Germany’s soon to be released national cycling plan aims to increase cycling share of transport to 15%, up from its current level of 11%. ADFC and ECF, who are organising the Advocacy summit at Eurobike, estimate that the plan would see an additional 800,000 bike sales and an increased price of €53 per bike across the larger market of nearly 5 million bikes.

15% of all trips by bike. 

ADFC Chief Executive Burkhard Stork says: “We have helped the government develop the NRVP (Nationaler RadVerkehrsPlan) to increase the cycling rate in Germany and we have convinced Minister Ramsauer that 15% is the realistic target.”

“People like cycling – but they won’t cycle if the environment is not cycle friendly. And if people are not cycling, they don’t buy bicycles, cycle-wear, accessories and so on,” adds Stork.

In Germany the market has struggled to replace historic highs during the peak of mountain bike sales but there has been an underlying upward trend in full specification city bikes. Coupled with higher unit prices from E-bikes sales, the new plan will give the German cycling market a much needed boost.

EU trends and figures

Development Director of ECF Kevin Mayne says: “We have always believed that the huge reach of daily transport cycling means it can have a bigger effect on markets than any other form of cycling. Now for the first time we have compared EU wide figures for transport cycling with market figures and confirmed that this an EU wide trend. Countries with the highest transport cycling simply buy the most bikes. We also find that higher transport cycling shares are associated with a higher unit price of bikes which gives the market an additional boost.”

The Advocacy Summit will be gathering top CEOs and companies at Eurobike on August 30 to discuss how advocacy can increase sales. Interested parties can register their interest for the event here.

ECF and its allies believe tha the bicycle industry should seriously consider investing more money and time into bicycle advocacy across Europe.  Even small investments could result in large increases in sales. 

At the end of the day, getting more people on bikes is good news for everyone, advocates and industry alike. 

An analysis of the impact of Germany’s national cycling masterplan on salses can be found here. 

About the Author

Founded in 1983, the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) is the umbrella federation of the national cyclists’ associations in Europe, reinforced by similar organisations from other parts of the world. ECF seeks to change attitudes, policies and budget allocations at the European level. ECF stimulates and organises the exchange of information and expertise on bicycle related transport policies and strategies as well as the work of the cyclists’ movement.