Electric Bikes Might Be More Important Than Electric Vehicles

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A few weeks ago, I presented some of the insights from my Consumer Automotive Research (and Stuff) on stage at the CCAQ Summit in Quebec City.

In preparation for that event, I pulled out some Quebec-specific data points of note.

One thing stood out in a piece of data I never expected to share. In the survey’s screening question, there was a visible difference in the number of people in Quebec who bought a bicycle.

I asked the audience whether there was a cycling renaissance in the province, and they confirmed there was.

Aside from walking, cycling (by foot or battery-assisted) remains the most environmentally friendly way of moving around cities.

In addition to regular pedal bikes, Montreal’s bike path network and its booming cycling culture have contributed to the rise of e-bikes.

But it isn’t just Quebec; the popularity of e-bikes continues to grow across the country.

The Canadian e-bike market was valued at approximately CAD $240 million in 2022.

With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 7.5%, the market is expected to reach CAD $345 million by the end of this year.

In 2022, around 70,000 e-bikes were sold in Canada.

This number is projected to exceed 100,000 units annually by 2025, accounting for about 5% of Canada’s total bicycle market. This share is expected to grow as more consumers adopt e-bikes for commuting and recreational purposes.

In some Canadian cities, such as Halifax, emergency services departments have even adopted e-bikes to help them deliver specialized care.

E-bikes can potentially offer a lower-cost alternative to car ownership, especially for young families, gig workers and those in areas with less reliable public transit.

For many e-bike riders, the cost of charging comes in around $25 a year.

On a per-kilometre basis, e-bikes beat both gas cars and electric cars by a large margin in recent lifecycle analysis. Think roughly 3 to 4 times lower emissions than an EV, and many times lower than a fossil car for typical urban travel.

Electric vehicles clean up the car trips we genuinely need.

Electric bikes eliminate the car trips we never needed in the first place.

A 2024 study on the "Potential of e-bikes to replace passenger car trips and reduce greenhouse gas emissions" models what happens when car users shift to e-bikes where feasible. It finds that e-bikes could theoretically replace around 58% of car trips.

And car manufacturers have taken notice.

Porsche, Mercedes, Volkswagen Group, BMW, Toyota, GM, Ford, Stellantis (Jeep, Peugeot), and Rivian all manufacture and sell e-bikes.

Unlike EVs, funding and rebate programs still exist in provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, and Quebec, which are helping drive sales by reducing the price of entry into the e-bike market.

It is also possible that the best type of e-bike for replacing car trips is the cargo bike.

“Sturdy, capable, and often able to haul lots of cargo or even multiple humans, electric cargo bikes are rewiring cities to adapt their infrastructure for more human-centric transportation. Parents are using them to take their kids to school, businesses for last-mile delivery, seniors to improve their mobility, and cities to replace traditional car- and truck-based services, like snow plows and garbage pickup. We’re even starting to see electric cargo bike share programs emerge as a solution for anyone who can’t afford one of their own.”

Since we still face a car affordability crisis, and consumers are finding it difficult to make ends meet, e-bikes present a real opportunity to provide cost-effective transportation and mobility solutions for many Canadians.

GAC Aion launches its new i60 EREV with a 1,240 combined range and an electric-only range of up to 650 km. carnewschina.com

BYD has told some suppliers it wants to stop using its in-house financial notes to pay them, a shift away from a practice that helped power its rise but has been criticized for disadvantaging its parts suppliers. reuters.com

BYD aims to sell up to 1.6 million vehicles abroad in 2026. reuters.com

Renault has ended a project with Valeo to develop a new, rare-earth-free EV motor and is now seeking a cheaper Chinese supplier. reuters.com

Starlink now has over 8 million customers globally. pcmag.com

SpaceX beats Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin into the record books with its 94th launch this year. nypost.com

Tesla is fighting the EV sales slump by offering short-term rentals. theverge.com

Tesla is working to add Apple CarPlay to its vehicles. bloomberg.com

Tesla is recalling over 10,000 Powerwall 2 batteries due to fire risks. theverge.com

Tesla has published the most detailed look at the performance and relative safety of its advanced driver-assistance software, just a few weeks after Waymo’s co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, at TechCrunch Disrupt called on companies to release more data. techcrunch.com

A new era of home construction in Nome, Alaska, has begun with its first occupied 3D-printed house. This innovative project was a robot-constructed, three-bedroom home built in layers. Its technology offers another way to address housing needs in challenging environments. yahoo.com

Anduril’s unmanned jet, “Fury,” makes its first flight. Fury is a Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCA. It's powered by AI and operates alongside fighter jets with pilots. cbsnews.com

Russia’s first AI-powered robot walked on stage to triumphant music, took a few steps, and then immediately faceplanted. fortune.com

The Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, can provide clean power for 6 million UK homes annually. interestingengineering.com

Europe’s liquified natural gas imports have risen substantially, more than compensating for a year-on-year decline in Asian imports, shifting the global LNG demand center from Asia to Europe. oilprice.com

Mine water geothermal heat (MWGH) systems could turn flooded disused UK coal mines into a significant source of energy and provide cheap heat to thousands of homes, a new report argues. theguardian.com

American battery startup Peak Energy and energy developer Jupiter Power have teamed up to deploy grid-scale sodium-ion batteries. insideevs.com

China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for the past 18 months. Rapid increases in the deployment of solar and wind power generation, which grew by 46% and 11%, respectively, in the third quarter of this year, meant the country’s energy sector emissions remained flat, even as electricity demand increased. theguardian.com

The Toyota Hilux, known around the world for its ability to withstand extreme punishment while occasionally carrying heavy automatic weapons in the bed, is going electric. Toyota highlighted a new EV variant, along with diesel and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. insideevs.com

Kristian Aquilina is leaving GM Canada. autonews.com

GM wants parts makers to shift their supply chains out of China. reuters.com

Stellantis has an engine failure or a potential compartment fire problem. reuters.com

Dodge is offering V8 fans a chance to experience the 550-hp six-cylinder engine in the Charger Scat Pack. autonews.com

Toyota opens new US battery plant, confirms $10 billion in new investments. cnbc.com

VW EV owners are finally getting access to Tesla Superchargers. theverge.com

Rivian and Volkswagen will start testing their first EVs next year. theverge.com

Nissan Canada to resume imports of Pathfinder, Murano, Frontier in H1 2026. autonews.com

Mitsubishi vows to rebuild US sales with a strategic shift in production. autonews.com

Polestar said it would conduct a 1-for-30 reverse stock split of its American Depository Shares to avoid a Nasdaq delisting. reuters.com

Tata cut its fiscal 2026 margin goal for Jaguar Land Rover due to cyberattack production disruptions, adding to pressure from soft demand in China and chip supply constraints. reuters.com

Uber is making it easier to get a ride at the airport or pay for someone else’s. theverge.com

LA-based EV truck startup Harbinger has raised $160 million in a Series C funding round co-led by FedEx as it scales up production of its commercial vehicles. techcrunch.com

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