Confindustria ANCMA (National Association of Cycle Motorcycle Accessories) presented in Rome, at the Parliamentary Acts Hall of the Senate Library, a detailed mapping of the Italian supply chain through a study conducted by Bain & Company Italia on a sample of over 2,100 companies (more than 80% of the entire sector).

A work that sheds a new light on the economic value generated by production, assembly, services, and distribution of parts, components, and finished products in the sector, as well as on the concrete contribution that the reference industry offers to new mobility demands. The association, which represents about 90% of motorcycle companies and 70% of bicycle companies at the national level, thus commits to making the voice of a supply chain that in Italy today is worth a total of 14.8 billion euros (motorcycle and bicycle supply chain turnover 2023) heard.

MOTORCYCLES

The study reveals that the motorcycle sector alone records a turnover of 9.5 billion euros, confirming its primacy in Europe in both production and market numbers. Motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds are popular among Italians: the number of A licenses is growing (today one in five of those issued, for a total of 280,000, +6% from 2013 to 2023 compared to +1% of B licenses) and the market is doing very well, with an average annual growth of 12% from 2020 to 2023.

The post-Covid era has delivered a new protagonism to motorized two-wheelers, not only for urban mobility (scooters) but also in areas traditionally more linked to passion, tourism, and leisure, namely motorcycles, which in 2023 came to represent 45% of registrations (it was 34% just 10 years earlier) and which, thanks to the success of medium-sized engines, has also met commuting demand and new mobility needs.

The positive market trend then translated into a growth in the entire motorcycle supply chain turnover, which between 2020 and 2023 marked a +50%, and an increase in average profitability for operators, which in the same period went from 4.2% to 6%.

A positive sign also for the number of employees, which grew by 7% between 2020 and 2022, settling at just over 36,000 direct (84,000 with indirect and induced). Finally, noteworthy is the motorcycle trade balance, which closed in 2023 with +470 million euros, confirming the quality and central role of Italy in exports. An exclusive gift of Made in Italy, also testified by the performance of components that affirm their leadership in the high-end segment, with an average export parts value of 33 euros per kg compared to 19 for imports.

BICYCLES

On the pedal two-wheeler front, the Bain & Company Italia study first highlights the opposite effects that the Covid pandemic and the bike bonus had on the market, namely the +18% in 2020 compared to 2019 (over 2 million pieces sold) and the average annual decline of 17% between 2021 and 2023. Despite the volume decline, the bicycle supply chain still recorded a significant turnover increase, driven by price increases and the success of e-bikes, settling at 2.7 billion euros in 2023, equal to a +50% compared to 2018.

The pandemic effects also impacted the sector's profitability: due to supply chain crises, margins returned to 2019 levels, dropping from the peak of 7.6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2023. Component manufacturers and accessory sellers were the most affected, losing almost ten margin points.

In a context of major transformations, the most relevant element was, as anticipated, the rapid increase in e-bikes, rising to over 330,000 units sold in 2022, with a 20% penetration of the total (it was 3% in 2015 and 11% in 2019), which made pedal two-wheelers accessible to a broader audience. A progress that, however, revealed the Italian supply chain's exposure to electrical component supplies from Asia (which exports 87% of chips), as well as to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. Between 2020 and 2021, component imports thus marked a solid +79%, settling at 664 billion euros and reaching just over 800 in 2022.

In any case, the cycling sector, like the motorcycle sector, continues to show a positive export balance, demonstrating the strong demand for Made in Italy products in international markets: the trade balance indicates +75 million euros with very significant values in component pricing per kg for parts such as pedals, handlebars, and gears.

Finally, positive news comes from employment trends where, despite the market performance, in two years (2020-2022) the number of employees in bicycle and component production grew by 16%, rising from 15,200 units to 17,600.

PRESIDENT ROMAN'S STATEMENTS

During the presentation of the Bain & Company Italia study, ANCMA President Mariano Roman emphasized "the association's desire to shed light on a relevant and primary sector in Europe, which creates significant induced effects with international sporting events and the EICMA trade fair excellence, which offers employment, sustainable mobility, and contributes nearly 180 million euros to tax revenues. Today, we produce 17% of bicycles built and assembled in Europe (2 million), while the motorcycle sector exports motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds for 2 billion euros and produces 422,000 pieces in Italy, firmly holding the first place in the Eurozone, where it compares with 161,000 from Germany, 124,000 units from Austria, and 89,000 from France".

"We chose a central institutional venue," Roman underlined, "precisely to amplify our voice in a logic of constructive dialogue with politics: today our sector, to unleash its full potential and continue to compete internationally, needs support worthy of its value. I refer, for example, to more incisive subsidiary policies that generally favor aggregation, investments in research and development, and the establishment of high-end component supply chain production sites. As well as actions, more specific to the cycling sector, concerning usage support and, above all, cycling infrastructure, essential to develop our country's great potential in cycle tourism".