Following Accell Group's Dutch suspension of payments, international subsidiaries are taking control of their own fate. Cycles Lapierre has filed for judicial reorganisation in France, while Accell UK & Ireland (Raleigh) has lodged a notice to appoint administrators.

Contactless torque sensor manufacturer NCTE reports a year-on-year sales increase of 53% in the first half of 2026. One of the biggest drivers of NCTE's expansion has been the e-bike category, while the automotive category performed weakly. Remarkably, the company's stock market performance was much less positive; it suffered a 66.6% decline in the first half of 2026.

Shared bicycles have become an integral part of urban mobility. Across Europe and beyond, they are no longer simply an alternative mode of transport, but an essential part of multimodal mobility networks. As fleets expand, operators and manufacturers are increasingly focused on long-term operational performance, where reliability, serviceability and system integration determine overall fleet efficiency.

Accell Group Holding B.V. and its Dutch subsidiaries have been granted suspension of payments, bringing months of restructuring efforts to a new phase after the company was unable to secure a long-term solution for the business.

The announced acquisition of Accell Group by DuTech Holdings will not change anything regarding the collective damage claims filed against the Accell brand. This was stated by the claimant foundation, which is taking legal action on behalf of thousands of Babboe owners who have suffered damage due to unsafe cargo bikes.

"We planned 2026 as a transition year, with gradual recovery, tighter business cases and continued pressure on bill-of-materials costs," says Comodule CEO Teet Praks. After completing the first half of the year, and in the run-up to Taichung Bike Week, we asked the supplier of IoT devices for connected e-bikes, e-scooters, and other light electric vehicles how the market performed and what they expect for the months ahead?

Despite a continuing challenging market environment, kids and youth bicycle brand woom posted a significantly positive result and thus returned to profitability. In the first half of 2026, the Austrian company continued to build on the revenue growth achieved in the previous year. Woom reports a 19% revenue increase from January to June 2026, to €107 million.

The European bicycle industry has continued its transition towards a more balanced and demand-driven market. Following the exceptional surge in demand during the Covid boom, supply chain disruptions, and the subsequent market correction, the latest 2025 data clearly indicate that the industry is stabilising. "This is a sign that the inventory troubles that we have had coming out of COVID are now finally at the end," said industry body ECI CEO Paul Walsh at the presentation of the 2026 Bicycle Industry & Market Profile (BIMP).

Chinese investors were less active in the bicycle industry in the past than it appeared from the outside. To date, there have been very few known investments by the Chinese in Western companies. Since 2015, corporate acquisitions by Chinese investors have mainly involved Asian companies, with the target firms mostly being bicycle component manufacturers. Why are there relatively few takeovers by Chinese investors in our sector?

The transfer of Accell Group to the new owner, the Singapore-based investment firm DuTech Group, passed another regulatory milestone. The Polish anti-competition authorities, UOKiK, identified no concerns significant enough to justify remedies or prohibit the transaction, and therefore approved the acquisition.

A lively and dynamic tradeshow is not what you would expect in a gloomy market like France's. Still, that was the case at the Pro-Days event in Paris, which took place only a week after Eurobike. The total market volume in France decreased by 6% in 2025, while revenue was down 4.8% year-on-year. Moreover, this was the third consecutive year of market decline, and there is no outlook for sales improvement. Under those circumstances, you don't expect a dynamic trade fair, yet that was still the case.

Taichung Bike Week has remained a fixture in the global bicycle industry for more than two decades. Despite changes in manufacturing, supply chains and the way companies communicate, it continues to play a unique role. The reason is simple: it was never designed to be a traditional trade show.

The uncertain economic outlook due to trade policy trends of various nations, as well as rising geopolitical risks, such as increasing energy prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, is gaining growing influence on Shimano's financial results. As a result, net sales in bicycle and e-bike components in the first half of 2026 equalled last year at 181,379 million yen (€974 million), and operating income decreased 15.1% to 20,064 million yen (€107.8 million).

The e-bike plays a central role for the brand Velo de Ville. More than 80% of production in Altenberge, Germany, consists of e-bikes. Although general manager and owner Volker Thiemann is positive about the market, he is also concerned about recent technological developments that, in his view, threaten the survival of today's e-bike.

The UK will maintain its anti-dumping measures on bicycles and certain bicycle parts imported from China until August 2029, following the conclusion of a transition review. Duty rates will remain unchanged, ranging from 19.2% to 48.5%, with the measures intended to protect domestic manufacturers from a resurgence of low-priced Chinese imports.