In 2020, the European Union (EU) of 27 Member States exported almost 1.3 million bicycles and other cycles, worth a total of €471 million, to countries outside of the EU. Over the same period, the EU imported almost 5 million bicycles, worth €930 million, from countries outside the EU.
Compared with 2019, exports of bicycles and other cycles increased by 35% in 2020 in numbers, while imports declined by 3%.
273 900 electric bicycles worth €427 million were exported by the EU in 2020 (the data include bicycles with pedal assistance and an auxiliary electric motor with a continuous rated power of less than 250 W).
Meanwhile, the EU imported 839 100 electric bicycles, worth €721 million, from countries outside the EU.
Compared with 2019, exports of electric bicycles increased by 43% in 2020 in numbers, while imports of electric bicycles increased by 19%.
Main extra-EU destinations: the UK and Switzerland
In 2020, the United Kingdom was the main destination for EU exports of bicycles (34% of total extra-EU bicycle exports), followed by Switzerland (13%), Brazil (9%), Turkey (5%) and Uzbekistan (4%). Meanwhile, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were also the main destinations for EU exports of electric bicycles (36% and 29% of total extra-EU electric bicycle exports respectively), followed by Norway (14%) and the United States (10%).
A quarter of EU imports of bicycles from Cambodia, half of electric bicycles from Taiwan
In 2020, imports of bicycles from non-EU countries came mainly from Cambodia (24% of total extra-EU bicycle imports), China (17%), Taiwan (11%), Bangladesh (8 %), Turkey (7%), Philippines (6%) and Sri Lanka (5%). Meanwhile, imports of electric bicycles into the EU came primarily from Taiwan (53% of total extra-EU electric bicycle imports), followed by Vietnam (19%), China (10%), Turkey (7%) and Switzerland (6%).
