With technology steadily advancing, you may be wondering what transportation has in store. In addition to the growing popularity of electric vehicles, e-bikes are sweeping the world as a not-as-new-as-you-may-think phenomenon! Read on to discover where in the world e-bikes are the most popular and how far the market has come. E-Bikes Versus Electric Vehicles While the United States is typically a little slower to accept new sustainable technologies, e-bikes had far better sales in 2020 than plug-in cars. While this is likely due to the accessibility of bikes over electric vehicles, it still shows a growing demand for alternative transportation solutions and bodes well for the future of electric traffic. China and Europe The biggest e-bike market globally is found in China, with Western Europe following close behind. Electric bicycles are far more accessible in China because they use lead-acid batteries. This reduces the cost of the average e-bike significantly, although they also require frequent maintenance and won’t last as long as the lithium-ion batteries sold in Europe and the US. Europeans bought 2.6 million e-bikes in 2018 alone, while the US saw 500,000 electric bicycle sales in 2020. The layout of European cities may have a lot to do with the success of the e-bike—whereas American cities are often sprawling, European cities are compact and far more bike-able. E-Bike Growth Nationally The United States has been quite slow to accept the growing trend of electric bicycles. However, as you can see from the difference between e-bike sales and electric vehicle sales, that doesn’t mean they’re not steadily growing in popularity! The high cost of a new e-bike is prohibitively expensive for many people, but thankfully, there’s another option. A complete e-bike kit allows you to convert a regular bicycle into an e-bike with minimal effort and at a significantly lower price. Now that you know where in the world e-bikes are the most popular, hop on a bicycle and ride into the future of transportation!
