Taiwan records 21% increase in electric bike exports: trade body

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Taiwan saw electric bicycle exports in the first seven months of this year soaring 21 percent in volume from a year earlier, bucking the downturn of almost 30 percent in the export volume of traditional bikes, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said Tuesday.

During a news conference in which TAITRA announced that the 2021 Taipei Cycle Show will be held in March, Walter Yeh (葉明水), council president and chief executive officer, said Taiwan has benefited from strong demand for electric bikes from Europe and the United States.

Data compiled by the TAITRA shows that Taiwan sold about 410,000 electric bikes in the seven-month period, up 21 percent from a year earlier, while traditional bike shipments fell 29.69 percent to some 905,000 units.

According to Yeh, electric bike exports to Sweden alone from Taiwan in the seven months soared 323.74 percent from a year earlier in terms of volume, exports to the United States grew 49.12 percent, exports to the Netherlands rose 16.91 percent and exports to Germany increased by 15.29 percent.

In terms of sales value, electric bike exports also rose 18.03 percent from a year earlier to US$523 million in the seven-month period, while traditional bike exports fell 22.38 percent to US$583 million, according to the TAITRA data.

Giant Manufacturing Co. and Merida Industry Co., two leading bicycle brands in Taiwan, said the strong global demand from consumers keen to use electric bikes as transportation tools or for "staycations" amid the COVID-19 pandemic, their factories have been running at full speed.

In the news conference, Merida Chairman Tseng Song-chu (曾崧柱), said the bicycle industry had been feeling the pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to massive lockdowns worldwide, but with economic recovery, his company has been seeing orders coming in and its production capacity has been fully booked into March 2021.

Similarly, Bonnie Tu (杜綉珍), chairwoman of Giant, noted that cycling has become a popular movement in many countries and, based on orders the company has received, has its production capacity fully booked, a situation that is expected to continue into next year. Meanwhile,

Robert Wu (吳盈進), chairman of bike parts supplier Kuei Meng International Inc., said that many European countries have come up with subsidies for bike purchases or are building dedicated paths for cycling, which has provided a good opportunity for Taiwan's bike industry to seek a higher market share.

According to TAITRA, the 2021 Taipei Cycle Show will be held in the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center from March 3-6.

In addition to a physical exhibition, the trade show will also provide online meetings for vendors and potential buyers as many people will be unable to attend in person due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

TAITRA also said an online exhibition will start on March 3 and continue for one month.