IMPORTANT 500W legalisation ETRA proposals 1
Hi Pedelecers all.
This week I was invited to Brussels to sit on a meeting of electric bike manufacturers to formulate new proposals to the European Commission arguing for changes to the electric bike legislation.
Please see below the final introduction to the proposal, you will find the proposal on a second post called IMPORTANT ETRA proposals 2.
ETRA proposal on behalf of industry concerned for
the modification of the rules in Directive 2002/24/EC
governing electric cycles and low-performance mopeds
Introduction
This proposal is the result of a broad consultation with the industry of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds.
More than 40 companies (producers of vehicles, motors, batteries and other components and accessories) attended a meeting on 5 September 2009 at Eurobike (international bicycle exhibition) in Friedrichshafen. They unanimously voted in favour of a review of the current regulations for electric bicycles and light electric mopeds in the framework of the European Commission’s on-going review of the type-approval legislation for mopeds and motorcycles. Furthermore, they voted for a change of the specifications for excluding pedal assisted cycles from the type-approval, thus classifying them as bicycles. They also voted for the development of a more appropriate homologation procedure for electric bicycles not excluded from the type-approval and for light electric mopeds. Finally, they unanimously gave ETRA a mandate to represent them and to initiate a consultation with the European Commission.
On 25 September a second meeting took place in Las Vegas at Interbike (bicycle exhibition for US and Canada) and on 29 September there was a meeting in Brussels. These two meetings, attended by more than 30 companies, resulted in concrete proposals for the modification of the legislation as outlined below.
The industry believes that these modifications are necessary in order to prevent legislation from obstructing innovation, technical development, diversification and competition.
The European market of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds is booming. In 2008, in Holland almost 140,000 electric bikes were sold at an average retail price of € 1,900. Thus pedal assisted bicycles have generated 1/3 of the total revenue from sales of new bikes in Holland. In Germany, the market is still relatively small: 100,000 units in 2008 or 2.5% of total sales volume. However, growth is rapid: +62.5% in 2007, +54% in 2008 and an estimated +20% in 2009. Expectations are that the trends which are going on in Holland and Germany today, will appear in the rest of the European Union in the next few years.
At least as important as the numerical growth of the electric bike market, is the growing popularity of the vehicle. Until a few years ago, electric bikes were mainly purchased by the elderly and physically impaired. Today, a much more varied group of consumers are becoming interested in this ecological and efficient means of transport. We herewith join a fact sheet, which has further details on the different target groups.
The potential for change to non-motorised travel in urban areas is huge. According to the European Commission, every European makes circa 3 trips per day of which about half are up to 3 km. Moreover, about half of all car trips are 6 km or shorter. ETRA believes that the European Union needs to take measures aimed at substituting short car trips by cycling and also walking.
Electric bikes are in this context a very important issue to ETRA. They produce no emissions, no noise, they use very little energy at very low cost since charging the battery only costs Euro 0.03. They cause no “external costs”, they allow avoiding congestion and parking problems. They also assure mobility of elderly people and people with health problems, they benefit public health and therefore allow avoiding medical costs. And last but not least they contribute to sustainable tourism.
However, the current legislation hampers the realisation of the full market potential of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds as a result of specifications, categorisations, definitions and type-approval requirements which are no longer up to date. Therefore, on behalf of the industry concerned, ETRA proposes to change the legislation following the proposals below.
These proposals pertain only to the categorisation and the definition of the vehicles concerned. Pending the European Commission’s decision on these proposals, ETRA and the industry concerned are prepared and ready to develop the type-approval requirements and the accompanying test procedures for the proposed categories.
To date 35 companies and organisations, listed in the Annex I to this document, expressly support these proposals. In due course we will send you an update of this list.
The support we need is from businesses rather than individuals, individuals cannot be added to the list of supporters with out an explanation of their relevant credentials or qualifications.
We need as many supporters for these changes as we can muster, if you can act for a business involved in the electric bike market and are in favour of the changes please log on to
ETRA - News (Common Issues) - ETRA proposes new European regulations for electric bikes
And register your support.
This is not an opportunity for individuals or companies to add to or change the proposal, we are simply looking for support.
I will post the proposals on a new thread as this post will be too long for this forum template.
Best regards David
Hi Pedelecers all.
This week I was invited to Brussels to sit on a meeting of electric bike manufacturers to formulate new proposals to the European Commission arguing for changes to the electric bike legislation.
Please see below the final introduction to the proposal, you will find the proposal on a second post called IMPORTANT ETRA proposals 2.
ETRA proposal on behalf of industry concerned for
the modification of the rules in Directive 2002/24/EC
governing electric cycles and low-performance mopeds
Introduction
This proposal is the result of a broad consultation with the industry of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds.
More than 40 companies (producers of vehicles, motors, batteries and other components and accessories) attended a meeting on 5 September 2009 at Eurobike (international bicycle exhibition) in Friedrichshafen. They unanimously voted in favour of a review of the current regulations for electric bicycles and light electric mopeds in the framework of the European Commission’s on-going review of the type-approval legislation for mopeds and motorcycles. Furthermore, they voted for a change of the specifications for excluding pedal assisted cycles from the type-approval, thus classifying them as bicycles. They also voted for the development of a more appropriate homologation procedure for electric bicycles not excluded from the type-approval and for light electric mopeds. Finally, they unanimously gave ETRA a mandate to represent them and to initiate a consultation with the European Commission.
On 25 September a second meeting took place in Las Vegas at Interbike (bicycle exhibition for US and Canada) and on 29 September there was a meeting in Brussels. These two meetings, attended by more than 30 companies, resulted in concrete proposals for the modification of the legislation as outlined below.
The industry believes that these modifications are necessary in order to prevent legislation from obstructing innovation, technical development, diversification and competition.
The European market of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds is booming. In 2008, in Holland almost 140,000 electric bikes were sold at an average retail price of € 1,900. Thus pedal assisted bicycles have generated 1/3 of the total revenue from sales of new bikes in Holland. In Germany, the market is still relatively small: 100,000 units in 2008 or 2.5% of total sales volume. However, growth is rapid: +62.5% in 2007, +54% in 2008 and an estimated +20% in 2009. Expectations are that the trends which are going on in Holland and Germany today, will appear in the rest of the European Union in the next few years.
At least as important as the numerical growth of the electric bike market, is the growing popularity of the vehicle. Until a few years ago, electric bikes were mainly purchased by the elderly and physically impaired. Today, a much more varied group of consumers are becoming interested in this ecological and efficient means of transport. We herewith join a fact sheet, which has further details on the different target groups.
The potential for change to non-motorised travel in urban areas is huge. According to the European Commission, every European makes circa 3 trips per day of which about half are up to 3 km. Moreover, about half of all car trips are 6 km or shorter. ETRA believes that the European Union needs to take measures aimed at substituting short car trips by cycling and also walking.
Electric bikes are in this context a very important issue to ETRA. They produce no emissions, no noise, they use very little energy at very low cost since charging the battery only costs Euro 0.03. They cause no “external costs”, they allow avoiding congestion and parking problems. They also assure mobility of elderly people and people with health problems, they benefit public health and therefore allow avoiding medical costs. And last but not least they contribute to sustainable tourism.
However, the current legislation hampers the realisation of the full market potential of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds as a result of specifications, categorisations, definitions and type-approval requirements which are no longer up to date. Therefore, on behalf of the industry concerned, ETRA proposes to change the legislation following the proposals below.
These proposals pertain only to the categorisation and the definition of the vehicles concerned. Pending the European Commission’s decision on these proposals, ETRA and the industry concerned are prepared and ready to develop the type-approval requirements and the accompanying test procedures for the proposed categories.
To date 35 companies and organisations, listed in the Annex I to this document, expressly support these proposals. In due course we will send you an update of this list.
The support we need is from businesses rather than individuals, individuals cannot be added to the list of supporters with out an explanation of their relevant credentials or qualifications.
We need as many supporters for these changes as we can muster, if you can act for a business involved in the electric bike market and are in favour of the changes please log on to
ETRA - News (Common Issues) - ETRA proposes new European regulations for electric bikes
And register your support.
This is not an opportunity for individuals or companies to add to or change the proposal, we are simply looking for support.
I will post the proposals on a new thread as this post will be too long for this forum template.
Best regards David
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