Portugal consolidates as the largest manufacturer of bikes from all over Europe. During 2022, its exports reached 815 million euros, achieving a new record powered mainly by electrics, that gives hope to the sector. Regarding the figures for 2021, the growth of the Portuguese country in this sector was 37%.
“We wait continue to be leaders“, assures EFE the general secretary of the National Association of the Two-Wheeled Industries (Abimota) lusa, Gil Nadais, who breaks down the numbers: 367 million euros were exported in conventional bicycles, 287 million in electric and another 161 million in components.
Your goal is to keep growing
with every time more measures to promote the use of bicycles, based on climate goals and the promotion of new forms of mobility, the bicycle industry in Portugal is preparing to continue growing. “We are making a strong commitment because in Portugal, supported by funds from the recovery and resilience planthe companies in the sector are going to invest more than 200 million euros in modernizing their production lines, producing new components and innovating”, highlights the general secretary of Abimota.
The first figures indicate that 2023 will be another year of increases. “In January we increased exports 22% compared to January of the previous year. Let’s see the next few months. We hope this trend will continue,” concludes Nadais.
Portugal sells its bicycles, especially to countries like Germany, Holland, France and Spain, and the sector is confident that the numbers are the prelude to another year with the country at the top of the manufacturers’ podium, waiting for Eurostat to publish the data for the continent. The Portuguese country leads production since 2019when it manufactured 2.7 million bicycles, and the number has not stopped growing: in 2021 there were a total of 2.9 million, according to the European statistical office.
From Abimota they emphasize that the greatest increase is registered in electric bicycles, whose exports are getting closer and closer to those of conventional bikes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this year we started to export more electric bicycles than conventional bicycles,” says Nadais.
The Portuguese pedal little
Paradoxically, the European country that produces the most bicycles He is one of the least pedaling, since a 2020 Eurobarometer placed Portugal among those that used this medium the least, along with Cyprus. None of the citizens surveyed from both countries stated that they used this means of transport for their day-to-day travel.
Even so, in the sector they trust that the situation will change: “More and more people are seen riding bicycles,” says the leader of Abimota. To promote its use, Portugal has been the first country to take advantage of the authorization of the European Union to apply reduced VAT to velocipedes and since last January the purchase and repair of bicycles is taxed at 6%. It has also maintained in 2023 the support for the purchase of bicycles, both conventional and electric and cargo, with financing from the Environmental Fund.
