Could electric bike demand be impacted by fuel prices?

Although an infantile market, electric bike interest is growing rapidly. Could it be that rocketing fuel prices and the implications of the potential fuel crisis are bringing it to the front of people's minds whilst people search for a more economical vehicle? 

The volume of enquiries for both new and used electric bikes are reaching record levels, with March seeing a 83% year-on year increase in leads sent to retailers. 

In March, the number of advert views for electric bikes on the Auto Trader website more than doubled, rising 129% compared to March 2021. Compared to February, month-on-month growth in views for electric bike advertisements jumped 70% as the Ukraine crisis further accelerated fuel costs, suggesting this could have been an influencing factor.  

Looking at Market Insight data, over the past 13-week period, demand for electric bikes is up a massive 40% year-on-year, which has been matched by increased supply of 37%, driving an overall Market Health score of a positive 5%. Comparing this to petrol we can see the vast difference, as the demand for petrol bikes is down –4%, which is having more of an impact from low consumer confidence due to the escalating cost-of-living crisis.  

Our latest consumer research also suggests the same story, which shows that almost half of would-be buyers, or 42%, would consider an electric bike, with 61% of buyers looking to buy an electric bike within the next six months. A 10% increase in those that would consider buying electric since July 21, when we last conducted the research. 

The Super Soco TC Max is currently topping the charts as the most popular new electric bike on our marketplace..... 

Market Health data comparing Mon 24 Jan 2022 - Sun 24 Apr 2022 vs Mon 25 Jan 2021 - Sun 25 Apr 2021