Coronavirus leads to demand boom for Taiwan bicycle manufacturers
- As cycling enjoys a resurgence in Europe and North America the island’s top bike makers race to keep up
- After slow first quarter the industry is roaring back with orders lined up until the end of the year
The virus, which has sparked a global recession and hammered many industries, has also been responsible for a resurgence in cycling, with reports of empty bike racks at dealerships and long waits for resupply across Europe and North America.
In Taiwan – a leading bicycle producer which also managed to avoid mass lockdowns by defeating the coronavirus early on – the orders have kept coming with Giant, the world’s largest bike company, reporting a dizzying few months, according to CEO Bonnie Tu.
“We saw what happened and then we reacted quickly,” Tu said last week at the company’s new headquarters in the industrial city of Taichung. “We mobilise our companies, including our factories and sales company … in order to meet consumer demand.”
Tu said demand from both the US and Europe had centred on the more affordable bikes, but a return to the company’s full manufacturing capacity had been slowed by struggles to get parts from suppliers as they refilled factory floors and restocked inventories. “We have to wait for them, so it is actually quite difficult, but we manage,” she said.
