The Russian bike business is steadily recovering from a sharp drop between 2022 and 2023 when the imposition of unprecedented Western sanctions and massive exodus of global players led to a market in serious crisis.
According to data from the Russian consulting agency First Data, 2024 bike sales in Russia almost doubled, compared to 2023. The biggest sales growth was realized in the online sale segment of the market, where the growth skyrocketed more than 200 percent, largely driven by sales of e-bikes, which grew by 240 percent. At the same time, sales of all other bikes grew by 66 percent. This year, growth is continuing, although not at the same rate as last year.
These numbers have led most local analysts to believe the market is almost completely recovered from the crisis associated with sanctions, which led to its decline by 30 percent in 2023, compared to the pre-war numbers of 2021. At that period, the market also faced a shortage of bike supplies and a sharp rise of prices for those that were available. Starting in late February 2022, many Western bike brands left Russia including Specialized, Scott, Merida, Cube and some others.
That led to a serious shortage of bicycles primarily in the largest cities of the country, like Moscow and St. Petersburg, where demand for bikes has been traditionally higher, and where the existing stocks of imported bicycles in Russia were rapidly exhausted. Sanctions have also led to the decline of domestic bike output to only 545,300 units. For comparison, in 2021, the production volume reached 1.43 million units. In 2024, production partially recovered, but it is still below the figures of the period of 2020-2021.
According to data from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, before the war, the overall Russian bike market exceeded 3 million units in volume, two-thirds of which were imported models. Despite the exodus of many of global players, imports continue to dominate the local market, most of which are from China, in contrast to some previous years. Some of these imports can also be attributed to parallel imports, or grey product, primarily of bikes of Western origin. This is also ongoing, even though the final cost of such bikes is usually several times higher than their real market value. In recent months, most parallel imports have been suspended, as the development of that supply chain is no longer a priority for the Russian government.
The currently booming Russian military economics created conditions for the development of the market while also stimulating domestic production. According to experts of the Russian Vedomosti business newspaper, in recent years, the production of such domestic models as Stinger, Stels and Format has significantly increased. Most of them are positioned at the low- and middle-priced segments of the market, and most of them are produced from foreign components and parts, which are primarily supplied from China, Taiwan and other Asian countries. The average retail cost of the bicycle in Russia is currently estimated 13,000 rubles (US$150).
While Western sanctions did not affect supplies of bikes, components and spare parts to Russia, there are serious problems with payments for such imports, as most of Russian banks are on the sanctions lists of the EU and the U.S, and therefore banned. While some Russian dealers have been able to switch to China suppliers, in recent weeks they have also faced with serious problems with payments due to the refusal of even major Chinese banks to conduct their transactions for the purchases in yuan. Analysts believe the exodus of Western brands has provided a good chance for domestic bike manufacturers to increase their share in the local market.
spring bike route near
Petrozavodsk Northern Russia.
So far, some of leading Russian bike brands have announced their plans to expand production and sales. For example, in the Russian Ural city of Perm, the local bike manufacturer Forward recently revived the production of an iconic Soviet bike brand: Kama. The Kama brand was launched in the former USSR in the mid-1970s and was one of the most massive city bikes in the Soviet Union. This year, Forward plans to produce at least 10,000 units, priced at RUB 10,000 (€110). The lack of strong foreign competitors will also allow Russian bike manufacturers to expand in the domestic market, while, according to some estimates, their share already exceeds 70 percent in volume terms.
In Moscow, the largest bike market in the country, Russian bikes occupy approximately 70 to 80 percent of the market in volume terms, according to data from the Moscow regional authorities. At the same time in value terms, their share is only about 50 percent. Most Russian analysts believe the Russian bike market will continue its growth in the future due to the overall popularization of cycling in Russia and the development of local infrastructure.
Mikhail Skigin, partner of the premium bike showroom network WowBikes, said that historically it’s been a bit dangerous to ride bicycles in Moscow and St. Petersburg due to lack of infrastructure, scaring off potential commuters, but that situation is changing. “Today, we can see how the authorities are increasingly investing in infrastructure, while cycling is becoming more and more accessible. And this trend is gaining momentum, which is evident from the number of sales of even children’s bicycles. They are becoming more and more popular.”
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