ROME – Italy, thanks to over 3.2 million units built in 2021, is the leading European bicycle manufacturer and leader in smart mobility. This was revealed by the second research “Ecosystem of the Bicycle” carried out by Banca Ifis and just presented as part of the “Italian green road award – Oscar of Italian cycling tourism”. According to analysts, the growth obtained is the result of the e-Bike phenomenon and of “reshoring”, or rather the return to Italy of the production activities that had been outsourced.
The recorded turnover is also significant, growing by 7.4% compared to 2020, reaching 1.6 billion euros. In the three-year period 2021-2023, the increase in bicycle production is expected to be over 7% year on year, led by the e-Bike sector, which with + 25% represents 11% of production (up from 9 % of 2020). In short, the Belpaese is characterized by a high rate of innovation and confirms its cycling vocation by placing itself at the top of the production of the Old Continent with a market share of 21%, followed by Germany and Portugal, and with an export / import balance of bicycles. positive for 1.3 million pieces (up + 3% on 2020).
The increase in demand supported the related revenues: + 7.4% the increase in 2021 over 2020 and + 7.3% the average annual growth in the turnover of producers expected in the two-year period 2022-2023, at the end of which it could exceed the figure of 1.8 billion euros. Also according to the data collected by the research, 25% of producers increased the share of investments in the two-year period 2020-2021 and another 70% kept them unchanged. Reshoring, driven by the crisis in global supply chains, is one of the trends that are driving the growth of the sector.
And precisely in this sense, Banca Ifis estimates that the manufacture of 2.8 million bicycles per year will return to Europe, with an acceleration in the two-year period 2022-2023, corresponding to 18% of total European production. In this context, however, it emerges that as many as 30% of companies in the sector have difficulty in finding suitable professional figures, while 24% will increase investments in training. Finally, according to the study, from an economic point of view across Europe, the interest of investment funds in the bicycle industry is growing, so much so that last year there was an exploit with an increase of 175 % in the number of operations.