Bicycle exports reached 815 million euros in Portugal in 2022, a new record driven mainly by electric companies that gives hope to the sector to remain one more year as the largest manufacturer in Europe.
"We hope to continue being leaders," Gil Nadais, the general secretary of the Portuguese National Association of Two-Wheeled Industries (Abimota), told EFE, breaking down the numbers: 367 million euros were exported in conventional bicycles, 287 million in electric and another 161 million in components.
Compared to the figures for 2021, growth has been 37%.
Portugal sells bicycles above all to Germany, the Netherlands, France and Spain, and the sector trusts that the numbers are the prelude to another year at the top of the manufacturers' podium, waiting for Eurostat to publish the data for the continent.
The Portuguese country has led production since 2019, when 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 growth 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.
Paradoxically, the European country that produces the most bicycles is one of those that pedals the least, 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 encourage their use, Portugal has been the first country in the European Union to apply reduced VAT to bicycles and since last January the purchase and repair of bicycles is taxed at 6%.
In 2023, it also maintained support for the purchase of bicycles, both conventional and electric and cargo, with financing from the Environmental Fund.
With more and more measures to promote the use of bicycles, with an eye 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 plan, 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 suggest that 2023 will be another year of increases.
"In January we increased exports by 22% compared to January of the previous year. We will see the coming months. We hope this trend will continue," concludes Nadais.
