Electric motorcycles and scooters have continued to make steady gains throughout the past few years. Energica has expanded its presence in the U.S. and Harley-Davidson spin-off LiveWire just sold out the S2 Del Mar Launch Edition in 18 minutes. While EV progress in the States seems more like a marathon, Europeans are sprinting to the dealerships for electric motorcycles and scooters.
That trend is evident in several countries, with Italy, France, and Germany reporting triple-digit improvements. Italians purchased 2,100 units in the first three months of the year, resulting in a 108.1-percent spike over the previous year. France moved 2,144 units during that same period, which accounts for a 150.8-percent increase compared to Q1 2021. Germany outpaced both those countries though, with 1,559 new electric model registrations equating to a 153.9-percent uptick over its 2021 numbers.
Great Britain and Spain just missed out on the triple-digit club, but their strong numbers are nothing to sneeze at. The U.K. recorded 1,036 sales of electric motorbikes and scooters, amounting to an increase of 88.7 percent. Spain followed close behind with 80.8 percent and 2,097 units moved. However, Spain outpaces the rest of Europe when it comes to electric mopeds, with a 114.7-percent growth rate and 1,934 units sold.
The Netherlands registered the most new mopeds during that period, though, with 6,573 units resulting in a 19.6-percent increase. France isn’t far behind with 5,786 e-mopeds sold, but that marks a substantial 43.1-percent gain for the county. Belgium and Italy round out the top performers with 3,510 units (+4.5 percent) and 1,242 units (+32 percent), respectively.
The figures are encouraging for electric vehicle proponents, but we should keep the gains in perspective. The European motorcycle market recorded a total of 226,793 new registrations in Q1 2022, but only 8,936 were electric motorcycles. Yes, the internal combustion motorcycle sales numbers far outweigh the electric figures, but Europe still experienced a 113.4-percent increase in electric motorcycle sales during Q1 2022. Undoubtedly, electric motorcycles and scooters still have a long way to go, but the data shows that they have come very far in recent years as well.
