Jo Beckendorff

Although the recovery of overall demand at Taiwanese listed bicycle manufacturers Merida Industry Co. Ltd. and Ideal Bike Corporation is taking longer to materialise, industry peer Giant Manufacturing Company Ltd. saw revenue reach its highest level in 15 months in June. However, Giant's revenue in the first half of 2026 was still 10.5% lower year on year.

The first half of 2026 continued to be plagued by global crises and geopolitical tensions. Despite ongoing economic and political turmoil, global stock markets managed to rally after some back-and-forth. AI, energy and healthcare were the main drivers of global stock markets from January to June, as bicycle-related stocks were unable to keep pace. Find out here why.

Following the acquisition of Harley Davidson's founded e-bike brand Serial 1 in 2023 and the takeover of the bankruptcy estate of the e-bike brand Rad Power Bikes, QuietKat is the latest to be added to Life EV Group's portfolio as it quietly builds a "made in the USA" e-mobility platform.

In 2024, a team of investors acquired the insolvent bicycle helmet factory of D-H-G Knauer GmbH Kunststoffverarbeitung. Since relaunching as KED Ahead GmbH, the new owners have made significant strides. It turns out it wasn't enough. The asset that was repeatedly touted as a key selling point - namely, the "Made in Germany" production facility in Freiberg am Neckar is now being phased out.

Even though bicycle and e-bike production in Japan dropped below the 700,000-unit mark in 2025 for the second consecutive year, and domestic shipments decreased below the 5 million mark for the first time, there are some tentative glimmers of hope in the Japanese market. First, domestic production grew by 3.4% year-over-year to 691,678 units; second, and more importantly, the import flood from China was somewhat stemmed.

Sweden's leading bicycle retailer, WS We Sports Group, continues its omnichannel expansion strategy with the opening of its fifth Cykelkraft-branded brick-and-mortar location. The new 2,500-square-meter flagship store in Kållered, near Gothenburg, officially opened on 21 May is a major step forward in the retail development of WS We Sports Group AB's Bike & Mobility division.

German e-commerce giant The Platform Group (TPG) states that it has "fully met" its annual forecast, with significant growth in revenue and earnings. "The organic growth of our platforms was consistently strong, enabling us to successfully decouple from the generally weak retail industry trend," founder Dr Dominik Benner states. The group's activities in the bicycle industry include three online platforms and one brick-and-mortar store.

High-precision gear and component manufacturer hGears AG started 2026 as expected: the publicly-traded company was aware in advance that it would not be able to achieve exceptional growth amid geopolitical uncertainties and the resulting strain on economic momentum. So even though first-quarter revenue for 2026, at €23.4 million, was 6.9% below the comparable period last year, it was still within the company's expected range.

Stock-listed e-commerce bicycle retailer Bike24 Holding AG has gotten off to a strong start in the new year. The Dresden-based company posted not only first-quarter double-digit growth, but also a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA.

The persistent difficulty of the economic conditions in the bicycle industry has forced German rim producer Schürmann to close down its operation.