Nearly fifty companies active in the e-carrier-cycle sector have jointly signed a declaration urging the preservation of the current legal framework for electric cargo cycles and, in particular, the safeguarding and proper implementation of the EN 17860 standards. ZIV’s proposals to impose limits on maximum assistance ratio, peak power and vehicle weight would result in many electric cargo cycles used for zero-emission urban logistics being reclassified under Regulation 168/2013. This shift would effectively render the EN 17860 standards obsolete, as these vehicles would instead become subject to type-approval obligations.

It is widely recognised within the sector that L-category type-approval is not fit for purpose for bicycle-like vehicles. The practical consequence would be the disappearance of most cargo cycles from the market. Even for those able to pass type-approval, existing usage rights equivalent to those of conventional bicycles would no longer apply. Such an outcome would inevitably force a large share of today’s urban cargo cycles to be replaced once again by conventional delivery vans. The major logistics companies are anything but eager for that. It is therefore not surprising that Coolblue also co-signed the declaration.

Through the LEVA-EU open letter and the recently published declaration, several hundred stakeholders have expressed their strong opposition to the proposals advanced by the German bicycle-industry association. The level of resistance is now significant enough to call the proposal fundamentally into question. It is legitimate to ask why the European e-bike and light-electric-vehicle sector is being constrained by the actions of a single national trade association. It is equally legitimate to ask why the European umbrella organisation for the bicycle industry, CONEBI, has not yet provided a clear response. This absence of decisiveness fuels uncertainty and division — precisely at a time when the sector can least afford it.

In the meantime, market conditions continue to deteriorate; companies are closing, bankruptcies are rising, and every market analysis points deeper into negative territory. Instead of focusing on recovery, innovation and future growth, the sector is compelled to divert precious time and energy to defending itself against ill-considered regulatory concepts. It is increasingly clear that the future of our industry cannot be based solely on bicycles and two-wheeled e-bikes. Our work is no longer about bicycles alone; it is about mobility. And mobility offers vast opportunities — provided our sector can deliver a diverse range of vehicles that meet real-world use-cases and the needs of all users.

Despite this, efforts continue to undermine established European standardisation work and results. The disregard shown in the proposal toward five years of rigorous work on the 17860-series, carried out by dozens of experts from the European electric-cargo-cycle community is astonishing.

It is unacceptable for a single national association to wield such disproportionate influence over the future of an entire European sector. It is equally unacceptable for the corresponding European umbrella organisation to remain passive in the face of such developments.

Our association calls on all stakeholders — national and European — to reaffirm their commitment to evidence-based policymaking, to the integrity of the European standardisation process and to a regulatory environment that supports innovation, diversity of vehicle types and the long-term sustainability of the light-electric-vehicle sector including cargo cycles.