Manufacturing a new e-bike has a meaningful embedded carbon cost, concentrated in the battery, motor, frame and freight. A material share of e-bikes sits unused after one or two years of ownership, gets traded down by their owners, or accumulates in retailer stockrooms after seasonal over-ordering. Refurbishing those bikes captures the embedded emissions, extends product life, and produces a unit that costs about half as much as a new equivalent. Two outcomes from one operation: lower carbon, broader access.
The European e-bike market entered a downturn after the post-Covid bubble. New unit sales went flat in 2025 across the top four EU markets (Germany +5%, Belgium +8%, Netherlands +1%, France -15%). Manufacturers restructured debt, some refurbishers failed, and tariffs and battery safety rules constrained cheap Asian imports. By Q1 2026, signals of recovery are emerging. Belgium and Spain have returned to positive year-on-year new e-bike sales growth, inventory levels have improved, average selling prices on new bikes have hit a 12-month high, and the destocking phase looks largely behind us. Conditions are right for a category leader with the operational discipline and the balance sheet to consolidate. The refurbished category is still 2 to 3% of total e-bike transactions, an order of magnitude below where it can sit at maturity.
Cycling infrastructure and modal share continue to grow in core European cities. Paris cycling lanes have grown by roughly 50% since 2018 and usage by 34% since 2020. Amsterdam continues to expand cycling modal share for short urban trips. London daily cycle journeys are up 43% since 2019. The infrastructure trend supports durable demand for affordable e-bikes.
