Micromobility by the Numbers: E-bikes, LSVs, and the Quiet Electric Boom
TL;DR
The micromobility story in 2026 looks very different from what most car-centric coverage shows:
- E-bikes: an estimated ~1.08M US units sold in 2025, up ~17% after two down years. DTC channel (Rad, Aventon, Lectric) is about half the market. Cargo is the fastest-growing segment.
- LSVs / golf carts: an estimated ~268,000 electric golf carts and ~39,000 street-legal LSVs sold in 2025. The fleet on the road is approaching 2.3 million vehicles — bigger than the entire US BEV passenger-car fleet of any single year through 2024.
- Both segments grew through the 2024 light-duty BEV plateau. Same buyers, but for short trips they're picking electric two-wheelers and four-wheel LSVs over a second car.
Live data also at /tools/industry/micromobility.
E-bikes: the numbers tell the story
| Year | Total units | Revenue ($M) | Bike $ share | DTC units | Cargo units | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 880,000 | $870 | 11.2% | — | 12,000 | +65.0% |
| 2022 | 1,100,000 | $1,080 | 17.5% | — | 22,000 | +25.0% |
| 2023 | 1,050,000 | $1,020 | 21.8% | 380,000 | 28,000 | -4.5% |
| 2024 | 920,000 | $1,040 | 30.0% | 450,000 | 38,500 | -12.4% |
| 2025 (est.) | ~1,080,000 | ~$1,220 | ~30% | ~540,000 | ~49,000 | +17% |
Source: PeopleForBikes US e-bike forecast, Circana retail data. Snapshot 2026-05-09. Hard PeopleForBikes/Circana figures lag roughly 12 months, so 2025 values are estimates; e-bikes are about 30% of US bicycle dollars (a different metric from unit share).
A few stories embedded in the table:
The 2023-2024 dip wasn't demand — it was inventory. The COVID-era surge ordered too many bikes. Channel inventory peaked in late 2022 and took until mid-2024 to clear. Once it did, 2025 returned to growth.
E-bike share of total US bicycle dollars is now around 30%. Translation: roughly one in three dollars spent on a new bicycle in the US is going to an electric one — up from about one in nine in 2021. The premium pricing (most e-bikes are $1,500-$5,000 vs. $300-$1,200 for sport bikes) accelerates the dollar share faster than the unit share.
DTC is the structural change. Online-only brands (Rad Power, Aventon, Lectric, Heybike, Ride1Up) ship roughly half of all US e-bike units — about 450,000 units on PeopleForBikes' latest hard (2024) data, and likely more since. The traditional bike-shop channel (independent bicycle dealers, REI, Specialized/Trek dealer networks) still owns the premium tier and the service business — but the volume play is direct.
Cargo is the fastest-growing segment. Roughly 38,500 units in 2024 (PeopleForBikes) and climbing. Cargo bikes (Tern GSD, Riese & Müller Load, Specialized Globe Haul) are quietly replacing second cars in dense cities — Brooklyn, Boston, Portland, Seattle. The economics work: a $5,500 cargo e-bike replaces about $4,000/year in marginal car costs (gas, insurance, parking, depreciation) for short urban hauls.
Top brands by segment
| Brand | Segment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rad Power Bikes | DTC | Long the largest US DTC e-bike brand by units; Seattle-based. Filed Chapter 11 in Dec 2025; assets acquired by Life EV in early 2026 |
| Trek | Premium | Dominant in IBD channel; broad price range |
| Specialized | Premium | Performance + cargo; Turbo line |
| Aventon | DTC | DTC + selective IBD; Class 2/3 commuter and fat-tire |
| Lectric eBikes | DTC | Fastest-growing DTC; folding XP-series anchor |
| Tern | Cargo | GSD + Quick Haul leaders in US cargo segment |
| Riese & Müller | Cargo | Premium European cargo; Load + Multicharger |
| Heybike | DTC | Cabin + Cityrun targeting commuter segment |
| Giant | Mass-market | Strongest in IBD with Quick-E + Trance E |
| Cannondale | Premium | Adventure Neo + Treadwell Neo for commuting |
LSVs and golf carts: the segment nobody covers
Low-speed vehicles (LSVs) and golf carts are arguably the most successful electrification story in the US — and almost no one is writing about them.
| Year | Street-legal LSVs | Golf carts | Cumulative fleet | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14,000 | 165,000 | 1,400,000 | +9.0% |
| 2022 | 18,500 | 195,000 | 1,580,000 | +19.0% |
| 2023 | 24,000 | 215,000 | 1,780,000 | +12.5% |
| 2024 | 31,500 | 240,000 | 2,010,000 | +12.0% |
| 2025 (est.) | ~39,000 | ~268,000 | ~2,270,000 | +12.5% |
Source: SpotCharge estimates drawing on National Golf Foundation cart data and published LSV/golf-cart market reports. No single authoritative US registry tracks LSV/golf-cart unit sales, so treat these as approximate. Snapshot 2026-05-09.
The numbers without context don't land — so here's the context:
Most golf carts in the US are now electric. Engine-powered carts are a shrinking segment. Club Car, EZGO, and Yamaha all offer electric models with lithium battery options that have largely displaced lead-acid (and the engine variants) over the last five years.
The cumulative fleet is bigger than any single year of US BEV passenger sales. 2.27 million LSVs and golf carts on US streets and master-planned communities. The total US BEV light-duty fleet is around 4.5M vehicles cumulative; LSVs/golf carts are about half of that fleet just in this category.
Street-legal LSV growth is structural. Growing 20-30% per year off a small base. Drivers: master-planned communities (The Villages model — golf carts as primary in-community transport), retirement communities, college towns, and beach municipalities. Polaris GEM, Garia, Club Car Onward LSV, and Bintelli Beyond are the brands to know.
Battery + safety regulations are starting to bite. NYC Local Law 39 requires UL-listed batteries and chargers for any e-bike sold or used commercially in the city. Other municipalities are following. Effects: DTC brands without UL-listed packs lose market access in NYC; IBD-channel brands that already comply gain share. Long-term it pushes the bottom of the market upward — fewer $799 e-bikes from unverified factories.
Why this matters
The micromobility market is nearly invisible to anyone watching only "EV news" — it doesn't get the analyst attention car BEVs get. But:
- Replacement of car trips: a 2024 UC Davis / National Center for Sustainable Transportation study of California e-bike rebate recipients found about 82% of owners replaced one or more car trips, most of them at least weekly. Across millions of e-bikes on US roads, that adds up to a large number of car trips avoided every week.
- Charging infrastructure load is trivial: a 600 W e-bike pack and a 6 kW LSV charger together pull less than half of one Level 2 EV charger. They piggyback on existing residential and commercial wiring.
- The buyer pool overlaps with EV buyers: but with much lower price-of-entry. A family that's debating a second car increasingly buys an e-bike for $2,500 or a cargo e-bike for $5,500.
For drivers building out their charging strategy, e-bike charging usually happens off the same Level 1 or 2 outlet at home. No special equipment, no public charging. The economics work without infrastructure investment — which is part of why the segment is growing through periods when the light-duty market is plateauing.
Sources
- PeopleForBikes US e-bike forecast — primary unit + revenue source
- PeopleForBikes statistics dashboard
- Circana retail tracking for sport bicycles
- National Golf Foundation cart data + published LSV/golf-cart market reports
- UC Davis / National Center for Sustainable Transportation 2024 e-bike trip-replacement study
- NYC Local Law 39 (battery and charger UL listing requirement)