Electric Cycles - LEVA-EULEVA-EU

VanMoof Sales Triple in Year of Unprecedented Growth

09/12/2020 17:23 Comments Off

LEVA-EU member VanMoof released new figures that highlight a watershed year of growth, with sales tripling and a new mobility paradigm emerging from the global pandemic.

Dazzling growth

The worldwide e-bike boom resulted in explosive growth figures, with global revenue and bikes sales at VanMoof increasing over 200% in 2020. This growth spiked early in the year as lockdown took hold and huge numbers of people re-discovered the bicycle as a safe alternative to public transport. This resulted in VanMoof selling more bikes in the first four months of 2020 than in the previous two years combined.

VanMoof bike sales triple during worldwide lockdown
VanMoof on course for over 100% annual revenue growth
Year-on-year sales increased in US by 120% and in the UK by 230%
VanMoof global operations expand to support increased demand with 300 new employees, 31 pop-up shops, and new Seattle brand store
VanMoof completed series B funding, totalling $50 million to date
VanMoof riders have traveled almost 12 million kilometers, saving over 1346 tons of CO2*

Technology for a better future

For the first time VanMoof took a deeper look at the impact their rider community is having on the world. E-bikes have now taken pole position in a worldwide mass mobility revolution. The trend of millions of people switching to more sustainable transport is shown in the rapidly growing VanMoof community, increasing by 30% to over 155,000 riders. And the pace of this e-bike transition has already changed cities radically. City dwellers worldwide are embracing e-bikes as a safe and reliable mobility option.

This year alone, VanMoof riders have travelled almost 12 million kilometers – that’s 300 times around the world, or 15 times to the moon and back. Most impressive of all are the carbon impacts, saving over 1346 tons of CO2 from being released. And this is just the beginning, with all related trends pointing to cleaner, greener, and smarter cities.

A new mobility paradigm

“This was a breakthrough year for e-bikes. And we’ve started to see the benefits of less congested streets, cleaner air, and healthier commutes. We have every reason to believe this behavioral shift is here to stay now that people have adopted a smarter, greener alternative to the status quo”
Ties Carlier, co-founder VanMoof.

According to the latest projections, the market for electric bikes is expected to exceed $46 billion in the next six years, with a growth rate twice that predicted before the pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 has had an unique effect on transport planning in major cities, with new policy developments transforming urban landscapes and allocating significant funds to increase the amount and quality of cycling infrastructure.

Ride the future

With an updated motor, automatic electronic gear shifting, and integrated anti-theft tech, the VanMoof S3 & X3 are custom-tuned for the ultimate riding experience. This new range of e-bikes isn’t just the most innovative and powerful VanMoof has ever made, it’s revolutionizing the way cyclists move around cities forever. The high performance VanMoof S3 & X3 open the road to the latest e-bike tech at $1998. Available worldwide in VanMoof brand stores and at vanmoof.com.

Photo credits: VanMoof.

*based on the average Co2 emission of cars/km in Europe (source)

Fahrrad XXL Study on Electric Cycles 2020

07/12/2020 16:22 Comments Off

Summary of Fahrrad XXL Electric Cycle Study 2020 – Electric cycles are becoming increasingly popular as a means of transport or as leisure vehicle. To get a better understanding of the electric cycle development and its users, Fahrrad XXL has conducted a study. Below is a summary of 11 main findings relating to social-geographical characteristics of electric cycle users.

11 main findings of the Electric Cycle Study 2020 by Fahrrad XXL

1. Buyers of electric cycles are mostly male: 71.6% men versus 27.6% women.

2. Electric cycles are popular among all ages. Based on this study, the majority (almost 75%) of electric cycle buyers are to be found in the three following age groups:

30-39 years – 25%
50-59 years – 24.8%
40-49 years – 23.5%

Nevertheless, 13.7 % of the participants were found in the group of 18-29 years and 0.4% in the group <18 years. The researchers conclude that electric cycles are also very interested for younger users and not only for older users.

Source: Fahrrad XLL

3. Electric cylces are especially popular with couples. The research found that a big majority (81.2%) of electric cycle buyers are in a registered partnership or married. Only 13% of the participants are single.

4. Electric cycles are found in a variety of residential areas based on the number of inhabitants:

Small villages (<5,000): 21.6%
City (between 5,001 and 20,000): 25.2%
City (between 20,001 and 100,000): 24.3%
City (between 100,001 and 1 million): 21.4%

5. Electric cycles and its users are found in multiple landscape types:

Hilly landscape: 53.4%.
Flat landscape: 29.4%
Mountainous landscape: 15.4%.

6. The popularity top 3 of electric cycles is:

Electric Mountain Bikes (MTB) are most popular: 43.7%.
Electric Trekking Cycles: 25.9%
Electric City and Urban Cyles: 13.6%

7. How long does it take consumers to complete a search for an electric cycle? 17.3% of the respondents finished their search within 1 month. In most cases (34.2%), the process of finding a suitable electric cycle took around 2 or 3 months. Some people took 4 or 5 months (19%) while 21.5% needed more than 6 months to complete their search.

8. There are several reasons why the participants decide or plan to buy an electric cycle. The top 3 reasons are listed below.

Less effort is needed in comparison with a conventional cycle: 66.3%
Riding an electric cycle is just fun: 59% (note that this especially relevant for E-MTB users)
Being able to make longer trips: 56.5%

9. What are the main characteristics of the electric cycles that convince people to buy one? Range, electric motor and weight appear to be more important than for example the brand of the electric cycle.

Battery size: 53.8%
Powerful electric motor: 42.8%
Well known battery of motor manufacturer: 32%.

10. There are also several barriers that people consider when planning to buy an electric cycle.

High purchase or maintenance costs
Potential risk of theft
Weight of an electric cycle

11. Do users of electric cycles also use conventional cycles? 44.9% of the participants mention that they use a conventional cycle in combination with an electric cycle. The researchers conclude that these users do not want to replace their conventional cycle. Around 19% of the participants state that they are not using conventional cycles anymore and they see the electric cycle as an replacement of the conventional one. A substantial group of electric cycle buyers (21.6%) has not used a conventional cycle before buying an electric one.

The original article is in German.

If you have any questions or feedback on the study, you can contact Fahrrad XXL at: studien@fahrrad-xxl.de.

Information about the study. This study was conducted through the Heilbron University of Applied sciences. Results of this study are gathered through an online survey that took place between 25 April 2020 and 7 May 2020. Based on a filtering question if the person already had an electric cycle or is planning to buy one, a dataset of 1,917 samples were retrieved and in total 1,374 (n) people participated. These people where contacted through internal and external channels.

Photo credits: Neomouv

Tag Archive: Electric Cycles