Tag Archive: electric motorcycles

  1. 2020: E-motorcycles & speed pedelecs push European L-category registrations forward

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    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.

    Statistics’ source: ACEM

    Electric Motorcycle Registrations

    Electric Moped Registrations

  2. E-Mopeds and E-Motorcycles are B(L)ooming in Europe

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    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.

  3. Belgian, Dutch and German LEV Markets 2020

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    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.

    Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

  4. CAKE Wins 2020 Automotive Brand Contest Award

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    05 May 2020 – LEVA-EU member  CAKE  announced that its utility-focused electric motorbike and scooter Ösa, has been named as a recipient of the coveted Automotive Brand Contest Award. Presented by the German Design Council, this high-profile international award recognizes outstanding automotive brand and design achievements in the automotive industry. This is the second Automotive Brand Contest awards for CAKE, having first won “Best of Best” for the Kalk OR at the 2018 Paris Motor Show.

    “Another ABC Award! And, this time, for the Ösa. It’s incredible. Being recognized and rewarded by the vehicle industry is among the most gratifying highlights for us – a bunch of people from the ‘outside’ with our roots in gravity sports,” remarked Stefan Ytterborn, founder and CEO of CAKE. “With the goal of transitioning society toward zero-emissions, we are determined to combine excitement with responsibility and to develop new electric motorbikes for leisure as well as for efficient transportation. We are honored to be noticed by the German Design Council and the Automotive Brand Contest for these efforts.”

    The Automotive Brand Contest is the only international design competition for automobile marques and has emerged as one of the important events in the sector. With the competition, the German Design Council honors outstanding product and communication design and draws attention to the fundamental importance of brand and brand design in the automotive industry. In this context, the focus is on the integral and consistent use of the brand across all media and products.

    Learn more about the Ösa @RideCake.

  5. CAKE Presents Kalk INK SL

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    LEVA-EU member CAKE, has announced the addition of the Kalk INK SL to its expanding line up of off-road electric motorcycles. This model is built to be a fast, hassle-free electric motorcycle that can explore nature and could zip around paved roads in an urban setting. As a fully street-legal electric motorcycle, Kalk INK SL is an ideal choice for riders looking to explore both on- and off-road.

    “We are stoked to be able to expand the urban CAKE presence with the new Kalk INK SL, which combines excellent off-road performance with efficient commuter qualities. This bike stems from the uncompromising and superlight Kalk&, but uses components, wheels, and suspension that are a bit more rigid, which means it’s straightforward to maintain and easy to use,” says founder and CEO of CAKE, Stefan Ytterborn. “With the launch of the Kalk INK SL, we introduce the fourth model of street-legal CAKE bikes next to the Kalk& and recently released Ösa+ and Ösa Lite. Each of these models combine excitement with responsibility to inspire a turn toward zero emissions, whether that’s in remote or urban environments.” 

    The Kalk INK SL is fully street-legal in the EU and US and has several new parts mounted such as indicators, a front headlight, rear brake lights, LED display, footbrake, and license plate holder. Gearing on the Kalk INK SL also differs slightly and top speeds have been enhanced to reach required highway limits – over 63mph/100kph. Riders can expect up to 3 hours of riding on a single charge.

  6. European Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) market shows continued growth

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    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.

  7. Cake Selected for Most Innovative Transportation Companies List

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    LEVA-EU member Cake has been selected for the list of Most Innovative Transportation Companies 2020 by Fast Company.

    CAKE is among the top ten transportation companies named in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list, which honours businesses throughout the world making a profound impact on both industry and culture. By establishing new categories of vehicles, combining excitement and responsibility, and serving a variety of different user groups with specific needs, CAKE aims to be a point of inspiration for people across the globe to speed up the journey toward a zero-emission society.

    “It is an extreme honour to reach through to the jury in the haze of zillions of interesting transportation initiatives happening around the globe. And considering the variety of companies in the category, including space, aero, automotive, public transport, rail, digital and more, it’s extra rewarding that an electric motorcycle explorer has made it to this list,” remarks Stefan Ytterborn, CEO & Founder of CAKE. “This is the kind of boosterism that brings the team to the next level. Thank you, Fast Company!”

    CAKE motorcycles break barriers by being ultra-lightweight with unprecedented reliability and durability. They offer industry-leading performance and invite riders to explore and discover with respect and responsibility.

    Find Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue of March/April 2020

  8. LEVA-EU collects Market Data on LEVs

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    The lack of market data is a persisting issue in the European LEV-business. LEVA-EU has now started to collect sales information on electric bicycles, speed pedelecs, electric mopeds, motorcycles and quadricycles for the European Union, Switzerland and Norway. Unfortunately, so far, no information is available on e-scooters.

    In a first step, LEVA-EU is collecting readily available information from trade press, related associations, etc. Until now, the information available was scattered around many different websites. LEVA-EU has brought all these pieces together in one file, which still has many gaps. But this is only the start of an excercise to be improved and continued.

    The information is for LEVA-EU members only. On top of this unique overview, LEVA-EU has a range of overviews and briefings on a variety of topics listed here: https://leva-eu.com/rules-regulations-leva-eu-briefings-available/

    The following overviews and briefings will be published before the end of the year:

    • Briefing on EN 15194:2017
    • Briefing on OBD for electric motorcycles
    • Briefing on CEN and ISO activities related to electric bikes and electric cargo bikes

    To find out more about all information LEVA-EU has to offer and/or about LEVA-EU Membership, please contact Annick Roetynck, tel. +32 475 500 588, email annick@leva-eu.com

     

    Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

  9. European Commission consults on OBD for electric L-category vehicles

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    EU Regulation 168/2013 on the type-approval for the L-category does not exempt pure electric vehicles (‘EVs’) from ‘functional’ OBD requirements (except for L1 and L2). Apart from the exemption from the Type VIII test. Nevertheless, the text of the Regulation is ambiguous and contains inconsistencies when it comes to this topic.

    The text of Annex XII of Regulation 44/2014 clearly indicates that only vehicles with combustion engines were considered during the drafting of that regulation.

    To solve this issue the European commission had created a task force consisting of the Commission, member states and stakeholders, including LEVA-EU. The objective is to achieve a common interpretation of Regulations 168/2013, 44/2014 and 3/2014 on the topic of OBD and to eventually make the Regulation clearer.

    It is obvious that all OBD requirements related to emission control systems and emission thresholds do not apply to electric L-category vehicles. The requirement to report the triggering of any operating mode, which significantly reduces engine torque would be applicable. Furthermore, there are relevant requirements related to access to OBD information, a connection interface, reporting on powertrain faults leading to significantly reduced torque and RMI.

    LEVA-EU believes it is essential for electric L-category vehicle producers to be involved in this process and therefore calls upon them to contact LEVA-EU manager Annick Roetynck for further details and consultation: tel. + 32 9 233 60 05, email annick@leva-eu.com

     

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