In Sweden, there were 53 per cent more electric bicycles sold, with the total number of 100000 units throughout 2018. Earlier this year, the Dutch e-bike market reached historic figures, with a total of 1.01 million e-bikes sold in 2018, corresponding to a 25 per cent increase from 2017 to 2018.
Even the German car manufacturer Volkswagen is stepping up the game with the new cargo bikes.
Electric bikes and conventional bicycles are outselling cars in all 27 member states of the European Union (except Belgium and Luxembourg). So, the sales trends across Europe are not really surprising; increased sustainability and less harmful impact in the environment, and improved physical condition.
So, is there anything else about e-bikes, besides their sustainability and traffic advantages?
Short answer; yes. There is evidence that using e-bikes can be related to increases in the national happiness quotient. The countries with the highest happiness scores in the new United Nations’ “World Happiness Report” are associated with all top score countries using e-bikes and conventional bikes. The top five happiest countries with daily cycling habits are The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Germany.
Several surveys were done in the United States in 2014 and showed that cyclists were the happiest commuters. In the same way, in the UK, 91 per cent of the cyclists found it a satisfactory way to commute, as opposed to the 74 and 73 per cent of the bus and underground users, who were pleased with their public transport daily travel routine.
Although these reports do not say that an unhappy person will be happier after acquiring an electric bike, they strongly suggest that using such means of transportation daily can significantly benefit the overall happiness levels.
Truth be told, it is all great news!