Dutch consumers are buying more e-bikes and increasingly fewer traditional bikes, according to a study published on Wednesday by ABN Amro.

Sales of e-bikes soared by 75% over the past seven years and one-third of all new bicycles are now powered by a battery,  the study said. Sales of traditional bikes, meanwhile, have fallen back 37% since 2010.

ABN Amro is forecasting bike sales 3% higher in 2018.

More bikes are also being sold online. In 2013, fewer than one in 10 bikes was bought online but that has now risen to over 25%.

The total Dutch bike fleet is probably over 22.7 million by now – 1.3 bikes for every man, woman and child in the country –  roads lobby group Bovag said recently.

‘We can’t give exact numbers because bikes don’t have number plates and are not registered centrally,’ a spokesman said.