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In 2024, the value of bicycles sold in Japan amounted to about billion Japanese yen, down from around billion yen in the previous year. The average value per bicycle sold has remained relatively stable in the past decade.

 What is driving the price of bicycles? 

This increase can be partially attributed to the growing popularity of electric bicycles, in particular pedal electric cycles (pedelecs). While the relatively cheap city bicycle accounted for around ** percent and the e-bike for * percent of new unit sales in 2015, they constituted roughly **** and **** percent respectively in 2022. Sports bicycles also increased their sales share significantly. Naturally, the production of these bicycle types is considerably more complex and, hence, more expensive.
However, from the perspective of regular motorized bicycles with full-engine propulsion (internal combustion or electric), pedelecs are still relatively cheap. Due to the affordability of pedelecs, the demand for these types of motorized bicycles has fallen significantly.
As pedelecs have found a favorable niche in the world of the two-wheeler, many people substituted their vehicle of choice for an e-bike. However, there could be a further contender to the traditional bicycle in the future: the e-scooter, also known in Japan as ‘electric kick scooter’ or ‘electric kickboard’.

 Recent developments in individual e-mobility

Although e-scooters have already been introduced in many countries worldwide, they are still rarely found in Japan. That is primarily for legal reasons, since e-scooters like Segways count as varieties of motorized vehicles or special automobiles and are, therefore, subject to stricter traffic laws than pedelecs. They require, for example, proper registration and a number plate for use on public streets.
Moreover, e-scooters are not allowed on bike lanes. To counteract this particular legal obstacle, the government has been conducting field experiments in which users of e-scooter sharing services are temporarily allowed to ride on bike lanes of designated areas. Depending on the outcome of those tests, a reform could take place.
Sharing services seem to favor e-scooters over Segways due to their lower price and familiar handling. However, e-scooters - as personal vehicles or sharing devices – have multiple limitations, legally and technologically, making exact market forecasts difficult. It remains to be seen whether electric kick scooters will gain a foothold in the same way as the pedelec.