December 22, 2020
In 2018, 409,000 new E-bikes were sold, doubling from 5 years ago and more than a hundred thousand more than a year earlier. In fact, the electric bike was the most sold model, knocking the traditional city bike off its throne. Two out of every five new bicycles today is an E-bike. This is expected to increase: the image of the E-bike has changed. Whereas a few years ago it was still seen as an elderly person's bike, today more and more people under fifty are switching to the E-bike.
Over a quarter of all Dutch people cycle every day. The bicycle is mainly used to go to work or school. For education, people cycle more often and further, but also for work and leisure, the Dutch increasingly take to their bikes. Over a quarter of all journeys and almost a tenth of all the kilometers the Dutch make are by bicycle. And an increase is expected, particularly in the business purchase and use of the E-bike now that the tax rules for the business use of bicycles have been simplified as of January 1, 2020. According to BOVAG, this will lead to an increase in the purchase of an E-bike for business use to approximately 150,000 additional bicycles per year.
Each time people get on their bikes, an average of 5 kilometers is traveled on an E-bike and 3.5 kilometers on a regular bike. Twenty percent cycle further than 7.5 kilometers and eight percent further than 15 kilometers. It is expected that with the increasing purchase of E-bikes by different age groups, the average mileage will increase. The E-bike can be a huge incentive to get employees who live within a 7.5 kilometer radius of their work and commute by car to work to bike. The E-bike lowers the threshold and encourages the social and economic benefits of cycling. The purchase of an E-bike could be one of the fringe benefits.
