Estimates of world-wide sales of electric bikes and scooters for the interval 1995 through 2000 are illustrated in Figure 3.6-1. Data are from Jamerson (2000). Electric bikes and scooter sales are rising. They are still small compared to total bicycle sales, but the fact they are increasing is counter to trends in the sales of all bicycles. Jamerson states that bicycle manufacturing peaked in 1995 at 107 million units, then declined to 79 million units in 1998. Thus while electric bike and scooter sales accounted for 0.1 percent of bicycle sales in 1996, it rose to 0.45 percent in 1998. These are very small percentages, but when the total market is 80 to 100 million units, small percentages can represent significant market niches.
Jamerson’s estimates of sales of electric bikes and scooters by country or region are shown in Figure 3.6-2. The data indicate that electric bike and scooter sales, in addition to manufacturing, are concentrated in Asia, but that for the short time-period the data cover, there is a trend toward an increased proportion of sales to Europe and the United States. In 1998, 83 percent of electric bike and scooter sales were to China and Japan. In 1999 this dropped to 73 percent, and based on estimates for 2000, the percentage of world sales that are to China and Japan will decline to 69 percent. The proportion of bikes to scooters is very different from country to country. In the US, scooters—especially the style ridden while standing—account for 30 to 40 percent of “electric bike and scooter” sales; in Taiwan and Italy, it is the riding style scooter that predominates (Jamerson, 2000).
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