Belgium and cycling typically conjures images of ‘monument’ bike races, Sunday morning club rides and bike pros who excel on the ‘bergs’ and cobblestones.
But the latest cycling sales’ data from Belgium published by TRAXIO tells us that Belgium is becoming a home for all types of riding and bicycles - while staying true to its roots as the home of sports’ cycling.
📊 The Belgian market figures match trends observed in recent market reports in neighbouring countries (Germany, Netherlands, France):
- Drop in unit sales and overstock issues, but structural growth and long-term sales perspective are good
- E-bikes unit sales have overtaken acoustic bike sales
- Consumers are generally ready to spend more than before on their new bike.
🤓 But some specificities also stand out:
- The strongest speed-e-bikes sales per capita in the world
- Consumer willingness to buy upmarket: The average Belgian consumer is ready to spend 1000€ more than the average Dutch consumer on a new bike, and 1300€ more for an e-bike.
- 2 markets in one country – attitudes towards cycling are very different between the Dutch speaking North and the French speaking South and this is clearly reflected in sales’ figures.
🔈 These specificities highlight the extent to which policy shapes markets:
- #Fiscal policy: Belgium’s strong bike leasing framework gives consumers incentives to go for models at a higher price point and turn to brick and mortar retail for expertise, service, maintenance and reliability.
- #Social/employment policy: Bicycle commuters get proper financial rewards for choosing the green way of getting to work. The further you commute by bike, the more you earn: that’s a pretty strong incentive to get an e-bike - or a speed e-bike.
- #Mobility policy: The North-South divide in bikes sales reflects the North-South infrastructure divide – which is the result of history and legacy of political choices. The fact that the North is pancake flat while the South fairly hilly might have been a (poor) justification for this in the past but now, there are e-bikes so it’s time for Wallonia to close the gap!
🌈 Last but not least, it’s highly encouraging to see that the Belgian cycling is propped up by:
- a trade body that can produce very reliable and comprehensive statistics;
- politicians like Georges Gilkinet and Elke Van den Brandt who don’t just talk positively about cycling but act effectively;
- the capacity to use the bicycle as a ‘soft power’ element of national branding on the international stage. On that note, it is very fitting the #EUDeclarationOnCycling was signed during a Belgian Presidency of the EU! 🚲
