Thirteen to one: Dramatic figures for the MTB market

13 to 1: not a close race

That’s not just a narrow majority. It’s a world of difference in the sales figures. For every new mountain bike sold without a motor, there are, on average, a good 13 e-MTBs sold. That’s what the statistics on the 2025 bicycle market show, and the final figures for the current year are unlikely to be all that different.

The figures are taken from the 2026 market data published by the VDZ (German Bicycle Trade Association), but are based on a survey conducted by the German Bicycle Industry Association (ZIV) for 2025. The key factor is the scope of the data: the figures relate to new bikes sold in Germany, not the bikes actually being ridden on the trails. The figures therefore reflect current demand, but do not accurately represent cycling culture in this country. It is certainly the case that the ratio of MTBs to e-MTBs out in the woods, fields, mountains and parks is quite different from that found in the trade associations’ statistical records – although this is not backed up by specific figures.

Anyone focusing solely on new purchases must therefore note that non-motorised mountain bikes are, in terms of volume, the clear minority within this model group. Even more striking, however, is the economic significance of these two categories of bicycle. The VDZ did not provide any specific figures on this, but as the average selling prices of e-mountain bikes are considerably higher than those of non-motorised MTBs, the revenue ratio is even more clearly in favour of e-MTBs.

Mountain bikes are big; e-MTBs are even bigger

Yet the MTB segment is by no means a minor niche within the cycling market. According to the model group analysis, it accounts for 21.4 per cent of all bicycle and e-bike sales, both with and without a motor. Only trekking bikes are ahead of it, at 31.3 per cent. Within the e-bike market, in turn, the e-MTB leads the model groups with 38 per cent.

However, this dominance in sales does not necessarily mean that traditional mountain bikes have disappeared from the trails. Bikes already in use do not feature in these annual statistics. Nor do the figures reveal how often their owners ride or how vigorously they ride. E-mountain bikes – as indicated by previous surveys of the readership of our cycling magazines – are used more frequently for everyday use and commuting than standard mountain bikes. This is likely to continue to affect the trail presence of these two categories in favour of the non-motorised MTB. Furthermore: Innovation is less rapid in the mountain bike sector than in the e-mountain bike sector. This affects the frequency of purchases: if innovation provides a strong incentive to buy, purchases are made at shorter intervals. This, in turn, is not directly related to the sheer number of mountain bikers and e-mountain bikers.

Conclusion: a clear majority, not a death sentence

741,000 to 52,500: when buying a new MTB, an electric motor is no longer the exception but the norm. The classic mountain bike remains a small minority in these statistics. However, the figures do not prove that it is on the way out. They measure sales for a single year, not the entire mountain bike culture. Anyone who keeps the two separate can recognise the scale of electrification without prematurely writing off the ‘organic’ bike.