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The booming e-bike industry in Australia will continue its meteoric rise in 2026, with industry experts tipping sales to exceed $1 billion nationally.
Although formal reporting of Australian bicycle sales (and therefore e-bike sales) stopped in 2021 following legislation changes, one industry group approached by Open Road has pieced together a projected snapshot of sales and revenue for the booming e-bike segment.
In 2026, e-bikes are tipped to reach between 250,000 to 300,000 sales nationally based on intel from Bicycle Industries Australia – a not-for-profit industry body representing bicycle industry importers, manufacturers, retailers and suppliers.
According to Bicycles Industries Australia general manager Peter Bourke, with the average e-bike price currently sitting at about $4500, it means the booming segment will generate an estimated $1.25 billion to $1.35 billion for the year.
“Since 2021 we’ve had no real idea of what’s coming into the country,” Bourke explained. “So every number you’ll see is someone throwing a dart at the board blindfolded.
“That said, we commissioned a report from Ernst and Young in 2022, and they established there were 197,000 e-bike sales in 2022. That was up from 9000 sales in 2017.
“We estimate this year between 250,000 and 300,000 sales for e-bikes only. For analogue bikes, the figure there will be about 1.1 million to 1.2 million. The number of analogue bikes has slowed with the number of e-bikes, we’re not worried about that unless you only sell analogue.”
Within those e-bike sales are both pedal-assist e-bikes (like mountain bikes) and more powerful electric pedal-assist cycles (also known by lawmakers are EPACS).
The former generally applies to bicycles with a small motor that assists in pedalling only (they are also referred to as 'throttle-assist' e-bikes). More common these days are the EPACs, which use motorised power to propel the bicycle with or without pedalling, and include popular brands like Fatboy, Dirodi and Amp Bros.
Mr Bourke welcomed the advent of increased e-bike sales, but said urgent reforms were required to ensure the industry was advocating best practices around safety.
“From our perspective, e-bikes are fantastic,” he said.
“They are great for transport, for mountain bikes and for bicycle commuting that wouldn’t otherwise happen. As an industry we think it’s amazing – but they have to be e-bikes, not motorbikes pretending to be e-bikes.
— Peter Bourke, GM of Bicycle Industries Australia
At the time of writing, Australia is preparing to streamline its laws around e-bikes, including a universal legal power output of 250 watts, with NSW set to readopt the measure following a brief limit at 500 watts.
In December, the Federal Government committed to ensuring all e-bikes sold in Australia comply with European safety and quality standard, EN 15194. The National Transport Commission is expected to adopt the law within its framework in the coming weeks, which will then filter down into relevant state and territory road rules.
Of particular note within the EN 15194 standard is an anti-tampering protocol which will make it illegal for a brand to assist a consumer to modify a bike’s total power (250 watts), maximum pedal-assisted speed (25km/h), or and maximum throttle speed (6km/h). Every e-bike battery will also need to pass a minimum standard, while countermeasures will be introduced to help prevent customer tampering.
Further afield, there are industry murmurs the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will introduce sales requirements for e-bikes covering key safety elements.
The NRMA supports the growth of e-bikes where underpinned by strong safety standards, including EN 15194 compliance, a total power limit of 250 watts, a 25 km/h speed limit, robust battery safety rules, visible enforcement, and protections for riders and pedestrians.
