Approximately 1.5 million e-bikes will be sold in UK in 2050, predicts Halfords

Approximately 1.5 million e-bikes will be sold in the UK in 2050, according to forecasts.

Using transaction data exclusive to the company, and population and car registration figures, Halfords has predicted how the UK’s e-bike market could look by 2050 if it continues to grow at its current rate.

London will see the biggest market surge with an estimated 482,704 units sold in 2050. Other top locations to see substantial growth are Liverpool (34,056), Belfast (32,575), Bristol (31,095) and Birmingham (30,354).

Jim Martin, editor of Tech Advisor, said: “I think technology-enabled bikes becoming so popular is partly due to tech becoming mainstream, but also because it’s now more cost-effective than before to add technology to just about any product.

“By the year 2050, I expect e-bikes will be cheaper, lighter, and have a longer range than current bikes. The integrated technology within the bike may also improve dramatically and could include more safety features and even a KERS-type system that recharges the battery when you brake and pedal, or freewheel downhill.”

Yvonne Wake Bsc Msc RNutr added: “E-bikes encourage exercise for all, and especially those with compromised health issues who are being told by their doctors to exercise daily to get them into better health. With seven million (and counting) people in the UK with heart disease, and the obese UK population of 58% woman and 68% of men who are overweight or obese, if the forecast is correct, and e-biking became the preferred method of transport for short distances over cars, I have no doubt that it would positively impact the increasing obesity and heart disease rates we are seeing.”

Recent data from SMMT showed a 5.7% decline in new car registrations in the UK in 2017, a decrease that paired with a rise in e-bikes, forecast by Halfords, could be ‘extremely beneficial to the environment’, according to Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth.

“Electric bicycles can potentially play a big role in cleaning up our transport by removing dirty vehicles from our roads and getting people onto two wheels,” he said. “People who may have previously been unable to travel by bicycle could have an entirely new, cleaner way of getting around.

“By getting more people out of their cars we can look to a future where our towns and cities are not choking on polluted air, and climate-wrecking emissions have been slashed.”