Massive Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Giant has reported huge sales revenue from e-bikes and standard bikes for the first quarter of this year.
Revenue is up 55% for the first quarter of 2021.
More astonishingly, e-bikes are 30% of all sales revenue.
Giant’s own branded e-bikes revenue jumped 108% over the same period last year, with income from bikes it makes for other companies also on the rise.
A strong driver of the steepling e-bike business has been the strong growth of the European market for pedelecs.
European governments have realised the transformative impact that electrical assist bikes can have on the transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles.
In many nations, including Australia, governments and policy makers are still obsessed with planning a shift to electric cars, while Europe has woken up that very small subsidies for electric bikes and cargo bikes can lead to changes in travel behaviours that will impact climate change much more cost-effectively.
Companies such as Giant have seized the opportunities.
While standard bicycles are a low margin business in the mass market sector, e-bikes are raking in the profits.
They are more expensive, the margins are fat, and they are flying off the shelves because they are seen by customers as great value compared to a car.
All this revenue means that the bike manufacturers can invest heavily in technological and mechanical improvements.
Expect to see really redefined and sophisticated e-bikes in the bike shops soon.
Giant predicts that the rollout globally of the COVID-19 vaccine will see people keen to get out on bikes after more than a year of restrictions.
A cloud on the horizon has been the shortage of inventory around the world due to the COVID-19 bike boom, however the company has invested heavily in new factories around the world in recent years so is confident of keeping supplies flowing.
However the company warns that fluctuating materials costs, and rising shipping costs may impact future profitability.