The good news was announced by ZIV Managing Director Burkhard Stork right at the start: "E-bikes last longer than expected." The German bicycle industry association had previously underestimated the lifespan of pedelecs. Previously assumed to be four to five years, this has now been significantly revised upwards. In future, an average service life of eight to new years is expected. The motor and battery are more robust than previously assumed, and the number of e-bikes taken out of service underlines this. In 2024, the number of e-bikes in Germany was 15.7 million, which is significantly higher than ten years ago. In 2014, there were only 2.1 million pedelecs in German households. This means that the German government's target of increasing the number of electric vehicles in Germany to 15 million by 2030 has already been achieved, at least in the bicycle sector. The total number of bicycles in German households also increased in 2024 and now stands at 88.7 million, compared to 72 million in 2014.

A total of 3.85 million bicycles were sold in Germany in 2024, of which 2.05 million were e-bikes and 1.8 million were non-motorized bicycles. This corresponds to a decrease of 2.53% compared to 2023. At least the proportion of e-bikes sold remained stable at 53%. E-mountainbikes in particular account for the majority of e-bikes sold, with a share of 40 percent.

Full stocks, falling prices

So much for the success stories. In 2024, we can look back on an "economically challenging year for the industry", says Stork. High stock levels in particular were a problem for the market. The average sales price of bikes in German specialist retailers fell by around 15 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. Overall, the price level of bicycles, taking all sales channels into account, fell by 8% in 2024. While this decline was greater for e-bikes at an average of 10%, it even increased by 6%, especially for high-quality, non-motorized bikes - such as gravel bikes or racing bikes. For the ZIV, this is a clear indication that the market still has potential, especially in the high-end niche sector.

The high stock levels have also led to a drop in production figures. Compared to 2023, the total number of bicycles produced in Germany fell by 13.8 percent to around 2 million units. Production figures are therefore slowly returning to pre-coronavirus levels. The same applies to the bicycle parts sector, where a peak was reached in 2022 and a decline to 2020 levels is now being observed.

Discounts cause minus despite stable demand

The minus is also reflected in the sales figures. While demand remained relatively stable and only fell by 2.5 percent, sales were down by around 10 percent. According to the ZIV, this was also due to high stock levels and the associated discount campaigns. In total, industry sales in Germany amounted to 6.33 billion euros in 2024.

Despite the difficult market environment, brick-and-mortar specialist retailers remained relatively stable. Although its share of sales fell by 4 percent compared to 2023, 70 percent of all bicycle sales are still handled by stationary specialist retailers. At the same time, the share of specialized online retail increased by 3%. In terms of turnover, specialist retailers recorded a drop of 2.8 percent in 2024 - compared to minus 3 percent in 2023. At the moment, the specialist trade can generate greater income primarily from workshop services rather than pure retail.

2025 will also be a difficult year

In terms of imports and exports, the ZIV also points to high stock levels as a problem factor. Imports fell by 30 percent in 2024. In comparison, production in Germany fell by 13.8% in the previous year. The situation is less dramatic for exports. They fell by a total of 10 percent in 2024, whereby e-bikes, with a drop of only 5 percent, were significantly less affected than non-motorized bicycles, whose exports fell by 15 percent.

In view of the figures presented, ZIV Managing Director Stork was cautiously optimistic: "2024 was a difficult year for the industry economically and 2025 will be too. However, a normalization of stock levels is foreseeable and therefore a recovery for 2026 seems realistic." Many in the industry stumbled in the previous year, but fortunately only a few really fell. Overall, according to Stork, the bicycle industry can therefore be described as stablen. In a ZIV survey, 40% of retailers themselves were optimistic about the sales forecast for 2025, 33% expect the figures to remain the same and 27% expect sales to continue to fall.

Read the exact figures and statistics from the ZIV.

Video recording of the media conference on the ZIV market data