Speed pedelec brand Klever Mobility has been acquired from Kymco in a management buyout by its current directors, Jan van der Ligt and Ruud Sjamaar. The transfer of shares was completed on 21 July 2026, but financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. This marks the start of a new chapter for Klever as an independently managed European organisation.
The Amsterdam District Court has revoked the suspensions of payments of the Dutch Accell companies and simultaneously declared these companies bankrupt, the two court-appointed trustees announced Tuesday afternoon. The multiple attempts to keep the once giant of the bicycle industry afloat have failed, marking a dark day for the industry with ripple effects that will be felt across Europe. The scramble to secure a future for major brand including Koga, Batavus, Lapierre and Haibike is now underway.
SponsoredNext year, the cycling industry is seeing an overhaul of the trade show calendar. Multiple major shows are opting for different dates, while two newcomers wish to join the calendar. One such debutant is CycleExpo Amsterdam. With a clearly defined character and affordable costs, it aims to become the new OEM meeting point for the bike industry.
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.
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.
The rumours intensified during the Accell Dealer Days and at Eurobike last week. The name of Singapore-based investment company, DuTech Holdings, was frequently mentioned as the potential new owner of Accell Group, once one of the industry's largest companies. Last Friday, DuTech Holdings officially filed a request with the German antitrust authorities for approval to acquire Accell Group.
In the first quarter of 2026, the average turnover of Dutch retailers in the H&L Benchmark group increased by 1.6% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, costs rose by an average of 1.4% during the quarter. Partly as a result, profitability in the first quarter of 2026 declined by 0.5 percentage points compared with the previous year, according to the H&L Benchmark.
An iconic bicycle brand is set to disappear from the Dutch market. Accell Group has decided to integrate Sparta into Batavus as part of the One Accell strategy. This is a major step, as it was Sparta that paved the way for the e-bike market in the Netherlands and, with that, in Europe. "All knowledge and experience regarding Sparta e-bikes will be integrated into Batavus," emphasised Accell CEO Jonas Nilsson ahead of the Accell European dealer show.
SponsoredHand builders are caught between two demands: the craft of building by feel, and the measurable, repeatable quality customers now expect. What if one machine could deliver both, keep build data in the builder's own hands, and make each wheel faster to true? With a new family of truing machines, Holland Mechanics aims to do just that.
SponsoredHub filling and lacing have always been two separate jobs, handled in two places, often by two sets of hands. That split shapes every wheel factory in the world. A working prototype shown at Eurobike 2026 collapses the two into a single process, and points toward a wheelbuilding line that runs without an operator.
The aftermath of the COVID bubble, which hit the bicycle industry hard, also impacted Accell Group substantially. When Jonas Nilsson joined Accell Group as COO in July 2023, the company was perceived as being in a critical state. In January 2025, Nilsson took over as CEO and initiated the One Accell Strategy. In an exclusive interview with Bike Europe, he explains where the Accell Group is on the strategy timeline and what the market can expect from this once industry-leading company.
Cycling Sports Group Europe, part of Pon.Bike, has announced the closure of the Cannondale facility in Almelo, the Netherlands. The production of the Cannondale bikes will be relocated to Germany and Lithuania. 'Almelo' no longer fits in Pon.Bike's multi-brand strategy, which includes a flexible production network.
As the bicycle industry asks for better product data, three European bike-tech companies, NOCA, DST and BikeFolder have combined resources to connect PLM and PIM software, an independent industry data standard and aftermarket digital twins into one practical industry solution. The collaboration is being rolled out under the name Smart Bike Brand.
The massive influx of non-compliant fatbikes in the Netherlands, combined with annoying user behaviour, prompted Dutch politicians to call for a wide range of restrictive measures. It gave the fatbikes a very bad image, prompting local distributor La Souris to find new markets abroad. Initially, investors were not eager to step in, but now La Souris has raised €6.5 mln from ING Bank to reach the company's strategy.
The e-bike market share could reach as high as 80% according to past predictions. Since the start of the sales boom more than a decade ago, it was uncertain what market share the e-bike would eventually take of the total bicycle market in Europe. The 80% outlook now seems exaggerated, as the Europe-wide market share remains stuck at just under 40%. What has put a stop to the growth of the e-bike market?
In the Netherlands, fatbikes have become the new scooters. Not legally: a fatbike is still not a separate vehicle category. If it meets the rules for an electrically assisted bicycle, it is an e-bike. If it does not, it may quickly become something else, such as a moped.
The Dutch bicycle industry is less enthusiastic about Eurobike this year than ever before. Many (former) exhibitors have revised their strategies and are skipping the struggling trade fair, according to a survey by Bike Europe's sister publication, Tweewieler. Most brands have stated that they now prefer other ways of connecting with customers.
