While the pandemic-driven bicycle and e-bike boom in Switzerland has been flattening out for about two years, a different two-wheeled trend is emerging on Ricardo: the traditional «Töffli» (moped) is enjoying a sharp rise in popularity on the online marketplace. In Ricardo’s moped category, successful sales grew by 44 percent from 2023 to 2024. The increase has been especially notable in the canton of St. Gallen, where moped sales have nearly tripled during this period. The most sold models on Ricardo are currently those from Puch, followed by Piaggio and Sachs.
An analysis of trends across two-wheeler categories on the Ricardo online marketplace reveals: the boom in secondhand bicycles and e-bikes triggered by the pandemic in 2020 has been declining for about two years. According to industry association Velosuisse, sales of new bikes and e-bikes have even plummeted since 2023. While small electric scooters are becoming increasingly common in larger cities, the nationwide adoption of electric motorcycles is still sluggish, as a recent analysis by MotoScout24 confirms. Despite the slowing bike boom and hesitant uptake of electric motorcycles, one two-wheeled category is seeing steady and—at 44 percent in 2024—explosive growth in successful transactions: the traditional moped.
A Swiss cult object makes a comeback: 11,646 mopeds sold in 2024
The moped is considered a Swiss cult object, with its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, before the mandatory helmet law put the two-stroke engine trend to rest. But the Swiss «Töffli» cult never completely died out—and over the past ten years, it has experienced a revival. In 2019, 2,879 mopeds were sold via Ricardo. In 2020, that number had already doubled to 6,000. From 2023 to 2024, demand rose by another 44 percent—from 8,208 to 11,646 units sold. And the trend continues: in the first half of 2025, already 5’600 items have been auctioned or sold in the moped category. Currently, 3,075 moped-related listings are available on Ricardo—from a completely dismantled Puch Maxi «for tinkerers» to a fully rebuilt Piaggio Ciao. Since new mopeds are hardly produced in Switzerland anymore, nearly all available items on Ricardo are secondhand—perfect for enthusiasts who love tinkering, repairing, and modifying these highly sought-after (if not particularly eco-friendly) speedsters.
Puch, Piaggio, and Sachs most popular – St. Gallen leads in sales
Looking at the brands of mopeds sold via Ricardo in 2024, the Austrian brand Puch leads the pack with 3,586 items sold, followed by Italian Piaggio (2,072 successful transactions), German Sachs (1,670), and the Swiss brand Pony (538). In a cantonal comparison, St. Gallen ranks first with 2,170 successful sales in 2024—up from 826 in 2023, nearly tripling within a year. The canton of Zurich follows with 1,599 sold mopeds in 2024, with the canton of Bern close behind at 1,330.
Data basis:
Analysis of the “Mopeds” category on Ricardo from 2019 to 2024 and from January 1 to June 30, 2025.
Mojca Fuks
Senior Corporate Communications Manager & Media Spokesperson