Why will Demand for Electric Scooters and Motorcycles Surge in Europe in Future?

Environmental degeneration by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become a key concern for the European governments, which has resulted in several initiatives to cut down the emissions. For instance, 1,095 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) were released from automobiles in Europe in 2017. Such huge amount of exhaust fumes from vehicles, including motorcycles and scooters, isamplifying concerns regarding environmental degradation, thereby, coercing governments to promote electric mobility and implement stiff emission control norms. To reduce the emissions, Europe is observing a widescale adoption of electric two-wheelers for personal usage.

Moreover, rising penetration of scooter sharing services will fuel the European electric scooters and motorcycles market at 27.6% CAGR during 2020–2025. The market was valued at $284.2 million in 2019, which is projected to reach $758.5 million by 2025. At present, nearly 50 scooter sharing service providers are operating in more than 50 European cities. Among European nations, France and Italyhave the largest number of electric scooters in sharing fleets. For example, France and Italy had around 2,560 and 1,225 electric scooters, respectively, in their sharing fleets, in 2019.

The surging need for new energy two-wheelers in the European nations is met by companies like Askoll EVA SpA, Gogoro Inc., Niu Technologies, Piaggio & C. SpA, unu GmbH, GOVECS AG, ETRIX AG, BMW AG, and Zero Motorcycles Inc. These companies have actively involved in product launches to expand their customer base. For instance, in February 2020, Zero Motorcycles Inc. introduced Fully Faired SR/S, a new electric motorcycle. This motorcycle comprises a 14.4-kWh Li-ion battery and a ZF 75-10 motor and offers a range of 323.4 km (201 miles) per charge.

Due to the increasing shift toward energy-efficient vehicles, the market players have also started offering electric two-wheelers on e-commerce platforms. It is more convenient for sellers and buyers to execute transactions through the online mode. Moreover, the e-commerce platforms assist manufacturers in enhancing their customer reach and enable users to gain access to an array of brands. For example, Yadea sells its electric scooter models YD-EM05 and YD1200D-01 through online platforms named sklep.auto-kowalczyk.pl. and en.makepolo.com, which help users see and compare the technical intricacies of the vehicles.

In recent years, Europe has shown greater affinity toward electric scooters, as these electric vehicles (EVs) are easy to ride, lightweight, faster, and practical than cars in dense traffic. Moreover, the price of electric scooters is less than that of electric motorcycles and cars. The customers of Europe are preferring electric two-wheelers that have speed greater than 80 km/h. The high-speed electric scooters and motorcycles help in reducing the travel time during office hours. 

According to P&S Intelligence, France recorded the highest sales of electric scooters and motorcycles in the recent past, due to the surging focus on reducing the emission of toxic gases. Whereas, Span will exhibit the fastest European electric scooters and motorcycles marketadvance in the foreseeable future. This will be due to the burgeoning demand for EVs, which is attracting electric two-wheeler manufacturers and mobility firms to set up manufacturing plants and enter into the scooter/motorcycle sharing business in the nation, respectively.

Thus, the increasing shift toward energy-efficient vehicles and the growing prevalence of shared e-mobility services will accelerate the sales of these EVs in Europe.