ATLANTA — Electric vehicle sales have been increasing for years, but an 11Alive viewer asked us to verify if electric bicycle sales have grown even faster.
Over a one year period, sales of hybrid and fully electric cars and trucks nearly doubled, from 308,000 in 2020 to 608,000 in 2021.
However,11Alive viewer Thad Oviatt points out there are electric powered means of transportation other than cars and trucks.
THE QUESTION
Are more people buying electric bicycles than electric cars?
THE SOURECES
THE ANSWER
Yes, electric bike sales outpaced electric car sales last year.
WHAT WE FOUND
Benjamin tells us that tracking electric bike sales is a little difficult. The overwhelming majority of e-bikes are made overseas. Some are shipped to stores, some directly to customers.
However, Benjamin’s Light Electric Vehicle Association tracks imports to the United States, and tells 11Alive about 880,000 were shipped to the U.S. in 2021.
“What I hear now (from retailers) is that I can't get as many as I'd like to have which says to me the product is selling through,” he explained. “So, I'm pretty confident that we sold more than 880,000 electric bikes last year.”
Compare that to the Department of Energy’s number when it comes to electric cars and trucks—608,000 sold in 2021.
So we can verify, electric bike sales outpaced electric vehicle sales in 2021.
Benjamin also believes Americans will buy more than a million e-bikes within the next year.