Sales of E-motorcycle & -scooters to Reach 6 M. Units Annually by 2023: Navigant Research

The market for e-powered two-wheelers (PTWs), including both electric motorcycles (e-motorcycles) and electric scooters (e-scooters), has grown slowly in recent years due to different reasons in various markets.

Although sales volumes in the next couple of years are likely to remain low, due mainly to the two most basic factors: high costs for components and low levels of demand, this market is poised for growth after 2015, as consumer markets continue to expand, new competitors enter the market, and suppliers increase capabilities, according to a new report from Navigant Research.

The market intelligence firm forecasts that worldwide sales of e-motorcycles will grow from 1.2 million vehicles annually in 2014 to 1.4 million by 2023, while sales of e-scooters will grow from 4.1 million to 4.6 million.

“Consumers are seeking refuge from higher gasoline prices, electric two-wheel vehicles are growing more mature, and cities are becoming increasingly congested with traffic,” says John Gartner, research director with Navigant Research. “All of these factors will contribute to growing demand for power two-wheel vehicles — particularly high-powered e-motorcycles.”

Currently, the market for e-motorcycles and e-scooters is led by China, whose leading position is expected to keep for a certain period due to government regulations (mainly limitations of licensing to new internal combustion engine (ICE) PTWs in major cities for cutting air pollution). According to Navigant, however, policies limiting urban traffic in China are also reducing e-motorcycle and e-scooter sales in that country.

E-motorcycle manufacturers in North America and Europe will address the market challenges by improving product quality and expanding their distribution channels. Navigant Research forecasts that sales of e-motorcycles and e-scooters in these two regions will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 30% through 2023.

Europe & North America

The vast majority of e-motorcycles and e-scooters sold worldwide are in China. To date, little demand for these vehicles has existed outside Asia Pacific, with the exception of a few Western European countries such as Germany and Spain. According to Navigant, however, that will begin to change in the next several years: sales of e-motorcycles and e-scooters in North America will grow from a little more than 4,000 in 2012 to more than 36,000 in 2018, a nearly ten-fold expansion.

“The market for e-motorcycles and e-scooters will grow as manufacturers provide more robust features, including longer range capability, better performance, and in the case of e-motorcycles, higher speeds,” says Dave Hurst, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “The North American market is still very much in its infancy, but the United States will see strong growth, with a compound annual growth rate of greater than 50 percent through 2018.”

In Asia Pacific, ICE scooters and low-powered motorcycles are widely used as everyday transportation. In North America, by contrast, motorcycles and scooters (including e-motorcycles and e-scooters) are more likely to be used for recreation than as a primary form of transportation. The interest in higher-powered and touring motorcycles is higher in North America than other regions, and so e-motorcycles and e-scooters are often purchased as complements to other forms of transportation.