Some Asian manufacturers are finding it cost-effective to ship product parts directly from the mainland, Taiwan and Japan for assembly in Germany, a business development officer says.
Hamburg Business Development Corp project director Bernd Riegerl said a Taiwan bicycle-maker which previously assembled bicycles in Taiwan was now building them in Germany at a much lower cost.
'Although the German labour cost is expensive, the product is still cheaper when compared with the cost of producing it in Taiwan and shipping it to Europe,' he said.
A container could carry parts for more bicycles than it could completed bicycles.
If there were defects, it also was cheaper to have them rectified in Germany than to ship them back to Asia.
Assembly in Germany also allowed the manufacturer to tailor-make the product to a buyer's needs.
Yamaha motorcycles also were being assembled in Germany to meet differing requirements of European countries, he said.
