Electric bike sales are surging as rising fuel costs push commuters to find a cheaper way to get around, industry figures say.
While Australian e-bike sales have been climbing for years, retailers say recent fuel price pressures have sharply accelerated the trend.
“We’ve seen a massive spike in interest in e-bikes in the last couple of weeks,” Peter Bourke, general manager of Bicycle Industries Australia, told AAP.
Sales accelerated as consumers began to expect fuel price shocks related to global supply challenges to stick around beyond the short term, Mr Bourke said.
“It took a few weeks for people to understand the price rise wasn’t going to be a one or two week thing,” he said.
“That’s when shops began to see a lot more foot traffic.”
The evidence remains anecdotal, but Mr Bourke insisted e-bike retailers nationwide were seeing more buyer interest.
One such retailer is bike store 99 Bikes South Melbourne, where e-bike sales have roughly quadrupled in recent weeks, manager Jake Shaw said.
“When (petrol) prices hit $2.50 (per litre), instantly we had a jump in sales,” Mr Shaw said.
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The spike has not yet been as significant as that experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic but is showing no signs of slowing, he said.
“It’s getting close,” he said.
It comes as experts warn the forces driving up fuel costs are unlikely to ease quickly despite some temporary signs of relief.
On Monday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced Australia had secured fuel supply into May, securing orders beyond a previous mid-April horizon.
It followed the federal government’s decision to halve taxes on petrol and diesel and an agreement by states to pass on an expected GST windfall.
But the combined savings, worth more than 30c a litre, have not offset the impact of high oil prices due to Iran’s restriction of supply through the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has flagged strikes on Iran could end within weeks, recently saying core objectives were nearing completion.
In an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday (Monday AEST), Mr Trump threatened Iran to open the “F***in’ Strait” or the regime will be “living in Hell”.
The federal government has accepted the impacts of the war will continue, even if it comes to a swift end.
The flow-on effects on fuel prices and inflation will have a long tail, Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said on Sunday.
“If (the war) ended tomorrow, there’d still be effects in the coming months, but we’re planning for that,” he said.
