Latin America Bicycle Market Oulook 2027

From Bogota to Ushuaia or from Ushuaia to Quito, both are iconic bicycle touring routes, and every year there are many cyclists undertaking adventures. Although South America is twice the size of Europe, it is anything but flat; there are many unpaved roads; and the weather has a big influence. Bicycles are making an impact in the cities of the region. In South America, there are already 12 cities that have a network of more than 12,000 public bicycles. However, the scenario varies considerably. While cities such as Bogota and Rio de Janeiro are breaking records in terms of kilometers of bike lanes, most central countries have no institutionalized networks.

According to the report titled South America Bicycle Market Outlook, 2027 the market was calculated to register a market size of around USD 3 billion. Furthermore, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 3.5% between 2022 and 2027.People living in the region are demanding urban planners to re-design streets to ensure a more equitable prioritization of the allocation of streets for cycling. The demand for social distancing is forcing cities across South America and the world to rethink public life. That includes a reconsideration of mass transit, with a number of public sector initiatives encouraging biking as a safer alternative. While mountain bikes dominate the market by value, road bikes dominate by volume. The mountain bikes held a share of more than 29% by value, while the road bikes, majorly preferred for the daily commute, led the market in volume of the same kind.

The region is dominated by the Brazil market, which holds a share of more than 40% by value. The smaller regions also contribute significantly to the market, provided their financial status and road quality are in favor of the cycle industry. In 2018, 325.6 million women lived in this region, accounting for approximately 50.77 percent of the total population. Yet to this, the contribution from the women's cycle segment in terms of volume remained the least over the period. However, the market is expected to show a marginal rise in its share by the forecasted period. The idea of company bike leasing is becoming increasingly popular in South America. Bike sharing solutions are successfully adapting success stories of developed countries to small South American countries.

Many South American cities have a chronic issue with traffic. In 2018, the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard ranked Colombia’s capital city of Bogotá as the 3rd most congested city in the world, followed by Mexico City (4th) and So Paulo (5th). The study calculated that drivers in Bogotá spend up to 272 hours stuck in traffic every year. Every Sunday and holiday between 7 AM and 2 PM, a sea of cyclists, joggers, and street vendors take over 76 miles of streets in Bogotá, which are fully or partially closed for the occasion. The event typically draws some 1.7 to 2 million people, or about a quarter of the city’s population. Nearly half the participants pedal for at least three hours.

Bogotá claimed the 12th spot in the Copenhagenize Index, the most comprehensive ranking of bicycle-friendly cities in the world. That puts the Colombian metropolis ahead of Barcelona, Berlin, Montréal, and Vancouver, and behind heavy hitters like Copenhagen or Amsterdam. As other major South American cities step up their cycling ambitions, the region is expected to witness higher market growth. For instance, the city of Lima, with World Bank support, plans to retrofit no less than 1,300 kilometers of roads to make them safer and more bicycle-friendly. In 2018, Yellow, a Brazil-based bike sharing startup, raised around USD 9 million in seed round funding. At that time, it was the first dockless bike-sharing platform in Brazil. And for next year, the company has plans to introduce dockless electric bikes. Many startups are adding new bikes to their fleet to provide better options to customers. For instance, in 2019, Bird unveiled its new electric scooter, called the Bird Cruiser; It includes features such as hydraulic disc brakes, an LCD matrix display, and a 52-volt battery. At first, Bird Cruiser will only be utilized for the company’s bike sharing fleet, not for customer sales.

The South American bike sharing market is consolidated with the presence of a limited number of regional players, although various new startups are entering the market, such as Grin, Tembici, and Bird. The market is highly driven by factors like advanced technology, easy-to-use rental schemes, growing investment, and startups entering into new countries. Major bike rental service providers are expanding their market reach and adding more bikes to their fleet to provide a more convenient experience for commuters.

Recent Developments:

• In 2019, Grin has announced that it is entering into a merger with Yellow. The combined entity, which will be called Grow Mobility, will operate over 135,000 vehicles across six countries. The company is planning to double its fleet size and expand its regional reach.
• In March 2020, Grow Mobility was sold to Mountain Nazca investment fund for an undisclosed amount.
• In 2019, Uber launched electric bikes with a fleet of 1,200 bikes in Chile, under the name Jump. The company's plan is to reach out to all the major South American countries as they have operations in Mexico City, Santos in Brazil and the Las Condes area in Santiago.
• In 2019, Bird acquired Scoot. After the acquisition, Scoot will be a subsidiary of Bird and will operate independently.

COVID-19 Impacts:

Just like e-commerce and video streaming, the services of Tembici, the Brazil-based micro-mobility and bike-share startup, also benefited from the good wave of digitalization and the change in habits driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of micro-mobility, this was preceded by a significant drop in demand - the same drop that disrupted the operations of apps like Uber for a few months - right at the start of the health crisis.

Major companies present in the market

Accell Group, Amer Sports, Bridgestone Cycle, Caloi, Campagnolo, Cannondale, Cervelo Cycles, Cube Cycles, Dorel Industries Inc., Giant Bicycles, Merida Bikes International, Orbea Corporation, Scott Sports, Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., STRiDA Cycles, XDS Shenzhen Xidesheng Bicycles Co., Ltd

Considered in this report

• Geography: South America
• Historic year: 2016
• Base year: 2021
• Estimated year: 2022
• Forecast year: 2027

Aspects covered in this report

• South America Bicycle market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Country-wise toy market analysis
• Various divers and challenges
• Ongoing trends and developments
• Five force models
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

Countries covered in the report

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia

Segment covered in the report

By Type

• Road Bikes
• Mountain Bikes
• Hybrid Bikes
• E-bikes
• Others (Kids, standard, maas)

By End User

• Men
• Women
• Kids

By Bikers Type

• Highly Engaged
• Engaged
• Leisure
• Travel