CHANGHUA, Taiwan - The preliminary 2023 results of Taiwan's second largest bicycle manufacturer Merida Industry Inc. published this week represent the current developments on the global market. Unfortunately, no unit figures were published, but the 2023 revenue development clearly marks the market trend.

REDDITCH, England - Halfords has reported a 5.1% dip in its Q3 cycling sales compared to the same period last year. More concerning is that the UK bicycle retailer has reported the cycling market volumes are down 28% from pre-pandemic levels.

MADRID, Spain - In recent years, the supply bottlenecks triggered by coronavirus and the resulting call for close to market production have turned attentions to the relatively young EU production locations of Bulgaria, Portugal and Romania. But what about production in traditional bicycle countries within the EU? Bike Europe takes a closer look - specifically in Spain. Here there is a lot to be found, besides the big names like Orbea or BH Bikes.

KORTRIJK, Belgium - Full halls, wide smiles, and positive energy… the mood at Velofollies in late January was in stark contrast to many of the reports recently published on Bike Europe. The annual event for the Benelux market with sold out exhibition space, new product releases and notable optimism seemed to disguise the many uncertainties in the current market. However, "2024 will not be a year for taking risks," one exhibitor confirmed.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The annual bike show for the Nordic market which takes place in Copenhagen is going to increase the emphasis on more B2B engagement. The organiser has introduced a series of services to trade visitors expanding on the success of 2023, where the Copenhagen Bike Show attracted over 10,000 visitors.

JELENIA GORA, Poland - The Darfon Group has inaugurated a new center for product development, design and innovation for the e-bike industry. The center will be fully dedicated to their OEM and ODM customers as well as their BESV e-bike brand.

Cyclingworld Europe is restructuring the allocation of its coveted awards and, for the first time, appointing a expert jury for the final accolades. From now, exhibitors and non-exhibitors can submit their products. The winners for the awards will be announced on the opening day of Cyclingworld 2024.

比利時，布魯塞爾（BRUSSLES）－過去五年來，針對中國製電動自行車徵收反傾銷和反規避雙稅作為貿易規範的話題備受討論。應歐洲自行車製造商協會（EBMA）要求，歐盟執委會針對目前電動自行車反傾銷措施展開期終複查。

柬埔寨，金邊（PHNOM PENH）－柬國人對於西方國家在去年第四季逢年過節時能有更好表現和更多出口仍抱持希望，不過歐洲和北美的倉庫都還爆滿，而柬國自行車出口值已幾乎回到2019年水平。

越南，胡志明市（HO CHI MINH CITY）－Schwalbe上週宣布進行生產戰略調整，未來將在越南獨家生產所有輪胎和內胎，做出此決定是因為考量自行車行業的發展和緊張局勢。現在訂單幾乎都是臨時下單的，不是長期訂單。Schwalbe執行長Frank Bohle於公司聲明中說明：「因此目前要在兩座並行生產的工廠提前計畫滿足需求已不再可行。」

比利時，布魯塞爾（BRUSSELS）－歐洲議會成員（MEPs）已採納措施，刺激消費者維修產品而非購入新品。該提案最早在去年3月由歐盟執委會首次提出，將自行車納入「維修權」（right to repair）範圍。其旨在確保獨立維修市場的有利條件，防止製造商拒絕維修。

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The use of anti-dumping and anti-circumvention duties as a trade regulation for e-bikes from China has been much discussed in the industry in the past 5 years. On request of the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA), the European Commission has initiated an expiry review of the current e-bike anti-dumping measures.

KORTRIJK, Belgium - Electric bicycle sales in Belgium grew to a market share of 51.2% in 2023 according to industry organisation Traxio. The estimate sales figures which were reported during the Velofollies tradeshow last week, show that the Belgian market is levelling out following the spike during the corona years.

BERLIN, Germany - In 2024, the German Federal Forest Act is to be comprehensively reformed after around 50 years. According to industry stakeholders, it could "significantly restrict freedom of movement in the forest". In that case the (e-)MTB market might face a serious decline as mountain biking could lose its appeal.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — "2023 was a challenging year for the bike industry but we're very bullish on the future so we spent 2023 continuing to invest in our people and processes," says Josh Hon, Tern Team Captain. In this trend, the urban mobility specialist has announced two key additions to its senior management team.

The bicycle market is undergoing significant changes, presenting both challenges and opportunities. By 2030, the global e-bike market is expected to reach a scale of $118.6 billion (€108.94 billion), with a compound annual growth rate of over 10%, indicating vast market prospects.

Interesting news from Recall Land. The safety of Apple's iPhone 12 has come under scrutiny, as per findings from French regulatory authorities. Their testing revealed that this particular smartphone model did not comply with the legal limits set for radiation emissions. This news is notable not only for the reported safety issue, but perhaps even more so for the safety issues that went unreported.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Schwalbe announced yesterday the strategic realigning of its production and will manufacture all tyres and tubes exclusively in Vietnam in the future. The background to the decision is the development and tense situation in the bicycle industry. Instead of long-term orders, orders are almost exclusively placed spontaneously. "As a result, it is currently no longer possible to plan ahead to meet demand at two parallel production sites," explains Frank Bohle, CEO of Schwalbe in a company statement.