Price of bicycles should fall in 2023 – 01/23/2023 – Market

Bicycle sales in Brazil dropped 35% in 2022, compared to the previous year, according to data from Aliança Bike, an entity that brings together companies in the sector. Last year, 3.77 million units were sold, compared to 5.8 million in 2021.

The scenario, however, can be interesting for the cyclist who wants to buy or change his vehicle. The expectation in the sector is that prices will fall in 2023.

Bike sales had a strong rise after the pandemic. The sector went from an average of 4 million units per year to 6 million. In 2020, there was a lack of product on the market, due to difficulties in importing parts, as a result of international restrictions to contain the coronavirus.

“The years 2020 and 2021 had very unusual growth. It was to be expected that at some point there would be a drop, but we are back to the level before the pandemic”, evaluates Daniel Guth, executive director of Aliança Bike.

He points out that the conditions of the economy, such as inflation and high interest rates, reduced the purchasing power of families and, consequently, the sale of bicycles. The biggest drop was registered precisely in the entry models, which cost from R$ 800 to R$ 2,000.

Guth estimates that 2023 should be a year of growth and that the market could stabilize at a higher level than the pre-pandemic, with annual sales of around 5 million units.

“The use of bicycles for urban mobility and electric bicycles are on the rise in the world. In Brazil, they are still very small markets, but they should grow exponentially”, he assesses.

In 2022, the price of bicycles rose 7.47%, according to data from the IPCA (Extended Consumer Price Index). And the cost of their repair services increased by 10.17% in the year. General inflation in the country in the period, according to the IPCA, was 5.79%.

For 2023, there is an expectation of a drop in the price of bicycles, for several reasons. The stores have full stocks and the logistical problems that marked the pandemic, such as the lack of parts, have been practically overcome. “We achieved some important exemptions on components used to assemble bicycles and that should have more effect on prices from 2023 onwards”, says Guth.

During the pandemic, many consumers bought a bike to exercise and travel without crowding public transport. With the return to face-to-face work, however, part of this public ended up leaving the bicycle behind and decided to sell it. This also puts downward pressure on prices.

The bicycle sector is very susceptible to fluctuations in the dollar, because about 80% of the parts used in manufacturing are imported. This means that the decrease in the value of the dollar against the real helps to reduce the final price, and the rise in the US currency makes it difficult to import products. In 2022, there was a 53% drop in imports of entire bicycles, compared to 2021, and a 44.6% drop in imports of frames.

In Manaus, the production of bicycles fell. 599,000 of them were manufactured in 2022, compared to 749,000 in 2021, according to Abraciclo (an association that brings together motorcycle, bicycle and similar manufacturers).

“In addition to the shortage of parts and components, we had to adjust the planning of the manufacturing units to adapt to the new market demand, which asked for models of medium and high added value”, said Cyro Gazola, vice president of Abraciclo, in a statement .

The production of motorcycles at the Manaus hub rose by 18.2% in 2022, and has the prospect of further progress in 2023.