Commuter and urban cycling is taking off in Spain. With the average Spaniard priced out of a new car, many people may find that an electric bicycle is the only personal vehicle within financial reach.
The Asociación de Marcas y de Bicicletas Españolas (Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain) reports that demand for electric bicycles has tripled in the country and that sales of urban bikes are also on a steady rise. The industry association sees the electric and “townie bike” markets as the industry’s most promising areas for expansion.
Bicycle sales jumped following the strict confinement Spain suffered in 2020 as a government pandemic measure. With pandemic restrictions now a thing of the past, bicycle demand has since relented, though demand for electric and commuter bicycles continues to grow.
“Urban bicycles are the fastest growing in sales in terms of units, followed by electric bicycles. The rest of the categories decreased compared to the previous year,” AMBE’s report on the national data from 2022 stated.
The latest European-wide report from the European bicycle industry group CONEBI found Spain in line with the European trend.
“After years of notable market growth, in 2022 there was a considerable slowdown in bicycle sales at the European level: from 17.1 million units sold in 2021 to 14.7 million units in 2022,” the study stated. “However, the demand for electric bicycles continued to increase, exceeding 5.5 million units sold in 2022. Total sales of bicycles and electric bicycles reached a value of €21.2 billion (7.4% more than in 2021).
Despite global sales of bicycles decreasing by 13.6%, in Spain, sales of urban bicycles increased by 22.5% and those of electric bicycles by 5.7% compared to 2021. Despite a retraction in the market in 2022, bike sales are still 45% above those of 2019, and Spanish bicycle production remains “at record levels, doubling the value it had in 2022.”
The trend in the country is clear. From Madrid to Barcelona to Sevilla, bicycles are on the streets in numbers unimaginable even just four years ago. The investments in cycling infrastructure—bicycle lanes and parking areas—made by governments in recent years are plain to anyone. The availability of per-minute rental bicycles has also expanded.
Much of the investment has been done very recently under Spain’s sustainable mobility plan, initiated in 2021, which directed EU Next Generation funding to the country’s 17 autonomous communities. The plan also includes subsidies to help individuals purchase electric bicycles. At the moment, in Spain, the reimbursement of up to 50% goes until the end of this year.
El Debate reports that the Spanish company Bicihack attributes the increased interest in electric bicycles to the rising gasoline prices that makes driving increasingly expensive. According to the newspaper, using an electric bicycle saves on average €1,362 in fuel expenses per year. They also point out that cycling avoids the pitfalls of driving in increasingly overcrowded cities—traffic jams and limited, expensive parking.
Cycling can also be a faster and cheaper option than public transportation such as subways and street buses, which have fixed and limited routes.
