Article Provided By Dave Conway

Where did electric bikes come from? And why are they becoming increasingly popular?

Electric bikes started out as mountain bikes, but now they've evolved into something much more useful. They're not only great fun on their own, but also provide a unique form of transportation that gets you where you want to go faster and easier than ever before.

They're affordable, efficient, environmentally friendly, and give you a new way of getting around town. What's not to like? Well, probably a couple of things -- the vast gap in features and quality. Sure, electric bikes have become quite common in certain parts of Europe. Similarly, electric bikes have become a trendy urban gadget across the United States.

The global electric bicycle market is expected to skyrocket in the following decade, achieving massive growth in Europe, Asia, and North America. Source: eBicycles

It’s no surprise that the demand for electric bikes continues to rise, considering how convenient these vehicles can be. Electric bikes don't emit harmful emissions or create noise pollution, which means you can ride them without having to worry about annoying other road users. You can also use them to get around town without worrying about gas prices.

We know that there are many different types of electric bicycles out there. But we also know that not every brand makes their products in the U.S., nor does every company make their products in China. So, where are all those beautiful electric bikes manufactured?

To make matters worse, there are so many brands out there that it’s hard to figure out where the quality is best. We've put together this guide to help you decide where to go for an electric bike, as each country has its own regulations about where you can purchase and operate certain types of vehicles.

Where Are Electric Bikes Made?

Electric bikes are made almost everywhere in the world. The top countries for electric bike manufacturing include China, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Mexico, Austria, and Brazil. Since electric bikes have become increasingly popular, many new factories are opening each year to meet this high demand.

The global electric bicycle market is fragmented, without a clear leader in the industry. Still, the most influential companies are Giant, Merida, Trek, Riese & Muller, and M1 Sporttechnik. Source: ebicycles

Most electric bikes on the market today use lithium iron phosphate batteries. Although this technology has improved significantly in recent years, the initial cost of building a factory for producing them is still quite expensive. This makes large scale production difficult. Today, few companies produce their own batteries. Instead, they purchase batteries from suppliers. Some companies even outsource whole assembly lines to other producers around the globe.

Which Countries Make The Most Electric Bikes?

The United States has not been slow to jump on board the electric bicycle bandwagon; countries like China, Germany, Japan, France, and South Korea also dominate this market. Of these countries, only China and Germany are projected to surpass the U.S. in terms of production volume, sales figures, and total number of produced units by 2023.

Today, there are hundreds of companies making high-quality electric bikes. While some brands are better known than others, the top-selling models today are from the aforementioned countries. Chinese manufacturers produce bicycles for the mass markets throughout the year. In fact, the overwhelming majority of all new bicycles sold in the world today either started out as imports from China or were assembled by factories based in China.

Many foreign brands have chosen to partner with Chinese manufacturers to sell their products in China. Such partnerships provide the advantage of offering products in multiple languages, at competitive prices. Additionally, many major brand names like Trek Bicycle Corporation, Giant, and Brompton are owned by international conglomerates that rely on Chinese subsidiaries for distribution within China.

Top bicycle brands by sales are dominated by Trek/Fisher 22.5%, Giant 10.5%, Specialized 9.5% Source: sauserwind

Most Popular Electric Bike Companies

The electric bike industry has exploded in recent years. There are now thousands of electric bikes on the market, and new companies come out almost every week. Today, the U.S. bicycle industry is dominated by three global companies – Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale. Regardless, here are some of the biggest names that lead the pack when it comes to producing some of the best electric bikes available.

1. Trek

Dick Burke and Bevil Hogg started Trek Bicycles in December 1975. Trek became a wholly owned subsidiary of Roth Corporation - the widely acclaimed Milwaukee -based appliance distributor. Today, Trek remains one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world. Interestingly, they are unarguably the largest American bicycle company. They currently offer an extensive line of electric bikes including Verve+ 2, Verve+ 3, Allant+ 7, powerfly 5, and Domane+.

2. Specialized

Specialized was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard. Over the past few decades they've become a leading manufacturer of road bicycles and mountain bikes. As part of their success, they've branched out into several different product lines including clothing, accessories, and even golf equipment. Their first foray into the ebike space came in 2009 with the release of their first electric bike. Since then, they've released several popular models such as the S-Works, Tarmac Pro, Turbo VADO, EVO, Turbo KENEVO, and Turbo Levo SL4.

3. Cannondale

Cannondale was founded in 1971 by Joe Montgomery and Murdock MacGregor. They originally manufactured trailers and back packs for conveying bikes for camping. In 1983, Cannondale corporation launched their first bicycle in Connecticut, United States. Today, the company no longer produces its bikes in America. All Cannondale bikes are made in Asia and distributed across the world. The company's flagship model is the SuperSix EVO.

4. Giant

Giant Bicycles is an acclaimed bicycle manufacturing company that sells both imported and domestic bicycles. Founded in Taiwan in 1972, Giant has grown to become one of the world's largest bicycle designers and manufacturers. Today, the company operates manufacturing facilities out of Taiwan, China, the Netherlands, and Hungary. They offer a wide range of electric bikes from electric mountain bikes to electric road bikes.

5. Merida

Founded in Taiwan in 1972, Merida's R&D is headquartered in Germany. Merida started out manufacturing original equipment for several brands before its brand was established in 1988. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes innovative bicycle models globally. Today, Merida is present in over 77 countries. Their products include road bikes, mountain bikes, and hybrid bikes.

Other top electric bike companies in the world include Juiced, Revolt, Ancheer, Pedego, Schwinn, Electra, and Sun Bicycles.

Manufacturers of electric bikes produce various parts such as batteries, motors, controllers, lighting, and other components to make them. Depending on the market, some products may be imported from elsewhere rather than being manufactured locally. Some electric bike companies focus only on producing certain components of electric bikes. Others import complete units as knock-downs or unassembled kits.