CNBC Business | Next in: Personal transport

Next in: Personal transport

Pedal  electric

While millions of litres of ink have been used imagining the electric car, which never seems to get off the drawing board, hundreds of thousands of electric bikes are already silently weaving their way throughout Europe. Indeed, if a rapidly swelling army of manufacturers is to be believed, eBikes will soon outflank scooters and cars in cities all over the world. According to the Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports, 750,000 eBikes will be sold in 2009 in Europe, a threefold increase on the units shifted in 2007, of which nearly half were sold in the Netherlands, which has a strong bike culture.  

Cees Steijn, chief executive of Amazing Wheels, a Dutch importer of top-of-the-line, Swiss-made Flyer eBikes, says that while “some markets such as the UK and US are well behind mainland Europe they are just about to explode.” The American National Bicycle Dealers Association says that just 10,000 eBikes were sold in the US in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006. Meanwhile, 60,000 eBikes were sold in Germany in 2007, a figure that is set to balloon to 120,000 this year, according to Hannes Neupert, manager of ExtraEnergy. At this year’s Eurobike event in Germany, a Zeppelin hangar was transformed into a test track for eBikes from all over the world.  

Although the majority are made in Taiwan or mainland China, the top designs are increasingly European. While most resemble sturdy utility bikes, there are a growing number of alternative designs aimed at a younger audience, such as Swiss-based E-Bikeboard, a three-wheeled scooter with rear suspension allowing the ‘carving’ sensation of skiing.  

In most countries eBikes are treated no differently than bicycles, so owners need not worry about parking, licences, helmets and insurance. Meanwhile, the cost-per-kilometre of operation is as little as €0.01, trouncing competing forms of powered personal transport. 

Most eBikes are limited to 25 km/h and only work when the cranks are turned by the rider, thus remaining assisted bicycles. The best have overcome the constraint of heavy batteries with lithium-ion units, enabling ranges of up to 100km, but price (€700—€5,000) remains a limiting factor.