The overstock issues that have plagued the cycling industry over the past few years could be resolved by 2025, a new report by industry group the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) has claimed.
The report, published by CONEBI – an umbrella organisation which represents national bike industry associations across Europe – in time for the Eurobike show in Frankfurt next week, noted that the difficulties experienced by the cycling market during 2023 provided a “reset” moment for the industry.
The European Bicycle Industry and Market Profile (BIMP) report also claimed that the issue of overstock “might be resolved in 2025” and that “effective policies at the European level” to promote cycling, and therefore the purchase of bikes, are essential to boost the cycling industry as it continues to struggle in the post-pandemic landscape.
According to the report, the market has still grown long-term over the past decade, driven by both cycling infrastructure projects and the growing popularity of e-bikes.
However, 2023 saw a rapid drop in sales (compared to a 2022 still boosted by the growth experienced during the Covid lockdown period), with total bicycle sales in Europe falling from 14.7 million to 11.7 million in 2023, while e-bike sales dropped, somewhat more modestly, by 400,000 to 5.1 million.
Meanwhile, the combined sales of bicycles and e-bikes amounted to €19.3 billion, almost nine per cent down on 2022’s figures.
While production saw a sharp decline in response to 2023’s overstock problems, the report nevertheless noted that investments in production capacity continued with new factories and warehouses being built in a number of EU countries. These investments totalled over €1.9 billion, compared to €2.1 billion in 2022, reflecting according to the report “continued confidence and dedication to growth”.
The report also found that, based on info provided by 1,200 bike companies across Europe, employment was down 5.5 per cent on average compared to 2022, though this number varied widely across Europe.
“Effective policies at the European level, within the framework of the European Green Deal and of a solid EU Industrial Strategy – like the recent European Declaration on Cycling and the report on the Transition Pathway of the Mobility Industries – are essential to boost both cycling and the cycling industry across Europe,” CONEBI president Massimo Panzeri said. “The CONEBI national member organisations have a pivotal role in this too.”
CONEBI’s somewhat optimistic report comes in the same week Halfords published its preliminary financial results for the year to March 2024, which saw its profits slashed amid “significantly worse than expected” cycling performance and bike sales dropping to 30 per cent below pre-Covid levels.
The major retailer, the largest provider of cycling sales and services in the UK, highlighted the “high-profile failure” of Wiggle Chain Reaction as evidence of the “challenging” market situation and noted that “significant pressure” was being felt due to widespread industry sales.
It also reported that its cycling volumes were down four per cent compared with the previous financial year, “far behind” the forecast, with the now-familiar “worse than anticipated headwinds” – namely the cost-of-living crisis, inflation, low consumer confidence for big discretionary purchases, and poor spring weather – all blamed for contributing to the “very challenging market conditions” facing the bike industry at the moment.