Electric Wheelchair Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the electric wheelchair market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global electric wheelchair market reached a value of nearly $4.5 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2023 to $7.6 billion in 2028 at a rate of 11%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2028 and reach $11.4 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from growth in incidences of obesity, regulations favoring disabled friendly places, growing demand for electric mobility devices for people with disability and healthcare infrastructure improvements. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were low healthcare reimbursements and insufficient training to caregivers for operating electric wheelchair.

Going forward, increasing aging population worldwide, rising healthcare expenditure globally, growing prevalence of disabilities due to accidents and rapid rise in orthopedic surgeries will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the electric wheelchair market in the future include limited battery capacity and challenges due to regulatory changes.

The electric wheelchair market is segmented by product type into center wheel drive electric wheelchair, front wheel drive electric wheelchair, rear wheel drive electric wheelchair, standing electric wheelchair and other product types. The center wheel drive electric wheelchair market was the largest segment of the electric wheelchair market segmented by product type, accounting for 37.2% or $1.7 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the front wheel drive electric wheelchair segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric wheelchair market segmented by product type, at a CAGR of 11.8% during 2023-2028.

The electric wheelchair market is segmented by category into adults and pediatric. The adults market was the largest segment of the electric wheelchair market segmented by category, accounting for 81.1% or $3.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, it is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric wheelchair market segmented by category, at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2023-2028.

The electric wheelchair market is segmented by application into homecare, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, rehabilitation centers and other applications. The homecare market was the largest segment of the electric wheelchair market segmented by application, accounting for 37.7% or $1.7 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, it is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric wheelchair market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 11.6% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the electric wheelchair market, accounting for 37.3% or $1.7 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the electric wheelchair market will be Asia Pacific and North America where growth will be at CAGRs of 12% and 11.3% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.8% and 10% respectively.

The global electric wheelchair market is fairly concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 20.5% of the total market in 2022. Prominent players are acquiring the products and entering into partnerships with the other companies to consolidate their market positions across the globe, while others are distributing products. Sunrise Medical Limited was the largest competitor with a 4.5% share of the market, followed by Invacare Corporation with 4.1%, Permobil AB with 3.5%, Drive Medical Ltd with 2.7%, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA with 2.4%, Pride Mobility Products Corp with 1.9%, Golden Technologies with 0.7%, Hoveround Corporation with 0.3%, Merits Health Products with 0.2% and 21st Century Scientific Inc. with 0.1%.

The top opportunities in the electric wheelchair market segmented by product type will arise in the center wheel drive electric wheelchair segment, which will gain $1.1 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the electric wheelchair market segmented by category will arise in the adults segment, which will gain $2.5 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the electric wheelchair market segmented by application will arise in the homecare segment, which will gain $1.2 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The electric wheelchair market size will gain the most in the USA at $991.9 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the electric wheelchair market include focus on developing and introducing wheelchairs with advanced features, focus on developing and introducing multipurpose wheelchairs, focus on launching wheelchairs with new technologies, focus on next generation transformation of wheelchair and focus on development of smart wheelchairs.

Player-adopted strategies in the electric wheelchair market include focus on offering innovative solutions through new product developments, focus on strengthening business operations through the launch of new products, focus on strengthening its market position through strategic partnerships and focus on enhancing its portfolio of products through the launch of user-friendly products.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends electric wheelchair companies to focus on innovation and differentiation, focus on multipurpose wheelchair development, focus on technological advancements in wheelchair design, focus on next generation transformation wheelchairs, focus on smart wheelchair innovation, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on expanding distribution channels, provide competitively priced offerings, focus on strategic pricing strategies, focus on digital marketing channels, emphasize education and community engagement, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on homecare and hospitals application segments and focus on aging populations.