Banca Ifis: e-bike boom in Italy and record turnover in the bicycle sector

2022 marked a +10% for Italian bike and component manufacturers, reaching the historic threshold of 2.0 billion euros for the first time.

This is the main data that emerges from the third edition of “Bicycle Ecosystem”, the annual report developed by Ifis Bank which photographs the progress and prospects of one of the leading sectors of the sustainable transition, presented in Cesena on the occasion of the "Italian Cycle Tourism Oscar 2023".

There are in fact three main factors driving the sector:

1.  the search for increasingly sustainable mobility by citizens;
2.  the increase in consensus for cycle tourism, thanks also to the many projects introduced at a local level;
3. the strong acceleration of e-bike production.

“The bicycle represents the perfect synthesis of innovation, technology, people's well-being and prosperity of businesses and territories. In a word, the bicycle is sustainability, economic and social. AND this is the reason why we wanted to propose the third edition of "Bicycle Ecosystem", the observatory of our Research Office which, every year, offers an original perspective on a sector that is confirms lively driving force of our economy and vehicle for promoting our territories. As a Bank serving Italian SMEs for forty years, we are perfectly aware of the importance of a sector, such as bicycle production, which increasingly generates positive impacts on the environment, people and communities" he has declared Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, President of Banca Ifis.

Italian bicycle production

In 2022, the Italian bicycle production sector recorded approximately 2.0 billion euros in turnover, a growing figure +10% compared to 2021 which had already proved to be a record year.

What pushed the sector was above all the growth in the production of electric bicycles, just think that, according to Banca Ifis reports, in the three-year period 2019-22 the average growth rate of e-bike production was +21%.

Relative to 2023, the "Bicycle Ecosystem" report prepared by Banca Ifis confirms a positive trend of further growth, with turnover expected to rise further to 6%.

The sector will be driven above all by the manufacturers' plans which foresee a strong acceleration in 5 macro categories: digital technology, staff training, research and development, energy saving and sustainability.

The Italian ebike production sector also confirms a positive outlook for 2023 and, more generally, for the next five years in which it is estimated that the turnover of the world market will grow at an average rate of 15.4% per year.

The sector will be driven above all by investments in technology and, in particular, in the battery management system and in 5G connectivity.

2023: the year of cycle tourism

The report also highlights how in 2022 the bicycle touring has established himself as one of the incentive factors the development of the Italian bicycle ecosystem.

In particular, the study highlighted how during 2022 the bicycle was the travel companion for 6.3 million tourists in Italy.

The economic impact of this particular type of tourism has materialized in 7.4 billion euros spent from which, as far as actual cycle tourism is concerned, accommodation facilities (1.4 billion euros), catering (0.8 billion), clothing (0.5 billion) and leisure activities (0.3 billion) have benefited in particular ).

The outlook for cycle tourism remains positive also in 2023: the report highlights how the revenues of tour operators active in cycle tourism are expected to grow by +15%.

Above all, however, the future development of the sector will be encouraged three trends:

1. the increase in ebike production;
2. the increase in cycle paths, requested by the 45% of cycle tourists
3. the increase in the organization of group tours, requested by the 71% of foreigners.

Finally, again from a future perspective, an important driving force for the sector is represented by the ability to team up with local businesses.

In 2022, as many as 72% of the companies active in cycle tourism have activated one or more collaborations with other local entities to carry out dedicated projects: this share

is seen growing by 7%, reaching 79% in 2023.

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