Sales of electric bikes outstripped sales of electric cars 70 fold in 2015, global sales estimates reveal.

Earlier this year, the Electric Bike World Report – the most comprehensive of its kind – revealed global electric bike sales in 2015 to be around 35 million units, some 70 times more than the 500,000 electric cars sold in the same period.

The authors anticipate two billion pedal-assisted bikes will be in circulation by 2050, up from the 200 million said to be in circulation at present. Furthermore, it suggests that the US market will soon begin to mimic European demand having shown similar growth trajectory in recent times.

The two are, of course, entirely different vehicles with very different price points and while the majority of sales thus far have been urban bikes, the off road market is expanding share rapidly, according to specialist distributors.

The trend towards nimble urban mobility hasn’t escaped the attention of car manufacturers, some of whom are now investing in integrating electric bikes into their motor vehicles in order to offer better multi-modal links. Others, including senior staff with Tesla, Jaguar and Bentley have invested in one brand.

Indeed, European market acceleration has seen researchers forecast a market value of €24.3 billion by 2025. For industry giant the Accell Group, the recent Q2 statement revealed that pedal-assisted bikes now make up some 43% of total turnover.

With manufacturers finding increasingly discreet ways to offer the cyclist an artificial tailwind, as well as sustained growth of the off-road segment, the segment is tipped in one report released this week to be the cycling industry’s fastest growing segment between now and 2021.

Have you checked in with CyclingIndustry.News’ dedicated electric bike section yet? You can keep up to speed with market movements right here.