CHANGHUA, Taiwan - Merida Industry Co. Ltd. Has enlarged its majority ownership in its German distributor Merida & Centurion Germany GmbH (MCG), which is managed and owned by German industry veteran Wolfgang Renner.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The omnichannel brand Cowboy has announced a new strategic investor. Cypress Capital is leading a €5 million financing round supported by existing investors. Hongkong based Cypress Capital invested €3 million while other existing Cowboy partners Index Ventures, Hardware Club, Future Positive Capital, Isomer, and Exor together invested another €2 million.

WELS, Austria - According to Pierer Mobility AG volatile and difficult economic conditions led to a negative first half 2024 result. The company also harmed itself with some short-term strategy changes after entering the bicycle and e-bike business. Now they have to pay the bill. In other words: drastic measures are being taken.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Despite a double-digit revenue drop Taiwan's third-largest bicycle manufacturer Ideal Bike Corporation is continuing to work on getting a grip on the losses incurred in the past. A look at the 2024 second quarter and first half-year figures indicate a successful restructuring of the financial setbacks.

ALKMAAR, the Netherlands - Wholesaler, exclusive agent for many brands and incubator for the Dutch retail market AGU has had to apply for Chapter 11 status and suspend payments.

SCHRAMBERG, Germany - When presenting its 2024 half-year figures, the high-precision gearbox parts and components manufacturer hGears AG took a cautious view of the financial year. Looking further ahead, the stock-listed company sees strong growth again in the medium term 'particularly in the e-bike and e-mobility business areas'.

ZEIST, The Netherlands - Between April and June this year, the number of e-bikes imported into the EU rose to 223,000 units almost matching the same period last year. Significantly, this figure is almost double the amount imported in the first quarter of the year. All top 3 importing countries, Taiwan, Vietnam and China significantly increased the number of units entering the EU during this time period. However, at what cost?

FRANKFURT, Germany - The fact that the US e-bike market is lagging behind European counterparts is well-known within the industry. A forecast based on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% over the next 7 years could see the US e-bike market reach 6.7 million units and match regular bicycle sales in 2030. This data presented at Eurobike by eCycleElectric however, represented the most optimistic scenario.

ZEIST, The Netherlands - With 81,353 e-bike units imported into the EU-27 in the month of May, this almost matches the 83,000 units imported in the same period as last year, the latest Eurostat data shows. No doubt encouraging another sigh of relief for the bicycle market in Europe, e-bike imports per month have only continued to rise in 2024.

FRANKFURT, Germany - Despite reports of ongoing high inventories in the market, German trade organisation, ZIV, presented an optimistic outlook during a market update on the day before Eurobike fully kicks off in Frankfurt. "Sales of e-bikes remain at a high level, and the overall market situation is characterised by healthy consumer demand," ZIV managing director Burkhard Stork stated when advocating the significant growth potential for the industry.

FRANKFURT, Germany - Apprenticeship years are not master years - Taiwan's electronics giant Darfon Electronics Corp. also learnt this when entering the European e-bike market. The first few years were difficult. Here and there adjustments by the quickly learning stock-listed company had to be made. This led to things significantly progressing in the last three years. Find out how here.

ROOSENDAAL, The Netherlands - Timyo, the Dutch-based company that designed, developed and jointly manufactured e-bikes under its brands Van Dijck, Keola and Muon, has been declared bankrupt this week. The company had been struggling with issues for some time, including technical defects in e-bike components. However, continuation of the Van Dijck and Muon brands is already in place.

REGAU, Austria - The restructuring plan of the young bicycle and e-bike contract manufacturer WSF Bicycle Technology GmbH, which slipped into insolvency on April 24, has failed. Despite big ambitions, all assets are now being liquidated, the insolvency administrator Dr. Klaus Schiller confirmed to Bike Europe.

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - A freezing order has been executed against an Italian company suspected of a major customs fraud involving the importation of e-bikes from China, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has announced. The company has been accused of evading more than €9.8 million in customs duties. This latest case raises questions about how complex it is to import e-bike components into the EU.

KEDAINIAI, Lithuania - Industry guests, suppliers, building constructors and official authorities gathered Tuesday for the official opening of Pon.Bike's state-of-the-art bicycle and e-bike factory in Lithuania. The Ministry of Economy and Innovation granted the status of this €57 million project into a major foreign direct investment which turned the opening into a high-brow event.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - Microshift recently gave the industry an insight into the innovative 5G smart production line the company installed for the production of its gear shift system. The event took place in collaboration with the Taiwan Smart Electric Bicycle Association (TSEBA).

SAN VENDEMIANO, Italy - Cycling pad manufacturing CyTech S.r.l., known for its Elastic Interface brand, has unified the production at its Mexican factories, whose products had been distributed under the BikePad label.

MADRID, Spain - Bicycle production in Spain reached 171,200 units during the first half of 2024, data from the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism shows. Although this represents a 6.4% decrease on the same period last year, production has grown to around 30,000 units per month during the second quarter of 2024.

Whereas spring 2023 didn't offer an upturn in e-bike and bicycles sales, setting the course for much of the rest of the year, market indicators are suggesting that 2024 could be the year of stabilisation within bicycle market. Major indicators in the Netherlands and Germany are already pointing towards slow but steady recovery in these major markets.

Undeniably European e-bike sales took a step back last year. In 7 European countries who already reported their market statistics for 2023, the total volume decreased by 8%, from 4,555,264 units in 2022 to 4,178713 last year.

The Taipei International Cycle Show is always a good moment to take stock of the market situation, but this year 'Taipei' prepares the business to become a 'better' industry and put its focus on sustainability and other ESG topics. Besides the current market conditions, this online magazine also explores several Taiwanese companies who have started adopting ESG solutions in their production practises as the industry prepares for the future.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly integrated into business practices in the bicycle industry. Be it at a manufacturing, distribution or company policy level, the bicycle industry is no longer resting on its laurels of having a 'green' product to sell to the public.