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The metamorphosis of the bicycle in Spain: changes in a sector that breaks sales records again

2022-04-19T21:56:07.828Z


In 2021, more bikes were sold in the country than ever, while brands seek to bring production closer to avoid delays in the delivery of components and the advance of electric bikes continues


A bicycle is made up of more than 40 pieces of very different origin, mostly from Asia, which Spanish manufacturers must assemble to form their own designs.

In recent years, the two-wheel sector in Spain has been undergoing profound changes.

The most striking is the sales boom: according to the annual report presented this Tuesday by the Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain (AMBE), in 2021 more bikes than ever were sold in the country, 1,571,368 units, and billing reached a new record of 2,887 million euros.

But the metamorphosis goes much further: what affects both the supply chains of these parts and the creation of employment in the country, as well as the very concept of the bicycle, since the consumer is increasingly looking for electric ones, with a motor and a battery among its components.

“Never before have so many bikes been sold, never has so much turnover been generated and so much employment has never been generated,” says Jesús Freire, general secretary of AMBE, who explains that “there was already a growth trend before, but the pandemic accelerated everything , suddenly we have climbed several steps”.

Interestingly, the rise of the two wheels during the health crisis (especially as a result of the confinement) emptied the bicycle warehouses and overwhelmed the production plants, which multiplied the waiting times in the supply of these machines and made the sector rethink its high dependence on the outside.

After record numbers in 2020, sales remained soaring last year, in part because of backlogs.

And far from declining the increase in demand, in 2021 more was sold and more was invoiced.

Not only bicycles: according to AMBE data, the greatest growth occurred in sales of footwear (+23.3%), helmets (+30.8%), components (+10.27%) and textiles (+13, 8%).

But when it was already difficult to cover the high demand for these pedal vehicles, then came the logistics difficulties for all the products on a global scale.

As Miguel Pina, CEO of the Spanish brand Mondraker, puts it, “the perfect storm has occurred”.

His manufacturing company, located in Elche (Alicante), has control of the bicycles from the beginning, in engineering and design, but then sends the parts to companies in other countries, 70% of which come from Asia. .

As detailed, if before the pandemic the waiting time for the supply of orders was on average 90-120 days (apart from the month of travel for transport), right now the deadlines are around 600 days, close to 20 months.

This has had a response from the sector.

"What many brands now want is to Europeanize their supply chain," says José Luis García Alegre, CEO of Rotor, a company that manufactures bicycle components in Spain, such as cranks, chainrings, bottom brackets, hubs... As it affects, its sales grew by 40% last year, focusing on a high-end, higher-priced product.

This relocation in the manufacture of bikes is also reflected in the AMBE annual report, which shows a growth of 7.14% in the number of manufacturers and an increase in employment close to 3%.

Likewise, the data from the sector documents show an increase in points of sale, repair and rental, reaching the figure of 3,028 establishments, and concludes that almost 25,000 families in Spain live directly from this sector.

Of the more than 1.5 million bikes sold last year in Spain, 38.7% were mountain bikes, the ones most in demand in our country, and 29.7% for children.

However, the AMBE report particularly highlights the more than 223,561 electrical units, because despite accounting for 14.2% of the total, it is one of the categories that experienced the greatest growth and the one that generated the greatest volume of deal.

Mondraker's CEO is clear: “The electric mode is going to change the paradigm of what a bike is.

In a few years, when someone says that they have bought a bicycle, it will be assumed that it has some type of electric assistance.

The choice of this type of electric bikes that cost an average of 2,861 euros also reveals another trend and that is the increase in what consumers spend on these vehicles, whether they are mountain bikes (with an average price of 832 euros), new route variant, gravel (1,116 euros), or road (2,303 euros).

These higher prices on high-end products increase the margin to relocate production, which does not happen with more basic models that cannot compete with Asia.

However, for some buyers it is reaching levels that do not make much sense.

Apart from leisure and sports, another of the arguments for the greater use of the bicycle is its much smaller environmental footprint for the mobility of people in cities.

Paradoxically, the AMBE report shows a 12% reduction in sales of urban bikes in the country.

According to Freire, in Spain this must be qualified, as there are many people who use mountain bikes in the city as well.

Likewise, the sector considers that the electric modality is also particularly interesting in this area.

"The electric bicycle is a revolution and by 2024 it is expected that more electric bicycles will be sold than traditional ones," says García Alegre, who thinks that this variant with motor and battery will be much more attractive for moving around cities and for delivery. of goods in the last mile.

“In Spain we are a bit behind compared to some European cities, but I am optimistic with what I see”.

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Source: elparis

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