China's electric bicycle industry sees strong growth

China's electric bicycle industry has maintained stable growth despite a fall in overall production and exports of bicycles last year, the China Bicycle Association announced during the recent 31st China International Bicycle Fair in Shanghai.

According to the association, China had in 2022 produced 49.238 million electric bicycles, an increase of 8.2 percent year-on-year, and 51.352 million traditional bicycles, a drop of 32.8 percent compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, the export volume of traditional bicycles in 2022 dropped to 41.739 million, a decrease of 39.7 percent from the previous year.

"The main reason for the decline in production and exports of bicycles is fewer overseas orders," said Guo Wenyu, the chairman of the association. "In 2021, the epidemic resulted in a peak in orders, and the industry is currently still in a state of 'digesting' inventory, hence the sluggish demand for new orders."

Guo predicted that the growth of the traditional bicycle industry will remain flat or even dip slightly in 2023, but he is also optimistic about the growth of electric bicycles, noting that the demand for electric bicycles in Europe, the US and Southeast Asian has been growing.

Guo pointed out that high-end bicycles, traditional or electric, are also growing in popularity.

"Electric bicycles are becoming lighter and have more intelligent functions. In particular, smart lithium-ion electric bicycles are highly favored by young consumers," he said.

China is the world's largest producer and exporter of bicycles, with both its bicycle production and trade accounting for nearly 70 percent of the world's total, according to the association.

The overall revenue of enterprises in China's bicycles and electric bicycles sectors totaled 210 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of three percent.