Growth of UK e-bike market estimated at 20%
Posted on in Cycles News
Bike Europe speaks with E-Bikeshop about the growth of e-bike sales in the UK.
One of the larger retailers in the country - E-Bikeshop - estimates the 2016 growth of e-bike sales in the UK at about 20%. But the volume is still far from the great promise that one of the biggest markets of Europe holds.
E-Bikeshop is part of the UK Electric Bike Company Ltd. According to director Martin Brown 2016 e-bike sales in the UK is estimated at 30 - 35,000 units.
Brown names Haibike as the biggest brand seen across the nation. He says, "Haibike was one of the first to enter the market and continues to hold the majority share. Now more mainstream brands are coming to the UK."
On the future of UK's e-bike market Martin Brown says, "I think the UK market hasn't even seen the big ‘boom' yet, as sales continue to grow at a fast pace. E-bikes are becoming more familiar and understood by the nation. I predict that in the next 18 - 24 months we'll see a sharp spike similar to what particular countries on the continent have experienced. I'd say Germany is trailing a lead on the UK by about 3 years, so based on sales figures there we're in for a very exciting time in the next 2 years or so."
E-Bikeshop's expansion
Anticipating on that sharp spike in sales the UK Electric Bike Company has expanded its E-Bikeshop sales & distribution centre in Surrey. Just over 2 years from opening a new site in Farnham the company is expanding to cater for. "Cycling's fastest growing sector."
In early 2014 E-Bikeshop expanded from 2 regular bike shops into a new sales & distribution centre based in Surrey UK. Built specifically around electric bikes and located centrally in the UK as a hub, offering large showroom facilities, a specialist workshop, warehousing and parts centre. Within 12 months it was clear that they had already outgrown the new site, which was initially setup with 25% more space than required to allow growth. This set the stage for further expansion plans. Now another year on and months in the planning, the new site is complete.
UK Electric Bike Company's director Martin Brown says, "We are really excited about our new expansion and are confident we are setup as the UK's leading independent electric bike supplier to cater for this ever growing market. We actually started with a range of 4 bikes and now offer more than 80! We want an electric bike to suit anyone, hence the product base has grown rapidly and with our recent expansion, we can continue to be more focused on our client's needs."
As part of a 5,000 sq ft expansion, the new sales and distribution centre is now offering: larger demonstration areas, a bigger range, double the workshop facilities, built in specialist workshop equipment, a larger selection of spare parts held in stock and more room for warehousing.
Cytech technical e-bike
To give the cycle trade the knowledge needed to cater for this booming e-bike market, Cytech has introduced the brand new Technical e-bike course to provide the skills and confidence needed to set up, repair and sell a broad spectrum of electric bicycles along with an understanding of the specific standards and legal aspects that apply to them.
Book a course
The
four day Cytech technical e-bike course is currently only available at
ATG Training. Visit cytech.training or contact ATG Training on 01296 737 800 to find out more and book your place on the course.
ACT members benefit from a 10% discount on all Cytech training.