New tracker provides accurate information on 400 government incentives and subsidies for small electric vehicles in over 30 countries, allowing users to compare and choose preferences.
A ground-breaking new tool developed by Micromobility Industries and Ride Review, has been launched to aid individuals in the purchase of small electric vehicles, e-bikes, scooters and mopeds, for example. The Micromobility Global Incentives and Subsidy Tracker is a unique database of information on over 400 government directives from over 30 countries, detailing information on relevant regulations and policies, and links to each program on the government’s website. This allows users to compare and choose the best option for them.
With a focus on sustainability, health, enjoyment and cost-effective transport modes, small electric vehicles have surged in popularity in more recent years. The initial outlay remains the primary stumbling block for users, so any information on government incentives and subsidies that will encourage use and promote sustainability are essential.
James Gross, CEO of Micromobility Industries and Ride Review commented, “The first challenge is people don’t know these incentives might be available to them and the second challenge is that many government websites are hard to parse and understand. By providing a centralized database of information on incentives and subsidies for small electric vehicles, the tracker will help individuals make more informed decisions. It will also support policymakers and industry stakeholders in understanding the landscape of incentives and subsidies for small electric vehicles, and how they can be improved to better support sustainable mobility.”
Co-Founder of Micromobility Industries, Horace Dediu, declared, “The launch of the tracker is an important step forward for the micromobility industry as a whole. As more individuals, organizations and governments recognize the benefits of small electric vehicles for sustainable and cost-effective transportation, this tool will play a critical role in supporting their adoption and promoting micromobility around the world.”
About Micromoblity Industries and Ride Review
Micromobility Industries is a leading research and advisory firm focused on the micromobility industry. This includes ebikes, mopeds, scooters and other small electric vehicles. Micromobility is the fastest growing mode of transportation and the company organises large events and supplies media products like The Micromobility Landscape to the market. Tactical consulting, research and analysis are also offered to governments and organisations looking to explore the rapidly growing sector. See more at https://micromobility.io/ Ride Review is the largest collection of reviews from independent experts on small electric vehicles. You can see more at https://ridereview.com/https://ridereview.com/
Comments Off on 2020: E-motorcycles & speed pedelecs push European L-category registrations forward
Last year, the European motorcycle market only continued to grow thanks to increased sales of electric vehicles. Electric mopeds already achieve a share of more than 20 % in registrations. That is largely to the credit of speed pedelecs.
2020 was a symbolically important year for electric motorcycles. It was only thanks to them that the total EU market continued to grow. Their registrations jumped from 12,263 to 18,620, almost 52% growth. The registration of internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles completely stagnated, despite increased pre-registrations due to the validity of Euro 4 approvals ending on 31 December 2020. The share of electric motorcycles in total registration rose from 1.4 to 2.1%. The Corona-crisis appears to have had a rather beneficial effect on e-motorcycle sales with significant increases in most months except in April, June, October and November.
Spain remained the largest market with 6,370 registrations, which is plus 7%. The biggest growth however occurred in Italy where registrations were almost 3.5 times higher than in 2019. Italy became the second biggest market with more than 5,600 registrations. In 2020, the country had a € 1.3 million budget for scrapping ICE- and purchasing electric L-category vehicles. France on number 3 booked 30.5% more and Germany 53.6%. France also has a national incentives’ program, while Germany only has measures in place in a few regions.
Electric moped registrations also increased, but only by 12.5% from 52,000 to 58,500. That was 1% less than then the growth of the total moped market. E-mopeds already have a 21% share in total registrations. It should be taken into account that these number include speed pedelecs. In 2 countries, registrations made a major leap of more than 50%. The Netherlands jumped over Belgium to become number one with just under 20,000 registrations. The Netherlands offer extensive tax exemption and deduction for e-vehicles. In Spain, registrations increased from + 5,500 tot + 8,500.
In two countries, registrations declined: with more than 20% in France to just under 11,000 and with 10% in Belgium to almost 14,400. In reality, the Belgian e-moped registrations only included 1,891 conventional e-mopeds. That was almost 40% less than in 2019. This decline was due to the deletion of the successful Flemish subsidy for e-mopeds (excluding speed pedelecs). Of the Belgian 14,400 registrations last year, 12,500 were speed pedelecs.
Comments Off on E-Mopeds and E-Motorcycles are B(L)ooming in Europe
ACEM has published the electric moped and motorcycle registrations up to September 2020 for a number of key member states. In spite of the Corona-crisis, the market is soaring.
The electric motorcycle statistics include France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. In these countries a range of subsidies and other financial incentives are in place to push the transition to electric. The efforts are clearly paying off, with double, sometimes even triple digits’ growth. The biggest market is currently Spain, which registered almost 5,000 new e-motorcycles, followed by Italy and France.
The Corona-crisis only had a clear impact in April, when registrations definitely dwindled due to lockdown. However, this was more than compensated in May when registrations for these countries jumped to 2,428, almost 4 times more than in May 2019.
The share of e-motorcycles in total registrations still is only 2% but that is double the 2019 result. Whilst electric motorcycles have grown considerably, their ICE counterparts lost 4%.
As for mopeds, ACEM reported on Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Total registrations for these countries increased by 12.6% to 45,205. They now have a respectable share of 6.4% in total registrations, a growth of one percentage point. Their ICE counterparts lost 4.2%. The decline of petrol mopeds and growth of electric versions has been going on for several years now. It has to be kept in mind however that moped registrations include speed pedelecs and in some countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, these reach significant numbers.
In Belgium, for instance, the total of 11,305 mopeds includes 9,636 speed pedelecs. Total moped registrations in Belgium lost 10.8% in comparison to the same period in 2019. The loss is entirely due to traditional e-mopeds. The Flemish subsidy for these finished end 2019 and that had an immediate impact on sales. Thanks to the subsidy, e-mopeds up to 45 km/h (excl. speed pedelecs) jumped from 1,311 in 2018 to 3,018 in 2019. At the end of October 2020, only 1,617 had been registered.
In France, registrations went down by more than 30%. This is not just due to Covid-19. The statistics went into red from the start of the year. March and April were particularly bad, whereas since June some recovery appears to be underway. Apart from these disappointing results, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain posted excellent numbers with growth of 83%, 51% and 76% respectively.
All in all, the market is booming and blooming. Perhaps, the Corona-crisis has some positive impacts. People may have purchased a moped or motorcycle to avoid public transport. The good weather in Spring and Summer were perhaps also a stimulating factor. And maybe the fact the pandemic often resulted in less cars, vans and trucks on the road gave would-be motorcyclists the impression of safer riding conditions, thus winning them over.
Comments Off on Belgian, Dutch and German LEV Markets 2020
The Netherlands
As for electric bicycle sales in the Netherlands, by the 1 June 2020, a total of 149,000 e-bikes had been sold. This is a 12% increase compared to the first five months of 2019. In the month of May alone, around 58,000 electric bicycles have been sold, which is an all-time month record and growth of 38.0% compared to May 2019 according a GfK study commissioned by BOVAG.
In the first nine months of this year a total of 3,754 speed pedelecs (L1e-B) have been sold according to Raivereniging. This represent a growth of around 55.1% compared to 2019 (2,421). At the top of the sales’ charts remains Stromer, who sold most speed pedelecs in the Netherlands both in the first nine months of 2019 and 2020. Gazelle and Riese & Müller came respectively second and third in 2020, switching their 2019 positions.
Belgium
Accurate statistics about electric bicycles sales in Belgium are hardly available. However, there is up to date information on the registration of speed pedelecs (L1e-B) at the Dienst Inschrijving Voertuigen (DIV). A total of 9,636 speed have been registered at the DIV in the first 9 months of 2020. This is a decrease of 3.1% compared to the same period in 2019.
In Belgium there are 2 types of electric mopeds that are allowed on the road: category A with a maximum design speed of 25 km/h and category B with a maximum design speed of 45 km/h.
A total of 416 electric A-mopeds have been registered at the DIV in the first nine months in 2020. This is an increase of 28.0% compared to the same period last year. As for electric B-mopeds, a total of 1,553 were registered as opposed to 3,211 registrations for the same period in 2019, that is 51.6%. This bad result is due to the sudden and unexpected decision to stop subsidies for electric mopeds.
For Belgium and the Netherlands, it is worth noting that the corona lockdown has delayed supplies and therefore also registrations of speed pedelecs and electric mopeds. It remains to be seen whether the backlog will be made up in the rest of the year.
Germany
According to data by the German bicycle industry organization ZIV, around 1.1 million e-bikes have been sold in the first six months of 2020. This represents a growth of just under 16% compared to the same period last year. It is unknown to what extend speed pedelecs are included within this data.
In the case of electric motorcycle registrations, there were a total of 1,045 pieces registered in Germany this year. Compared to the same period in 2019, that is a slight increase of just over 3.5% according data by ACEM.
Comments Off on UK allows E-Scooters and E-Mopeds without Type-Approval
Since 4 July, the UK allows for trials with e-scooters on public roads. However, their change in national legislation is such that not only e-scooters but also light electric mopeds without type-approval are allowed. This is in breach of current EU legislation but fully in line with LEVA-EU’s proposals to the European Commission. LEVA-EU works for an exclusion of all electric vehicles up to a certain speed and weight limit from type-approval.
Despite the fact that e-scooters were booming in Europe, the Netherlands and the UK continued to deny these vehicles access to public roads. Due to the accident with the Stint, the Dutch government ended up in a permanent cramp with regard to regulations for e-scooters and other light electric vehicles (LEVs). The ban in the UK seemed primarily inspired by fear of the risks that e-scooters would pose to pedestrians.
U-turn
Ultimately, it was COVID-19 that convinced the British government. During the lockdown, numerous British cities took single-handed measures to facilitate and even encourage so-called active travel. Although the lockdown is over, COVID-19 continues to cause serious problems for public transport. E-scooters are a sustainable solution for shorter trips in the city, whilst observing social distancing.
The British government made a U-turn by allowing trials with e-scooters since July 4. These large-scale projects must allow for a final decision on the legalization of the vehicles. Tests may be launched until August 20, 2020 and will run for 12 months. Meanwhile, the British Department for Transport (DfT) has published a guide with all the technical requirements and terms of use for e-scooters. It contains some remarkable elements.
According to DfT, e-scooters have a road presence that is largely comparable to bicycles and electric bicycles up to 25 km/h (EPACs). They have similar dimensions and visibility for other road users. Although, for the time being, the e-scooters should be categorized as motor vehicles, the trial period will be used to investigate whether they should have the same legal status as EPACs. So, for now, users must have a motor vehicle insurance and at least an AM driving license. However, that could ultimately lapse, as is already the case in Belgium, for instance.
With or without saddle
And then there are the technical requirements for which the UK has decided to put aside European legislation and set its own course. The e-scooters may have a motor with a maximum continuous rated power of 500W. They must not weigh more than 55 kg, battery included, and not exceed 15.5 mph (+ 25 km / h). The biggest surprise, however, is the provision that the e-scooters may have a saddle.
In the EU, e-scooters with saddle are in the scope of the L category and must therefore be type-approved as L1e-B “moped”. As a result of the British decision, not only e-scooters with a saddle without type approval are allowed on the road, but also all other two-wheeled vehicles that need to be type-approved in the EU, insofar as their speed, power and weight are limited and they don’t have pedals. It is striking that the power limit is set at 500 W, while for the time being EPACs are limited to 250 W in both the UK and Europe.
Legal bottlenecks
The UK has done exactly what LEVA-EU has been advocating vis-à-vis the European Commission. All LEVs up to a certain speed and weight, regardless of their technology, must be removed from the L-category. This will automatically bring the LEVs in the scope of the Machinery Directive and further technical requirements can be developed through harmonized standards, as is already the case for EPACs. The fact that this constitutes an efficient and safe legal framework is proven by the millions of EPACs now already on European roads without exceptional risks.
On the other hand, LEVs that fall under the L-category hardly get off the ground. In L1e-A “powered cycles”, for example, the number of homologations is virtually non-existent. And the fact that everything above 250W belongs to the L-category also weighs heavily on the development of electric cargo bikes. Still, COVID-19 has also proved that these vehicles urgently need further development, all the more since they are a godsend to help decarbonise the logistics sector.
On the other hand, there are currently a lot of e-scooters with saddles in the EU that are not type-approved and therefore illegal (see https://bit.ly/3gHVSQU) LEVA-EU is eagerly awaiting the results of the British trials, but continues in the meantime to urge the European Commission to quickly resolve the legal bottlenecks in European legislation.
Below are the main requirements for e-scooters as listed in the DfT guide. The full version of the guide is here.
Vehicle design: current position (art. 3.1.)
An e-scooter will continue to fall within the statutory definition of a motor vehicle. DfT define the sub-category of an e-scooter as being a motor vehicle that:
Is fitted with no motor other than an electric motor with a maximum continuous power rating of 500W and is not fitted with pedals that are capable of propelling the vehicle.
Is designed to carry no more than one person.
Has a maximum speed not exceeding 15.5 mph.
Has 2 wheels, 1 front and 1 rear, aligned along the direction of travel.
Has a mass including the battery, but excluding the rider, not exceeding 55kg.
Has means of directional control via the use of handlebars that are mechanically linked to the steered wheel.
Has means of controlling the speed via hand controls and a power control that defaults to the ‘off’ position.
Terms of use (art. 3.2.)
E-scooters in trials need to be covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy. Rental operators must ensure a policy is in place that covers users of the vehicles.
E-scooter users need to have at least a valid AM driving license.
Wearing a helmet is not mandatory but recommended.
Use on the Road (art. 3.3.)
E-scooters are allowed to use the same road space as cycles and EAPCs.
Comments Off on EU LEV market continues to grow and flourish
The 2019 results for the European light, electric vehicle (LEV) market show a sector that continues to grow and prosper in all its segments. This is largely due to the fact that LEVs are sustainable means of transport, which become more and more popular as a solution to escape congestion, to prevent further damage to our climate and, importantly, a fun way of moving around that has an overall positive impact on public health.
The Corona-crisis has unexpectedly put that health benefit of LEVs even more in the spotlight. Unfortunately, among policymakers, especially at EU level, there is still a huge lack of awareness as to the potential contribution of LEVs in making transport more sustainable. LEVA-EU works tirelessly to raise that awareness, to encourage policy-makers to design policies and legislation that encourage LEVs as well as to remove the various legal bottlenecks, which continue to seriously hinder the market development and uptake of LEVs.
Even though there is still a lack of consistent statistical material, LEVA-EU is meticulously gathering statistics from all available sources and has brought these statistics together in one clear document for its members. The main conclusions for 2019 are as follows.
Electric bicycles
Total e-bike sales for 2019 currently stand at 2,285 million, which is quite a bit lower than the almost 2.8 million sold in 2018. However, not all member states have published their final 2019 results. The final total is expected to be at least around 3 million.
The biggest e-bike market is Germany where 1.36 million were sold last year, followed by the Netherlands, 423,000, and Belgium, 238,000. These are also the countries where e-bikes have the highest share in total bike sales, i.e. 31.5%, 42% and 51% respectively.
The biggest market for speed pedelecs is Belgium with a total of 13,416 last year. Belgium is the only speed pedelec market that constantly grows. This is because Belgium is the only EU member states that has made special provisions to accommodate the speed pedelec in their traffic code (see https://bit.ly/2VVEvUW)
Electric mopeds
The biggest market in 2019 for electric mopeds was Belgium, with just about 16,000 registrations, i.e. almost 56% up. In 2019 there was still a subsidy for e-mopeds available, which unfortunately has been abandoned in the meantime. France is the second market with almost 14,000 registrations (+33.5%), followed by the Netherlands with just under 12,500 registrations (+52.6%).
Finally, we also have a first statistic on the sales of Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEVs) such as e-scooters, self-balancing vehicles, e-monowheels, e-hoverboards and other PLEVs excluded from the L-category. In France, total sales reached more than 605,000 vehicles, that is “only” 5% more than in 2018, but 400% up since 2016.
For more detailed statistics, please contact Annick Roetynck at LEVA-EU: annick@leva-eu.com, tel. +32 9 233 60 05.
Currently there are big changes taking place within the transport sector. Overall trends such as digitalization and servitization of the transport system influence the conditions for development of regulations in different transport authorities. In light of this Sweden in general and Stockholm in particular, has seen an emergence of a new form of electric moped vehicles.
The Swedish Transport Agency has identified the need to determine if the taxi law’s current definition is sufficient. Is there a need to regulate the new types of taxi vehicles to reach the transport policy objectives?
At the request of the Swedish Transport Agency, Trivector has carried out a study regarding the conditions for moped taxis. The study consists of:
A compilation of international examples and knowledge in the field
An analysis of the effects that the new types of taxis have on the transport policy objectives
Suggestions of measures to handle new types of taxi vehicles.
Coordinate legislation to steer development in the right direction
The study underlines the need to work with different scenarios regarding future moped taxis and a better way of using legislation to steer towards the transport policy goals. Important research efforts in this field will be needed concerning the coordination of legislation and regulation of micro-mobility as well as small mobility vehicles. This is partly done through a related study about electrical scooters. Moreover, there is a need for a holistic approach to new forms of mobility and different mobility services.
“An important conclusion of the study is that in the future, new methods are needed to develop the legal framework in cooperation with the different relevant players in the industry,” says Christian Dymén, researcher at Trivector Traffic and project manager of the study.
The development of new mobility services is fast-paced and places new requirements on innovative rulemaking and a closer dialogue with new types of stakeholders. It is becoming increasingly important for the legislators to have a close dialogue with the new players in the industry as well as with the actors who work with urban planning, to understand how legislation should be designed to steer towards the right benefits.
In the adaptation of the transport system, legislation is essential in helping to steer the development in the direction of the transport policy objectives.
LEVA-EU collects all available statistics on LEVs to provide its members with an overview and thus a better insight into the EU market. The preliminary results for 2019, albeit not complete yet, are very promising.
The electric bicycle market in Europe continues to grow. Not all national results are known yet. Therefore, total EU sales cannot be definitively calculated yet, but it looks very likely for total sales of electric bikes to surpass the mark of 3 million. The lion share of these bicycles were sold in Germany, where for the first time the magical limit of 1 million was exceeded. There is little doubt that the one and a half million mark will be exceeded this year.
Sales of electric mountain bikes have increased with almost 47% in Germany, to just under 360,000, and with more than 24% in Switzerland to a good 50,000. The results for other “E-MTB countries” such as Austria or France are not known yet.
As we already reported, there is only 1 steadily growing speed pedelec market, i.e. Belgium. This is due to the fact that Belgium has amended its traffic code to accommodate speed pedelecs. As a result, the traffic rules for speed pedelecs are fairly clear. Moreover, speed pedelec commuters can enjoy a compensation of up to € 0.24 per km, tax-free. In the past year, 106 test riders commuted on a speed pedelec for 3 weeks in a row in the framework of the 365SNEL project. They covered an average of 21.6 km a day. So, this can result in more than € 1,300 extra per year, tax-free.
A total of 13,154 were sold in Belgium, that is 54.4% more than in 2018. Germany and the Netherlands, respectively second and third market are a lot smaller and unstable.
For the third year in a row, European electric moped sales have made a big leap, in 2019 of almost 50% to just under 60,000 vehicles. It should be noted that these figures include speed pedelecs, which are registered as mopeds. EU sales of speed pedelecs are estimated at around 25,000 in 2019. That is getting close to half of all e-moped sales.
Finally, in 2019 electric motorcycle sales more than doubled to 14,111. However, it is still very much a niche market with only 1.3% share in total motorcycle registrations.
If you are looking for any further details on EU LEV-statistics or any other aspect of the European LEV-market, you should consider joining LEVA-EU. All further details are here or contact Annick Roetynck at +32 9 233 60 05, email annick@leva-eu.com.
Since the 1st January 2018, the homologation of unsold L1e vehicles (mopeds and speed pedelecs) type-approved according to Directive 2002/24 has become invalid. As a result, these vehicles could no longer be sold, unless they had been registered for end-of-series in the member state where they were meant to be sold. This procedure be applied for a maximum of 100 vehicles or 10% of the number of vehicles the company had sold in 2016 and 2017 in that member state. Companies were entitled to make use of the highest number, whichever that was.
The end-of-series vehicles had to be registered with the competent authority of the member state. Upon registration, companies were entitled to sell the 2002/24 type-approved vehicles until 31st December 2019.
So, on the last day of this year the end-of-series measures expire and as of 1 January 2020 vehicles type-approved according to Directive 2002/24 may no longer be sold.
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