Taipei Cycle Show surpasses all its previous records

Photograph of Inaugural Function of Taipei Cycle Show

On March 17, 2010 morning 23rd Taipei Cycle 2010 show was inaugurated at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei. Taipei Cycle kicked off with a grand opening on Wednesday morning sponsored by organizers Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the Taiwan Bicycle Exporters’ Association. More than 3,000 booths were there filling all four floors of the convention center as exhibitors from around the world show 2010 product to distributors for aftermarket sales or tie up any lingering spec decisions for 2011 with OEMs. In all, exhibitors from 32 countries have exhibited its products.

TI Cycles Management - (L to R) Mr Vasant Dewaji, Mr Arun Murugappa, Dr D Raghuram and Vinay Khurana at Taipei Cycle show

At the Opening ceremony TAITRA Chairman Mr. Chih Kang Wang said “Last year average unit rose from US$257 to US$ 291, a 13.1% increase and that largely offset the 20.37% decline in exports.” and while speaking on the occasion Mr. Ying Ming Yang, Chairman, Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association “ said In 2009 Taiwan exported only 4.3 million bicycles, roughly 20% quantitative decrease from 2008, however last year was quite a significant one in Taiwan cycling as many companies celebrated the opening of new factories, which reflects the continued business and optimism found across our entire industry.”

Taipei Cycle 2010 show was held from March 17 to 20, at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, saw 15.5% more domestic exhibitors, totaling 678 for an all-time record, from the last edition, according to TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), the show organizer.

(L to R) Mr Rafael Burgos F., President, Rafael Burgos, Chile, Mr Vinay Khurana, Arvind Ghai (Ralson), Mr Rafael Burgos G. (Rafael) and Mr Sanjeev Malhotra (Ralson)

TAITRA noted that Taipei Cycle, with a history of 23 years, has become one of world’s biggest three trade fairs for the bicycle industry. Obviously affected by the global financial tsunami, the show attracted only 587 domestic and overseas exhibitors and rented 2,888 booths out last year. However, thanks to economic recovery, the show this year rented out 3,018 booths, representing a 4.5% growth from last year, to a total of 894 exhibitors. Some big-name brands of the world, including Taiwan‘s Giant and Merida, Italy‘s Colnago, U.S.’s TREK and Japan‘s Fuji and Shimano, had displayed their latest products on the showground. This year first time Chinese bicycle companies took part in the event, with 35 companies manning 42 booths.

There are three main exhibition areas: the bicycles zone, the parts and components zone, and the light electric vehicle (LEV) zone. This year, the number of exhibitors in the LEV zone is double that of last year. Meanwhile, a series of activities are being held on the sidelines of the trade show, including the 14th International Bicycle Design Competition, the Tour de Taiwan cycle race, and the 2010 International Bicycle Trend Forum.

(L to R) Mr G P Kankani; Sr General Manager, Mr Umesh Lathi, Whole Time Director of GRL International with Mr Pradeep Malhotra, Firefox Lanka Pvt Ltd .

Noteworthy is that green booms are strongly felt around the show this year, as over 20 exhibitors, such as CMC (China Motor Corporation) Motor, a Taiwanese automaker, had showcased their electric bicycles. Also, the show organizer had also arranged outdoor live demonstrations of lightweight electric bicycles, which was open to the public in the period from March 17 to 19, hundred’s of Taipei residents visited the show on 20th as it was open to public being the weekend.

According to the organizers, a total of 4,913 foreigners visited the show in the past three days, marking a 7.6 rise from the number of foreign buyers recorded during the four days of last year’s event, according to the statement. The major buyers came from Japan, followed by China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, the U.S. and Germany, the statement said.

Double-digit growth predicted for Taiwanese bicycle sales

The Chairman of the Taiwan Bicycle Exporters’ Association predicted double-digit growth in Taiwan’s bicycle sales this year Saturday as the Taipei International Cycle Show concluded.

The Association’s Chairman, Yang Ying-ming, predicted that the future growth will surpass 10 percent, boosted by the global campaign to reduce global warming and Taiwan’s bicycle imports have been remarkable in the first half of this year as the economies in the U.S. and Europe have improved.

Yang also dismissed the notion that bicycles are no longer as popular as they were last year, although figures show that bicycle sales in Taiwan dropped 20 percent to 30 percent in 2009. “There are still many bicycle riders out there,” he said, attributing the sales decline to a drop in the frequency of people buying new bikes. Yang said there is a clear market difference between Taiwanese bicycle firms and their Chinese counterparts, with Taiwanese companies exporting their bikes mainly to the European market and China focusing on the U.S.

China makes more than 70 million bikes every year, 40 million of which are sold domestically, he noted. The average price of Chinese bikes is US$46, while that of Taiwanese machines surpasses US$290, according to Yang.

Taipei Cycle 2010 thru ‘Ambassador’ Lens
(L to R) Mr Peter Miller, Chairman, Probike with Mr Sanjeev Malhotra and Arvind Ghai, Ralson (India) Ltd	At Taipei Cycle Show (L to R) Mr Vinay Khurana, Mr Ashwath Kapur, Atlas Products Pvt Ltd; Mr Umesh Narang, Arpan Cycles; Mr and Mrs Gaurav Munjal, Hero Cycles.
L to R Mr Ben Ten of Ideation Indl Co., Taipei and Mr Vinay Khurana at Ideation Indl Co Ltd stand	A view of Duro Tyres Stall
A view of Kenda Rubber Stall at Taipei Cycle Show	Bicycles on display at Kenlight Stand
L A Bicycle Thailand Stand: Mr Surasith (Chairman) with LA Bicycles models	Mr Prakit Lertyaovari (Mg Director) busy talking to cyclist
Ramesh Kumar of R R Cycle Junction, Bangalore admiring LA Bicycles	One of the latest L A Bicycle on displayed
Latest model of the Merida Bicycle on displayed at Booth No M 620	S R Suntoour Stand
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