From Elektrek.co
by Micah Toll
Electric bicycle sales have been on a skyward trajectory since early in the pandemic, and new numbers show they are selling more units than electric cars and plug-in hybrids combined.
Those figures recently released by the Light Electric Vehicle Association trade group help bolster the case for personal electric vehicles as alternatives to larger cars and trucks.
According to data released by the LEVA, the US saw nearly 790,000 electric bike imports in 2021. That marks a 70% increase from the 463,000 imports in 2020.
Also in 2021, Americans purchased 652,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids, according to BloombergNEF.
That data for electric bicycle adoption in the US sits far behind Europe, where e-bike sales have outpaced electric car and hybrid sales for years, and are on pace to outsell all cars (ICE included) in the next few years.
Europe and Asia still handily outsell the US when it comes to electric bikes. The LEVA estimates sales of 3 million and 35 million electric bicycles annually in Europe and Asia, respectively.
