DONGGUAN, China - Global supply chain diversification has accelerated with major e-bike brands actively seeking qualified non-China manufacturing partners. Battery manufacturer Greenway has addressed this critical market need by securing Certificate of Origin (COO) certification for its production facility in Indonesia. This establishes a fully compliant, non-China production base for its e-bike batteries, enabling it to serve global markets with reduced trade barriers and a more resilient supply chain.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - Velo-ce S.R.L. today announced the acquisition of the titanium bike brand Van Nicholas from Accell Group. The Italian company Velo-ce, renowned for its meticulous in-house bicycle production and state-of-the-art facility near Milan, will now take full responsibility for the production and distribution of Van Nicholas bicycles.

NEW YORK, United States - Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Accell Group's long-term credit rating at 'CCC', indicating that the company remains under significant financial pressure. While Accell is making progress in its turnaround, its current position is still fragile, mainly due to weak market conditions, high debt levels and limited cash generation, the agency determined.

GIVISIEZ, Switzerland - What a "gift": Just before Christmas, the arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris confirmed that long-time patron Beat Zaugg must definitively sell all his Scott Sport shares to majority shareholder Youngone Corporation. At the same time, it set the (provisional) value of the package at around CHF 20 million (€21.5 million), the Swiss platform CH Media reported. This (almost) seals the deal in this spectacular power struggle.

ZEIST, The Netherlands - It became apparent within the first few months of the year that 2025 would not be the turnaround year the bicycle industry needed. A muted Taipei Cycle show made clear that the supply chain was nowhere near back to being in full swing, and despite reasonable spring sales, the European market retracted again in the summer. Business-wise, there were reports of insolvencies, closures and redundancies. Knocks came from all sides: tariffs, human rights accusations, and very public non-alignment within the industry itself on several topics. However, pockets of innovation and newcomers managed to shine through, reminding the industry that its products are well-positioned for the long term. As the industry looks to realign and prepare for 'the fix in 2026', Bike Europe looks back at the articles that shaped 2025.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - 19 environmental NGOs, consumer organisations, and tourism and mobility businesses have written a joint letter to urge the European Commission to harmonise charging systems for electric bicycles and other light means of transport (LMT). "The lack of standardisation of charging connectors is needlessly slowing Europe's green transformation," the group supported by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) writes.