Bike Europe reports that imports of bicycles into the European Union jumped by 4.0 percent in the first eight months of the year. After five years of decline, during which imports dropped by more than 20 percent, the numbers picked up again in 2014, with a rise of 1.6 percent to nearly 7 million units in the first ten months of the year. The faster rise in the first eight months of 2015 was spurred by an increase of 26.5 percent in imports of e-bikes, to about 550,000 units. Excluding these electric bicycles, Bike Europe added, imports still expanded by 2.1 percent in the eight-month period to nearly 5.3 million. The disproportionate growth in imports of e-bikes contributed to an increase in average value, while the depreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar encouraged European bicycle companies to raise their prices.

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