SHIMANO STEPS: Quarter of Europeans Now Willing to Commute to Work by E-bike

SHIMANO STEPS today reveals the results of the largest European e-bike study looking at people’s willingness to commute to work by e-bike. The independent research* of over 12,000 people across 10 markets, reveals that 24% of European commuters would consider switching to an e-bike. Almost half of the population of the Netherlands (47%) would commute to work by e-bike, the highest in Europe, while 39% of people in Spain and 33% in Italy would make the switch.

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Ranking of countries who would consider making the switch to an e-bike for their commute:

1.		Netherlands		47%
2.		Spain		39%
3.		Italy		33%
4.		Belgium		31%
5.		Norway		27%
6.		Germany		21%
7.		Denmark		21%
8.		France		18%
9.		Sweden		15%
10.		United Kingdom		11%

The SHIMANO STEPS research reveals that across Europe, the main reasons to consider commuting to work by e-bike are “to keep fit” (34%) “to protect the environment” (30%) and “to save money” (30%). People are put off riding an e-bike to work because of “the possibility of bad weather” (37%), “the cost of an e-bike” (34%) and “arriving to work sweaty” (25%).

People in the UK are the least likely to choose an e-bike to commute to work, with only 11% willing to consider making the switch, well below the European average. The “possibility of bad weather” (43%) and “arriving to work sweaty” (35%) proved to be the main reasons for the UK public to resist the switch to an e-bike.

“We’re seeing huge growth in the e-bike market across Europe and this research highlights the likelihood of widespread adoption of e-bikes to commute to work in the future,” said Jeroen Van Vulpen, Brand Manager SHIMANO STEPS. “We know that there is already a strong cycling culture in specific countries, where those who've made the switch to an e-bike have found that bad weather is rarely an insurmountable problem and sweat is a thing of the past when you let the electric assistance take the strain. It’s really encouraging to see that across all markets, people are willing to switch to an e-bike to keep fit and protect the environment.”

“We welcome this research from Shimano, which confirms that there is huge potential for power assisted bicycles, especially combined with the building of longer distance cycle highways,” said Ádám Bodor, Advocacy Director, European Cyclists' Federation. “These bikes are a great addition to the bicycle family contributing to sustainable active transport by being available to substitute ever longer car journeys.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Sample size: 14606 adults. Fieldwork done between 30th January - 13th February 2019. Survey was carried out online. The figures are weighed and represent all adults (aged 18+) in each country.
2. “commuters” refers to people who work.

SHIMANO STEPS European-wide research results:

Top reasons to make the switch:

1. To keep me fit (34%)

2. To protect the environment (30%)

3. To save money (30%)

Top barriers for making the switch:

1. The possibility of bad weather (37%)

2. E-bikes are too expensive (34%)

3. Commute being too far to travel by e-bike (31%)

3. Image Bank
4. About Shimano Europe

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Contact information

For more information:

Ben Hillsdon, SHIMANO Europe BV
+31 (0)6 12 20 33 90
bhi@shimano-eu.com