The German bicycle market will grow in the first half of 2026

Berlin. After difficult years, the German bicycle market grew in the first half of 2026. According to the manufacturers' association ZIV, domestic production of bicycles rose by 6 percent in the first six months and by 4 percent for the economically more important e-bikes. In addition, the workshops are well utilized and the trade is recording significant increases in spare parts and accessories.

The dealers continued to order carefully, but at the same time the excess inventory from previous years was “largely” reduced, as the association reports. Sales of bicycles rose by almost 10 percent and those of e-bikes by 2 percent. Last year there were already more than 90 million bikes in Germany, significantly more than the population.

After a peak during the Corona pandemic, the bicycle industry has had a difficult few years characterized by overproduction, falling demand and falling prices. In 2025, around 1.9 million bicycles and e-bikes were manufactured in Germany. That was 1.4 percent less than a year earlier. Including imports, around 3.8 million units were sold, less than before Corona. Sales fell by 7.7 percent to 5.85 billion euros.

The half-year figures now show that the bottom has been overcome, explained ZIV managing director Burkhard Stork. “The positive trend makes us confident; we know that the use of bicycles and e-bikes is increasing gently and that our market is stable in the long term.”