A new milestone has been reached for electric bikes in Belgium. In 2023, sales of e-bikes surpassed those of mechanical bikes for the first time. Karl Lechat, CEO of Lucien, explains.
Although less spectacular than 2022 in terms of sales, 2023 will nevertheless go down in the history of the bicycle in our country, according to figures published by TRAXIO, the federation for the automotive and related sectors. Of the 570,000 two-wheelers sold last year, 51% were electric.
Niche e-Bikes
TRAXIO expects further progress, driven by consumers wanting to replace their ‘first or second generation’ mechanical or electric two-wheelers, the growing interest of younger people, and the success of niche electric products such as cargo bikes and longtails. ‘In fact, these types of bike have been around for a long time, particularly in the Netherlands. But in rough urban environments like Brussels, it's the addition of the electric motor that really allows them to take off’, explains Karl Lechat, CEO of Lucien. The D'Ieteren subsidiary currently operates a network of 20 shops in urban centres, including 7 in Brussels.
Much more than in the car industry, electrification is revolutionising the way bicycles are used and designed, as well as the speed at which they are converted,' the CEO points out. Batteries on luggage racks or motors integrated into front wheels have been replaced by central systems fixed to frames and linked to cranksets, mainly developed by Bosch and Shimano. Soon, he believes, this ‘arms race’ for power should give way to ‘light electric’, with lighter bikes and smaller batteries, discreetly integrated into the frame itself.
Essential shops?
TRAXIO's figures also show that buyers of electric models primarily turn to bicycle dealers. Their share of the market has risen to 70%. Cycle shops now sell four times as many electric bikes as multi-channel outlets. Electric bikes now account for almost 60% of sales in cycle shops. ‘In our shops, the switch to electric bikes has already been going on for some time,’ Karl Lechat confirms.
This is because the e-bike is increasingly seen as a solution for everyday mobility, especially in the city. In search of advice, users are also looking for local maintenance and after-sales service solutions, much more so than traditional bike owners, who are used to taking their two-wheelers out only on weekends.
So have retailers become indispensable? A year ago, Cowboy's decision to rely on a network of 200 shops certainly raised eyebrows. Until then, the Brussels-based manufacturer had been selling exclusively online. Today, according to our colleagues in L'Écho, 30% of its sales are made through its network of retailers, which does not include Lucien's shops.
Build to order
On the other hand, Karl Lechat is a great believer in the ‘build to order’ partnerships he has forged with several other brands, under which bikes are ordered directly from the factory and delivered in five or six weeks. This removes the pressure on in-store stocks and the uncertainties in supply chains that are often associated with bicycles produced in large series at lower cost. The CEO cites Riese & Müller and Belgium's Norta, whose bikes are assembled in Europe, as two of the manufacturers he works with. ‘Some parts come from Asia, but for the most part they use Bosch or Shimano components. You have to be very ambitious to compete with these excellent component brands on their own turf’, he explains.
Leasing and after-sales
Obviously, this type of bike comes at a price. But the major retailers are looking forward to significant growth in the leasing market, which is generally synonymous with more expensive, more complex bikes and maintenance contracts. ‘Today, leasing represents 50% of our turnover in Flanders, but in Brussels it is still only 25%. More generally, 25% of Flemings use their bikes on a weekly basis, compared with 17% of Brussels residents. So there's room for improvement,’ says Karl Lechat.
As we know, in the car industry, after-sales has become the major source of income for dealers, as margins on sales have been drastically reduced. In the case of bicycles, Karl Lechat concedes that it is more difficult to make after-sales profitable. Bikes are being used in a wider variety of ways, creating very different technical problems from one owner to the next, requiring a more traditional approach to repairs.
And yet, the need is growing. Electric bikes are used on a daily basis and over longer distances, accumulating more kilometres and the wear and tear that goes with them. Finally, faster and heavier machines mean that certain parts, such as the chain and brakes, are subject to much greater stress than mechanical bikes. As a result, bills are increasingly similar to those for car servicing.
What's more, e-bikes require new skills in the workshops. ‘Even if we're talking about more artisanal levels of production, the technology of certain brands today is more akin to that of a car than that of a traditional bicycle. To those who want to join our teams, I always advise getting a degree in electronics rather than studying bike mechanics,' Karl Lechat concludes.