European Cycling Industries (ECI) asks European policymakers to adopt more decisive measures against illegal and non-compliant eBikes, including a European ban on performance modification kits, strengthened market controls, and increased accountability for products sold through online marketplaces. The request is at the heart of the new Manifesto for a safe and compliant European market by ECI, which calls on European institutions, national governments, and other stakeholders to collaborate with the industry to protect consumers, road safety, and the European cycling sector from the growing spread of non-compliant products. The message of the Manifesto is clear: the industry is taking responsibility and calling on European institutions and the entire stakeholder community to take a stand. In parallel with the Manifesto, ECI has renewed its Voluntary Commitment to prevent eBike tampering and has published a new Position Paper which, for the first time, sets out a detailed technical benchmark of the requirements needed to ensure effective anti-tampering protection.
Protecting the European success of eBikes
Illegal and non-compliant eBikes, which do not meet European safety and technical requirements or have been modified to operate outside of these requirements, can pose risks to cyclists and other road users. They can also undermine overall confidence in pedal-assist vehicles: when an accident involves an illegal or modified vehicle, the distinction between that vehicle and an eBike compliant with regulations easily blurs in public debate. There is also a fundamental issue of fair competition. Responsible manufacturers invest significant resources in product safety, testing, certification, documentation, and compliance with European regulations. They should not be forced to compete with operators who avoid these costs or who introduce products to the market that are not subject to the same requirements. The stakes go far beyond individual companies. The European bicycle industry – which includes production, infrastructure, cycle tourism, rental, cycling logistics, and related services – supports 1.3 million jobs and contributes 21 billion euros to the EU GDP, involving over 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. Protecting a safe and compliant eBike market means safeguarding consumers, confidence in electric pedal mobility, and an important European industrial ecosystem. 
The Manifesto: a shared call to action
The Manifesto expands the discussion beyond the issue of tampering, addressing the broader problem of non-compliant products reaching European consumers, particularly through online marketplaces. On these platforms, products are often sold directly by operators based outside the EU, without an identifiable entity within European jurisdiction that can be held accountable for their compliance. The document deliberately addresses a wide audience: European and national policymakers, regional authorities, market surveillance bodies, consumer associations, insurance companies, online platforms, and associations from other industrial sectors facing the same structural problem. ECI emphasizes that the issue does not concern solely the world of bicycles, nor should the response be limited to it.
ECI’s requests
In the Manifesto, ECI calls on the European Commission, Parliament, and Member States to take the following actions.
- Prohibit the sale of EPAC tampering kits throughout the European Union.
- Create a European-level database and knowledge base on the safety and economic impacts of non-compliant e-bikes.
- Strengthen and uniformly enforce European market surveillance rules, including those related to online sales.
- Invest in local control activities, training, and technical skills, so that authorities can identify and combat the use of non-compliant e-bikes.
ECI also emphasizes that the cycling sector is ready to provide its technical expertise to contribute to these initiatives, with the goal of ensuring that the bike remains a safe, accessible, and affordable mode of transportation for all. The Position Paper linked to the Manifesto details what “cutting-edge” anti-tampering protection should mean in practice. The attachments identify concrete measures that manufacturers should adopt, including:
- cryptographically verified software updates with anti-rollback protection;
- secure authentication of components between motor, controller, and battery;
- plausibility checks of sensors based on multiple signals;
- protected and tamper-resistant recording of changes to critical parameters;
- protected diagnostic and debug interfaces.
Equally important, the document clarifies which solutions are not sufficient to achieve this level of protection: compliance modifications accessible to users through apps or service menus; simple bike unlocking procedures via key combinations or predefined PINs; digitally unsigned firmware; systems relying on a single signal and protections based solely on system obscurity. “The commitment of 2021 established that this industry does not accept tampering. With the Position Paper, we take a further step forward. We provide manufacturers with a concrete benchmark on which to design their systems and, at the same time, offer authorities and standardization bodies a reference point to assess whether a system is truly protected or only appears to be,” said Paul Walsh, CEO of ECI.
