January 1, 2025 - Cycling is an eco-friendly and health-conscious mode of transportation with many fans. In 2023, 9.7 million bicycles were produced in the EU, a 24% decrease in bicycle production compared with 2022 (12.7 million) reports Eurostat.
Looking at the available non-confidential data, the biggest producer of bicycles in 2023 was Portugal, with 1.8 million units, followed by Romania (1.5 million), Italy (1.2 million) and Poland (0.8 million).
Available non-confidential data show that 14 out of 17 reporting EU countries saw a decrease in bicycle production between 2022 and 2023. The highest decrease in the number of bicycles was recorded in Romania with -1.0 million units, followed by Italy with -0.7 million and Portugal with almost -0.4 million units – read more here.
While production is down the historic signing of the European Cycling Declaration in April in Brussels marks the most ambitious EU-level policy initiative to date, recognizing cycling as a strategic priority and acknowledging its power to generate enormous benefits for Europe – read more here.
With eight core principles and 36 commitments, this landmark policy initiative describes cycling as one of the “most sustainable, accessible and inclusive, low-cost and healthy forms of transport and recreation, and its key importance for European society and economy.”
In June, the European Commission announced a commitment of €4.5 billion to support a range of cycling infrastructure investments across all member states via its 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy. Back in 2012, the EU spent just €600k from its Cohesion funds and the EU cycling community welcomes the current budget, on top of €1.7 billion secured in the EU Recovery and Resilience Funds – read more here.
