At two million units, the German e-bike market held steady in 2025, after the volatile market during pandemic years. The sales volume has been around this level since 2023. The same goes for mechanical bicycles, whose sales volume has remained steady over the past three years at just under two million units. To grow the market, the industry should therefore focus on increasing the average retail price, but that continued to decline in 2025. No wonder the industry organisations emphasised the growing popularity of bike leasing and refurbishing at their joint presentation of the 2025 market results.

The bicycle industry is entering a new phase of digital maturity. Connected e-bikes, rider apps and smart diagnostics are generating unprecedented volumes of user data, turning bikes into "a data collector on wheels." Bike Europe sat down with Paolo Balboni, an expert European lawyer specialised in privacy, data sharing and cybersecurity law, to better understand how companies can mitigate risk and stay compliant.

2025 proved to be a year of tariff changes, geopolitical shifts and withheld imports in the United States bicycle market, leading to significant shifts in a market where China had previously enjoyed a stronghold. China's market share fell from 85% in 2024 to 67% in 2025. In actual numbers, around 5.7 million units were imported into the US from China, a 40% drop compared to 2024. In total, bicycle imports into the US only dropped 21%, meaning someone made considerable gains - Cambodia.

As the world's leading bicycle component supplier, there is no better thermometer for the industry than Shimano. For fiscal year 2025, the Japanese manufacturer reported a 2.7% increase in net sales in bicycle components - a slight glimmer of hope that an industry rebound is imminent.

In 2025, the total export value of bicycles from Portugal increased by 4.26% to €777.1 million. The latest report from the industry association Abimota reveals a recovery in the country's bicycle and e-bike exports after two years of decline. The latest Abimota report does not disclose the export volume.

As the industry seeks to align the supply chain and match demand more effectively, reliable market data becomes essential. To provide the much-needed sourcing information and mid-term outlook, the Global Bicycle Purchasing Index (GBPI) serves as an indicator that anticipates future trends. Bike Europe discussed with Schwalbe's Head of Supply Chain Management, Vanessa Schulte, how the GBPI supports Schwalbe in the planning process.