Jan-Willem van Schaik

KEDAINIAI, Lithuania - Industry guests, suppliers, building constructors and official authorities gathered Tuesday for the official opening of Pon.Bike's state-of-the-art bicycle and e-bike factory in Lithuania. The Ministry of Economy and Innovation granted the status of this €57 million project into a major foreign direct investment which turned the opening into a high-brow event.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Microshift recently gave the industry an insight into the innovative 5G smart production line the company installed for the production of its gear shift system. The event took place in collaboration with the Taiwan Smart Electric Bicycle Association (TSEBA).

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - As the country's first bicycle manufacturer, Giant Group has been honored with the bronze award at Taiwan's 6th National Enterprise Environmental Protection ceremony. Phoebe Liu, Chief Branding Officer of Giant Group, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

NIEUWEGEIN, the Netherlands - Heavy loads and many riding hours a day by commercial users requires different specifications of cargobike components. Cargobike manufacturer Fulpra from the Netherlands and tyre specialist Heidenau from Germany took up this challenge to develop the ultimate cargobike tyre.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The omnichannel brand Cowboy has announced a new strategic investor. Cypress Capital is leading a €5 million financing round supported by existing investors. Hongkong based Cypress Capital invested €3 million while other existing Cowboy partners Index Ventures, Hardware Club, Future Positive Capital, Isomer, and Exor together invested another €2 million.

DONGGUAN, China - Drive train manufacturer Gobao is expanding its business on the European e-bike market from its base in Germany. Gobao Electronic Technology GmbH was founded already in 2019 and is now hiring local representatives in various other countries. "We wanted to make a soft start to get a good understanding of the market," Gobao chairman Qingfu Chen told Bike Europe.

DELHI, India - Salil Kapoor, a former president of Atlas Cycles, died allegedly by suicide at his Delhi home on Tuesday afternoon. He was 65. After he was found by family members he was taken to hospital, but Kapoor had already died. This is reported by several Indian media outlets.

SHANGHAI, China - Spread out over 12 exhibition halls and a temporary display on the open ground, China Cycle 2024 provided enough space for the 1,460 exhibitors. According to recent data published by the show organiser, 126,262 domestic visitors and 15,004 overseas visitors attended the event. The top-10 overseas visitors came from India, Russia, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia and Australia.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission launched an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of bicycles from the People's Republic of China. For this review DG Trade will hold hearings, mail questionnaires to producers and visit companies. The request was submitted by the EBMA (European Bicycle Manufacturers Association) representing the bicycle industry in Europe.

HASSELT, Belgium - A leading Belgian lease concept provider Cyclis has been acquired by JobRad Group as of 2 September. The much bigger JobRad Group obtained 60% of the shares while founders and other stakeholders now own 40%. "We share the same vision, ambition and approach. In JobRad Group, we have found the ideal partner to further strengthen our position on the Belgian and Dutch market," says Joep Kempen, CEO of 10 years old Cyclis.