Market evolution: Wheelchairs and mobility scooters (CN 8713) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU external trade in CN 8713 — covering wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other carriages for disabled persons — between 2015 and 2025. Over this decade, the EU's imports nearly doubled in value (from €154 million to €291 million), far outpacing export growth (from €124 million to €175 million). The overall trade balance shifted from a modest deficit of €30 million in 2015 to a structural shortfall of €116 million in 2025. At the same time, EU production volumes collapsed by 44% in unit terms while production value held steady — a sign of significant structural repositioning. The sections below unpack the three most important dynamics behind these headline figures.

1. A Widening Deficit Fuelled by Motorised Imports from Asia

Import growth dramatically outpaces exports

Between 2015 and 2025, EU imports of CN 8713 grew by 89.3% in value (from €153.8 million to €291.2 million) and by 86.6% in unit count (from 1.05 million to 1.95 million items). Over the same period, EU exports rose by only 41.4% in value (from €124.1 million to €175.5 million) and barely moved in unit terms (+2.2%, from 238,180 to 243,311 items). The trade balance consequently deteriorated from −€30 million to −€116 million, and net import reliance swung from essentially zero (−0.6%) to 17.5%.

The motorised segment (871390) is the main growth engine

The product segment breakdown reveals a stark divergence between the two sub-categories:

Motorised and mechanically propelled carriages (871390) more than tripled in both import value and unit count, raising their share of total imports from 23% to 41% by value. This reflects the growing demand for powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters across an ageing European population, increasingly supplied from low-cost manufacturing hubs.

China consolidates its dominant position as supplier

Import sourcing is heavily concentrated on China, which supplied €188.6 million in 2025 (up 118.9% from €86.2 million in 2015) — representing 65% of all extra-EU imports by value. India emerged as a second major Asian supplier, with a 338% increase from €8.6 million to €37.6 million. Taiwan, by contrast, saw its share erode (−39.7%, from €16.5 million to €9.9 million), likely reflecting the broader shift of manufacturing capacity to mainland China and South Asia. The import concentration HHI rose from 3,469 to 4,439, confirming that import sourcing has become more concentrated, not less — a potential supply-chain vulnerability.

2. EU Production Retreats in Volume While Climbing the Value Ladder

Domestic output is shrinking rapidly

According to Eurostat Prodcom data, EU production of CN 8713 fell from 1,131,062 items in 2015 to 634,000 items in 2025 — a decline of 43.9%. This contraction far exceeds the modest 2.2% growth in export units, suggesting that the domestic market is also being penetrated by imports.

The value–volume gap signals a move upmarket

While output in units nearly halved, production value rose by 5.8% to €568 million. This implies that the average unit value of EU-manufactured wheelchairs and mobility aids roughly doubled — from approximately €475 per item to approximately €896 per item. EU manufacturers appear to be retreating from the high-volume, low-cost segment (where they cannot compete with Asian imports) and refocusing on premium, technology-intensive products such as advanced powered wheelchairs with customised features.

This pattern is consistent with the export price data. EU export unit values per item (supplementary unit price) for motorised carriages (871390) rose from €921 to €1,824 over the decade, while non-motorised export prices rose from €377 to €520. By contrast, import prices for non-motorised carriages (871310) fell from €121 to €99 per item — a sign of commoditisation and intensifying price competition from Asia.

The EU's export structure tilts towards fewer, pricier shipments

EU export volumes in tonnage grew only 3.3% (from 5,748 t to 5,940 t) while value grew 41.4%, implying a 36.8% increase in the average value per tonne. This further corroborates the upmarket repositioning: EU exporters are shipping heavier, more feature-rich units at higher price points rather than competing on volume.

3. Geographic Reorientation: Asian Sourcing and European Export Markets

Export destinations remain predominantly European

The EU's top export partners in 2025 were overwhelmingly neighbouring or nearby countries:

The United Kingdom remained the single largest export market throughout the period, absorbing roughly 23% of EU exports by value in 2025. Norway and Switzerland — both geographically close and with high per-capita income — showed steady growth. The most striking growth, however, was in Eastern European and post-Soviet markets: Russia (+267.5%) and Ukraine (+349.3%) recorded the highest percentage increases, though their combined share still represented only about 16% of total exports.

The export base is diversifying while imports concentrate

The export concentration HHI fell from 1,509 to 1,132 (−25%), indicating that EU exports are becoming more evenly distributed across partners. This contrasts sharply with the import side, where concentration rose by 28% (HHI from 3,469 to 4,439) as China's dominance deepened. The EU thus faces an asymmetric concentration risk: diversified export markets but increasingly dependent import sourcing.

Specialisation is concentrated in northern and western Europe

The revealed comparative advantage analysis for 2025 shows that Sweden (RSCA: 0.61), Poland (0.36), Denmark (0.35) and the Netherlands (0.29) are the most specialised EU exporters of CN 8713. Germany, while the largest exporter by absolute value (€64.2 million), does not feature among the most specialised, given the size of its overall export base. Among EU member states, Poland stands out for the fastest growth in both imports (+718.6%, from €4.8 million to €39.3 million) and exports (+387.9%, from €4.8 million to €23.5 million), suggesting it has become a significant assembly and re-export hub within the EU.

Price shocks signal supply-chain fragility

The volatility analysis detected notable price shocks in 2022: an import price shock from India (abnormality score 15.2, +16.1% price shift) and an export price shock to the United States (+31.5% price shift). These likely reflect the post-COVID supply-chain disruptions and logistics cost spikes of 2022. Viet Nam, a smaller but growing supplier, exhibited the highest import volatility (CV: 0.67), further highlighting the risks of diversifying to alternative Asian sources that may lack the scale and reliability of established Chinese suppliers.

Conclusion

Over the 2015–2025 period, the EU market for wheelchairs and mobility aids has undergone a structural transformation. The bloc has shifted from near self-sufficiency to a net import reliance of 17.5%, driven above all by surging demand for motorised and powered mobility devices (CN 871390) — supplied predominantly by China and, increasingly, by India. At the same time, EU manufacturers have responded by abandoning the volume-driven, lower-end market segment in favour of higher-value, premium products, as evidenced by the halving of production unit counts alongside stable production value and rising export unit prices.

The resulting trade structure presents both opportunities and vulnerabilities. On the export side, the EU has successfully diversified its customer base and moved upmarket, with rising unit values and a broader geographic spread of buyers. On the import side, however, concentration on China has deepened rather than eased, creating a growing dependency that mirrors patterns seen in other strategic product categories. With the motorised segment continuing to expand rapidly — propelled by demographic ageing and disability policy priorities — the challenge for EU policymakers will be to balance the benefits of affordable imports against the risks of supply-chain dependence and the erosion of domestic manufacturing capability.