FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — It was standing room only today at the Taiwan Excellence New Products Launch, presented in conjunction with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). Journalists from all over the world gathered to see an assortment of new products from leading Taiwanese companies and discuss industry trends taking shape in 2015.
“The show is so busy this year, and it's a good sign that the industry continues to evolve,” said Tony Lo, chairman of the Taiwan Bicycle Association and CEO of Giant Bicycles. “Even with the euro's depreciation, exports from Taiwan to Europe are growing steadily.”
Lo went on to say that for the first four months of 2015, Taiwan exports are up 13.9 percent over the same period last year.
The Taiwan Bicycle Association attributes the growth in exports to increasing sales in North America and Japan. During the first four months of 2015, the total value of assembled bike exports rose by 10 percent to $599 million. The average unit value dropped slightly to $406.15.
But it's Japan that has seen the largest growth in 2015. From January to April 2015, exports to Japan rose 25.7 percent to 100,000 units and increased 25.6 percent in value to reach $40 million. Exports to the EU totaled 883,000 in the same period, up 24 percent from a year earlier, while exports to China fell 46 percent from 250,316 units to 136,845 in the same period last year. In value, exports to China fell 8.4 percent to $78 million, with per-unit price rising 67.5 percent to $569.27, indicating that the demand for high-end bicycles is rising in China.
It remains to be seen if assembled bike exports will continue their upward trajectory to top 2014 figures, which were down about 2 percent in units from 2013.
According to Agnes Hwa-Yue Chen, representative of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany, Taiwan exports were valued at $1.721 billion globally in 2014, including 58,000 e-bikes to the European Union alone. Germany is Taiwan's leading trade partner in Europe.
Leading Taiwanese manufacturers also unveiled new products. Newly launched e-bike maker BESV showed its Smart App dashboard, which allows riders to transfer data and more from the e-bike to all Bluetooth-compatible devices. Giant Bicycles presented its all-new 2016 TCR road bike, which on-road product marketing specialist Doug Barnett said is “the total race bike.”
Kenda rolled out three new tires, including the Honey Badger with ECC, an e-bike-specific model designed to bear the additional weight of an e-MTB, higher speeds and aggressive riding styles. KMC launched a new e-bike chain line — the XE-Bike Series x11e, X10e and X9e. The company says the chains have the highest pin power and are 20 percent more stable than others on the market.
Emphasizing mobility and “bikes that fit your life,” Tern's Joshua Hon showed three new models, including a folding cargo bike. Developed in partnership with Xtracycle, the Cargo Node folds into thirds in 10 seconds.
