Romania becomes second largest bicycle producer in EU
Romania placed second among EU countries that produced the most bicycles in 2021, according to data published by Eurostat. Roughly 2.5 million units were produced by Romanian manufacturers last year.
Portugal (2.9 million) was first, followed by Romania, Italy (1.9 million), Germany (1.4 million), and Poland (1.2 million). Overall, 13.5 million bicycles were produced in the EU in 2021.
Countries part of the Union collectively exported conventional and electric bicycles worth EUR 921 mln to third countries last year. Roughly 1.48 million were conventional, worth around EUR 433 mln. The number of conventional bicycles meant for export increased by 16% in 2021.
Over 315,000 electric bikes worth approximately EUR 488 mln were also exported, a 15% increase.
The same year, however, EU countries imported 5.74 million non-electric bicycles worth over EUR 1 bln, a 17% increase relative to 2020. They also imported 1.14 million electric bikes worth EUR 849 mln. E-bike imports increased by 37% in 2021.
The United Kingdom and Switzerland were the main destinations for European bicycle exports. The UK was the main destination for conventional bicycle exports from the EU (30% of the extra-EU total, measured by value) in 2021, followed by Switzerland (21%), the United States (6%), Norway and Australia (both by 5%). At the same time, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were also the main destinations for EU e-bike exports (38% and 27% respectively of total extra-EU e-bike exports), followed by Norway (13%) and the United States (8%).
Conventional bikes were imported to the EU from Cambodia (27% of total non-EU bicycle imports), Taiwan (26%), China (10%), Bangladesh (8%), and Turkey (5%). Meanwhile, e-bike imports came mainly from Taiwan (57% of total extra-EU e-bike imports), followed by Switzerland (13%), Vietnam (11%), China (7%), and Turkey (6%).
There is no official data regarding the number of bicycles in Romania, but experts say that the two-wheel, environmentally-friendly transportation method is gaining popularity in the country.
(Photo source: Evgeniy Grishchenko | Dreamstime.com)
