"Crisis not yet overcome": bicycle industry loses sales and jobs
Discounts, high inventory levels and competition from China are affecting the bicycle industry. It warns of austerity measures in municipalities and appeals to politicians. Customers are benefiting from the crisis.
Germany's bicycle industry is struggling with a prolonged crisis, with employment and sales declining in 2025. According to the Verband Zukunft Fahrrad, employment fell by 3% to 74,300 people and sales dropped by 7% to €25.2 billion. The industry is still recovering from a post-pandemic boom and is now facing intense competition from China, with concerns about dumping prices and a lack of investment in cycling infrastructure.
In 2025, 3.8 million bicycles were sold in Germany, a slight decrease from the previous year. The industry's future is uncertain, with warnings that it may be threatened by cheap imports from China.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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