Taiwan’s bicycle industry is reporting steady growth. The first four months of 2015 saw year on year growth of 13.9% for exports of bicycle accessories & parts, according to the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA) and the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs.
According to TBA the trend ‘has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.’ Close to 1.48 million bicycles were exported from January to April of this year. This number is attributed to ‘a drastic increase of sales in the United States and its neighboring countries, as well as in Japan.’
During this same four-month period, the total value of assembled bike exports rose by 10% to US$599 million. However, the average value per bike dropped to US$406.15, a decrease of slightly over 3%.
In terms of export growth, Japan has seen the largest growth in 2015, in contrast with the same period in 2014. Exports to the country grew by 25.7%, reaching 100,000 units from January to April 2015. This is an increase of total value by 25.6%, equivalent to US$40 million.
Comparatively, exports to the EU totalled 883,000 units during the same period, jumping 25% from 2014. North America is another key destination for Taiwanese bike exports with a 15% increase, totaling 257,000 units in the period. This was an increase of 24.3% in value, equivalent to US$1.73 million.
By region, the European Union was the largest recipient of bike exports from Taiwan in 2014. In 2014, exports to the EU hit over 2 million units, accounting for 55.4% of total exports of assembled bikes. The second largest market was NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico), accounting for 18.7% of total exports (700,000 units).
However, it is not yet known if Taiwan will break last year’s numbers in the remaining months of 2015. Taiwan exported 3.75 million assembled bicycles in 2014, a decrease of 2% on 2013.
The decrease in export volume last year was reflected in a continuing impact of the economic downturn, particularly in Europe and Australia, with ‘consumers more reluctant to purchase new bikes.’ Assembly has also moved to other tariff-free areas, such as Southeast Asia or within the European Union, in order to avoid tariffs on assembled bikes exported from Taiwan.
Exports to China decreased by 46%, from 250,316 units to 136,845 last year. Though in value, exports to China reached US$78 million, falling only 8.4%. Here, the per unit price rose 67.5% to US$569.27. This is indication that the demand for Taiwanese bicycles in the Chinese market has changed to high-end bicycles.
SOURCE / www.tba-cycling.org
