(BRAIN) — The Austrian bicycle trade association is calling on the government to renew an e-bike subsidy program as it reports that e-bikes accounted for 57% of bike unit sales last year, up 5% from the year before.
The group says that is the highest e-bike share in Europe and said the segment growth is thanks to government subsidies for purchase of folding e-bikes and e-cargo bikes.
E-bikes have been the majority of bike sold in Austria since 2023.
The subsidies of up to 900 euros for an e-cargo bike and up to 500 euros for a folding e-bike were the result of a joint initiative between the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection and the sports and bicycle trade, said Michael Nendwich, spokesperson for the sporting goods trade at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and managing director of the Austrian Association of Sporting Goods Manufacturers and Retailers (VSSÖ), which released the figures.
The group is calling on elected officials to continue the subsidies, which expired at the end of 2024.
In 2024, more than 8,400 folding e-bikes and just under 8,000 e-cargo bikes were sold by the Austrian industry to retailers.
Overall, the bicycle industry in Austria generated 1.055 billion euros last year, the fourth year that the sales were over a billion euros.
