E-Bikes: What Really Matters When Making a Purchase Decision

One of three bikes sold in Germany is now an e-bike. Which electric bike the buyer chooses depends not only on the brand but also on the components. Here, the e-bikers prefer big brands, as the Braind whitepaper shows. Around 200 e-bike users were surveyed, a good three-quarters of whom stated that it was (very) important for the propulsion system to come from a well-known supplier.

In addition to the propulsion system, other components also play a role in the purchase decision: 62% of the respondents named the battery, 42% the brake system, 31% voted for theft protection.

A survey conducted by Bicle.com, the online platform for electromobility, confirms Braind's findings and also shows that 67% of ebikers consider the electrical components brand even more important than the e-bike brand.

By far the most popular brand is Bosch. 54% of the respondents named the company from Stuttgart when asked about brands they know. 38% called Yamaha, followed by Shimano (33%), Sachs (18%) and Brose (9%). Bosch's popularity is also consistent with the results of a survey conducted by ebike-mtb.com, an e-mountain bike magazine, which asked over 10,000 bikers about their brand preferences. According to this, 45% prefer Bosch - this corresponds almost exactly to Bosch's market share of 46% in the e-bike segment.

According to the whitepaper authors, the fact that buyers emphasize great importance to the components is primarily due to the quality promise behind major brands such as Bosch or Yamaha. "A specific propulsion system adds so much value to the finished product that the Ingredient is the most relevant part of the buying decision," explain the whitepaper authors Tomas Vucurevic and Aljaz Urbanc. "Other factors like the E-bike brand, availability, color, price and the second layer of Ingredient Brands like derailleur, drivetrain, brake and suspension systems only come into play after the customer has already preferred a propulsion system."

The message to the manufacturers of the components is clear: they have enormous potential to advance from pure supplier to sales-decisive brand. According to Braind, good branding is decisive for this, as the example of Bosch shows. The company is already successfully implementing branding in its communication strategy, providing end conusmers with digital, interactive formats and high-quality video content. Details on this and an outlook on how buying behaviour will change in the e-bike market and which purchasing aspects will become more important for e-bikers in the future can be found in the white paper.

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