ROME – The bike market is booming with numbers that are still record-breaking with 1,975,000 pieces sold during 2021.
The annual estimates released by Ancma (Associazione Ciclo Motociclo Accessori) go into detail: 1,680,000 are traditional bicycles that mark a decline of 3%, while e-bikes continue their growth with 295,000 units which means a 5 percent more on 2020. “A very positive result – commented Paolo Magri, president of Ancma – achieved in the absence of purchase incentives, which had contributed to the considerable dynamism of post-lockdown demand in 2020. The bicycle is an element that requires to be valued from a cultural point of view – added the number one of the association – and for which we continue to believe it necessary to move from the logic of purchase incentives to a collective vision of incentives for the use made, for example, of greater investments in cycle paths, user safety and the international promotion of Italy as a cycling destination “.
The data concerning exports also increased by double digits, both for normal bicycles (+ 21%) and e-bikes (+ 56%) for a total value of 418 million euros (+ 45%), while even more the export value of parts and components is significant, reaching a total of 528 million euros (+ 36%). A trend, the latter, which consolidates the traditional Italian production excellence of saddles, groups, frames, wheels for high-end bikes.
Finally, the overall value of imports is also growing – a sign of the surge in domestic demand and the influence of international dynamics on the stocks of components of bicycle assembly companies. (fp)