Britain, Netherlands lead the pack, according to Boats Group study

A just-released market study says electric boating’s popularity in Europe is surging, winning a fast-growing market share with Britain and the Netherlands leading the pack.

Citing a market analysis, it predicts an annual average growth rate in Europe of 12.7% for the electric boating sector between now and 2028. “With 150% more online availability compared to 2021, the electric boat market is clearly on the rise,” says the 2023 Electric Boat Market Survey of Boats Group.

Electric boating on Amsterdam canals

Electric boating on Amsterdam’s canals

It says Northern European countries are trend leaders “with the largest supply coming from the UK and the highest buyer interest coming from the Netherlands, while southern Europe begins to catch on to the trend.”

Boats Group is a marine sector advertising and software company offering web-based solutions for boat trade. Its titles are Boats.com, YachtWorld, BoatTrader.com, Annonces du Bateau, Boten te Koop, Cosas de Barcos, Boatshop24, Boats and Outboards, YachtCloser, Click and Boat, and Trident Funding. Boats Group is based in Miami and also has offices in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Fareham (England), Padua (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain).

That big geographical spread gives it an inside track to data from vital online marketplaces that command a global audience of electric boat buyers, sellers and makers. In the next few years, Boats Group expects robust growth in Europe for electric boating, ahead of North America and Asia-Pacific.

The 2023 study, however, says the demand and supply picture in Europe is a mishmash showing a north-south divide on the supply side. “There is a large supply of electric boats in the lower and medium price segments on our platforms. This is important because CO2-neutral mobility on the water should be available for every boat driver,” says Nadja Sörgel, managing director of Europe at Boats Group.

Boats Group also analyzed the search behaviour in 2019-2023 of 46 million “active potential buyers” in six markets (UK, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Germany) and the sales of 4,000+ brokers, dealers and OEMs. Key findings of the electric boating market:

  • Europe is becoming the most important market, with growth ahead of North America. Online exchanges recorded electric boat listings growing by 60% in 2021, 160% in 2022 and 190% in 2023
  • The Dutch and French markets show a particularly high number of searches. Belgium, Sweden, Britain and Ireland showed “comparatively many searches.” Interest was weak in Spain and Germany
  • Britain, the Netherlands and Germany provide the largest supply of electric boats. Italy and Spain lag. Most electric boats listed for sale have their moorings in the UK (1st place), the Netherlands (2nd) and Germany (3rd)
  • Germany may be one of the top three suppliers of electric boats, it records lower search queries for electric boats than other countries
  • Electric boats across Europe are predominantly available in the entry to medium price range: 38% are offered at up to €50.000; 57% of electric boats on European online exchanges are new boats; used ones account for 43%

To read the study, click here.

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