023-24 values without adjustment. The figures come from the Indian government’s Annual Report Year 2024-25.
The India series should also remain separate from the EU series. India’s figures use HS 8712 and fiscal years; the EU trade figures use the stated CN definitions and extra-EU customs geography. India’s table reports monetary values rather than bicycle quantities, so it does not establish a unit-based comparison with EU exports or imports.