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No more cycle paths, good weather and an apprehension at the idea of taking transport: since the post-peak deconfinement of the coronavirus crisis, bike sales have exploded in France. And the trend is much wider: in some countries, the United States for example, sales have jumped 5,000% and buyers have to wait several weeks. In Taiwan, order books are full until 2021!
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A mismatch between supply and demand
Faced with this craze, the equation is simple: demand is exploding, while manufacturers are falling behind, as they have been forced to stop production during containment. Result: at the moment, there are not enough offers. But according to Manuel Marsilio, of the Confederation of the European cycle industry, the market should regain its cruising speed in September.
"The two to three months lost in production because of the Covid will be recovered by the factories which will be working throughout the summer", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. "In September, maximum at the beginning of October, the market of the bike will return to pre-Covid conditions. Everyone will have the opportunity to quietly buy a bike. "
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Gone, therefore, the endless queues in front of the stores? In the meantime, at Decathlon for example, we confirm to be just in time, with models out of stock. But faced with this growing demand, the group is adapting and testing since the end of May a new offer in France: bicycle rental in Paris and Lyon.