Brussels – Cycling is no longer fashionable. In 2023, EU bicycle production shrank 24 percent in one year. In 2023, production totaled 9.7 million units, down from 12.7 million ‘made in EU’ bikes a year earlier. According to non-confidential data available to Eurostat, the largest European producer of bicycles in 2023 was Portugal, with 1.8 million units, followed by Romania (1.5 million), Italy (1.2 million) and Poland (0.8 million).
It was a widespread decline. The European Statistical Institute notes that production fell in 14 member states between 2022 and 2023. Romania (-1.0 million units) experienced the most significant drop, followed by Italy (-0.7 million) and Portugal (nearly -0.4 million). Who knows if the attention in 2024 to the eco-friendly two-wheeler will contribute to revitalizing the bike market? The new data will have the task of answering.