Jan-Willem van Schaik

ZEIST, the Netherlands - Now that the end of year is in sight, it is my pleasure to wish all our readers and regular visitors of the Bike Europe website, happy holidays and a healthy and prosperous 2022.

LUND, Sweden - Terranet AB has made a major step forward in e-bike safety. The Swedish company developed 'BlincBike' which comprises a rear-view monitoring system that empowers cyclists to avoid accidents.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, USA - Consumer brand investment firm Verlinvest has invested in Pedego. With the largest retail footprint of 200 branded stores, Pedego is currently enjoying the full benefit on the rapidly growing e-bike market in North America. The amount of investment of Verlinvest remains undisclosed.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A total of 6,530 investors were interested in Hagen Bikes, exceeding the IPO subscription of the Danish-Estonian cargobike manufacturer by 14.9 times. It shows that cargobikes are a hot investment.

TREVIGLIO, Italy - The construction of Bianchi's new, 17,000 square meter production facility started in November. The company aims to step-up its assembly capacity from 250-300 bicycles today to 1,000-1,500 units. The new factory will also house a carbon frame facility.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - "We saw good sales levels and continued strong profit accretion in the second half of 2021 through November," said Accell Group CEO Ton Anbeek in a trading update published today. While the company still reported sales decline in the first half of this year, it is now much more positive on the expected full year results.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - The integration of Foming TW ChangWa this year was the final stage of the consolidation of the DDK-Group. It also marks a €7 million investment in Vacuum Fitting Technology which makes the saddle leather fit automatically without manual nailing, giving the saddle an almost perfect finish.

MEDOLLA (MO), Italy - The e-bike systems manufacturer Oli celebrated the company's 60th anniversary with the opening of a new state-of-the-art production facility in Medolla (MO). Oli holds a long track record in electric motor production. This expertise made Oli decide to enter the expanding e-bike market in 2015.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union finance ministers agreed on 7 December to change EU rules so that they can cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services linked to fighting climate change and health protection. This includes bicycles.

MILAN, Italy - Yadea debuted a full line-up of new products at EICMA 2021 last month including electric motorcycles, e-mopeds, e-bikes and e-kick scooters. Founded 20 years ago, Yadea now announced their market entrance in Europe.