If you live in any city, you have likely noticed an upswing in people riding electric bikes, whether for delivering goods, as a shared bike, or for everyday travel. E-bikes, or electrically powered two- and three-wheeled cycles, have gained popularity in recent years since they can cover longer distances than traditional pedal bikes and require less effort. E-bikes are slower and lighter than other two-wheelers like mopeds and motorcycles and can be used in most cycle lanes. E-bikes can replace vehicle trips in many cases, significantly reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion while contributing to more livable, accessible cities.

The growing popularity of e-bikes also presents manufacturing and economic development opportunities in an emerging sector. E-bikes make up about 15% of the market for all-electric vehicles globally, and this is poised to grow. Despite their potential, many city and national governments have yet to define e-bikes clearly, require quality standards, or state where and how riders should safely use them. This lack of clarity has confused riders and retailers alike, particularly amidst questions about the safety of low-quality lithium-ion batteries and chargers. This year, ITDP released a report as part of its global Cycling Cities campaign focused specifically on e-bikes. The publication offers key recommendations for national-level action that will allow governments to fully harness the economic, climate, and mobility benefits of e-bikes.

One primary recommendation is for governments to start to view e-bikes — and cycling more broadly — as an essential element of a holistic urban transport network. In regions like China and Brazil where e-bike usage is rapidly growing, we can gain important insights into challenges and opportunities for their uptake. China already has hundreds of millions of e-bikes on its streets, primarily deployed across bikeshare, delivery fleets, and individual owners. This has required local governments to set clear quality standards, safety regulations, and mobility plans. Meanwhile, in Brazil, the regional e-bike market demonstrates a burgeoning sector where more governance will certainly be needed. From the examples of both countries, we can see significant potential in the future of well-managed, well-funded urban e-bike policies.

Taking Action on China’s 400 Million E-Bikes

Since the 2000s, China has been the largest market for e-bikes, representing over 90% of annual global production and sales. E-bike ownership has increased from 110 million in 2011 to nearly 400 million in 2023, meaning that, on average, one in every four people in the country owns one. It is important to note that China’s e-bikes commonly feature a throttle, allowing motors to provide power without riders needing to pedal. Therefore, these fleets of e-bikes are more like scooters or light mopeds, rather than traditional electric-assist pedal bikes, but are still required by national regulations to only have a maximum speed of 25 km/h along with other maximums for weight, engine power, and battery voltage. Collectively, these forms of e-bikes represent a major mode of micromobility for millions of Chinese.

While these forms of e-bikes are booming in popularity, fire and road safety concerns are rising nationwide, often due to bad batteries, poor charging behaviors, and a lack of traffic regulations. Battery and electrical failures also often correspond with road accidents and crashes. In response to these urgent issues, China initiated a nationwide campaign in 2024 to address safety management practices for the full life cycle of an e-bike vehicle, from the initial production to the recycling of old parts. As a starting point, a series of mandatory standards covering the safety and quality of vehicles, batteries, chargers, and helmets have been introduced at a national level.

Many city governments are also taking action to provide more reliable e-bike parking and charging infrastructure to accommodate users. Some are also engaging in proactive outreach campaigns to prevent risky charging and riding behaviors. Nanning, a city in southern China with over three million e-bike owners, implemented a series of educational programs to promote safe e-bike usage and reduce traffic violations. As part of the registration process, e-bike owners are required to participate in safety courses and successfully pass exams to obtain a plate number. If riders are caught violating regulations, they are mandated to undergo other safety interventions. These types of hands-on and phased approaches to e-bike management and safety provide owners and riders with a deeper understanding of their roles and responsibilities on the road.

By working together, government agencies, manufacturers, and policymakers across China can continue to craft cohesive policies and incentives that improve the e-bike and road experience for everyone. By taking a full life cycle approach to e-bike governance, public and private stakeholders in China can help ensure the quality and sustainability of e-bikes from initial manufacturing to daily usage to end-of-life disposal.

An Emissions Opportunity with E-Bikes in Brazil

On the other side of the world, the usage of e-bikes in Brazil’s cities is experiencing a similar, albeit more gradual, growth pattern. Notably, there was nearly a 10% rise in e-bike sales between 2021 and 2022 in the country. Projections for 2023 indicate a further increase of 19% to 27% in new e-bike sales. Despite a decline in the average price of e-bikes, these vehicles remain unaffordable for a substantial segment of the Brazilian population, which may point to their slower market growth. At the same time, the inclusion of electric assist bikes across many bikeshare systems is facilitating more access than ever before in major cities like Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo, and Salvador.

As efforts to promote low emission zones (LEZs) grows across Brazil, there is a crucial opportunity to embrace more e-bike forward policies and cycling infrastructure investments. LEZs are designated areas where promoting less polluting travel and goods delivery modes allows cities to assess sustainable mobility strategies. By promoting e-bikes and three-wheelers as viable alternatives to cars, they can play a significant part in reducing emissions in busy urban areas. Utilizing lightweight e-bikes for goods and service delivery is particularly important by minimizing congestion, improving road safety, and minimizing the need for parking storage in dense commercial and residential neighborhoods.

Considering this context, ITDP Brazil has worked closely with the government in Rio de Janeiro to assess the potential impacts of e-bikes and three-wheelers within the city’s pilot LEZ area. The city already has a significant number of delivery services operated by e-bikes, particularly within the city’s bikeshare system. According to data from the bikeshare operator, between 2021 and 2023, the system recorded more than 3.4 million trips, with 15% of these trips designated for delivery and 36% of those carried out on e-bikes. Within Rio de Janiero’s LEZ, the share of trips for delivery activities is particularly noteworthy as the area accounts for over 11% of the city’s total number of bike-based pick-ups and returns. Although these delivery numbers represent only a portion of the city’s overall e-bike usage, it does highlight the mode’s growing demand, environmental benefits, and economic potential.

The city’s LEZ also identified several challenges to e-bike usage that can be applicable to other Brazilian cities. These include assessments of inadequate cycling infrastructure, poor road safety regulations, public security concerns, high ownership costs, and a lack of proactive sustainable mobility policies. To leverage the potential of the e-bike sector, city and national governments can take note of some of the progress underway in China to get ahead of a surge in ridership. Investments in better public cycling and charging infrastructure, coupled with safety and ownership-focused regulations, are important for improving the state of mobility more broadly. Furthermore, cities can provide more incentives for companies to leverage e-bikes as a last-mile delivery method, helping create jobs while reducing emissions and congestion. If planners and decision-makers in Brazil take a proactive approach to e-bike management in the near-term, they may be on the cusp of a transformation nationwide.

From China to Brazil, we can see that there exists both barriers and immense potential in embracing e-bikes. If local and national stakeholders start by addressing issues of access, safety, affordability, and integration, e-bikes can serve as a major engine of economic growth and emissions reductions. One method for cities to start testing the viability of e-bikes is to offer them as part of bikeshare and rental programs, allowing people to experience them with a low barrier to entry. This, of course, should align with plans for cycling infrastructure that makes it easier and safer to ride in every neighborhood.