E-MOBILITY
55recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2020
ing best practices for recycling will
clearly be advisable.
Fewer cars, more bikes
A growing number of cities restrict
and, in some cases, ban altogether
non-electrical vehicles like cars and
trucks. This is an opportunity for
e-bikes.
‘Have you heard of electric cargo
bikes?’ asks Roetynck. ‘They are
becoming increasingly popular for
those working in the logistics sector
while providing transport for profes-
sionals making house calls – such as
plumbers, electricians and cleaners.’
There is a small market for the so-
called speed pedelecs, offering pedal
assistance up to 45 km/h. ‘This vehicle
is only really growing in Belgium
because it is the only member state
that has made the necessary changes
to its traffic code to accommodate
them,’ Roetynck says. She cites
research carried out by the Flemish
Environmental Department showing
an appetite for swapping the car for a
speed pedelec when commuting dis-
tances of around 15 km. ‘Although
sales in Belgium are still quite limited,
they went up more than 50% in 2019,’
Roetynck adds.
While the market for regular mopeds
has imploded, the electric moped
market has been growing only slowly
since 2013 – until recently. ‘The seg-
ment was hampered by limited pro-
duction, prices that could not com-
pete with traditional mopeds and con-
sumers anxious about their range,’
Roetynck states. Almost 60 000 of
these units were sold in the EU last
year, which represents approximately
50% growth compared to 2018. Sales
of electric motorcycles also doubled
to more than 14 000.
Anecdotal evidence suggests there
has been a marked increase in electric
scooter usage as well but there are no
official statistics available yet. ‘I
believe this market is finally taking
off,’ Roetynck comments.
inaccurate Framework
And yet, there are challenges. ‘The
market is very much driven and, at the
same time, obstructed by legislation’,
Roetynck argues. ‘Any electric bicycle,
other than pedal-assisted up to 25
km/h and 250W, is subject to approval
in the L-category, which mainly covers
mopeds and motorcycles. This techni-
cal framework is inaccurate, extremely
complex and expensive to comply
with,’ she argues. Furthermore,
because they are part of the
L-category, EU member states wrong-
ly categorise them in their traffic code
as ‘mopeds’.
The 25 km/h electric bicycles are
excluded from this approval process
and are categorised in traffic codes as
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