BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
"There are nine million bicycles in Beijing. That’s a fact. It’s a thing we can’t deny," sings Melua, a family friend of ‘Biro’, a British bike shop owner who writes on the BikeBiz.com trade-only bulletin board.
["Katie’s mum and dad are friends of ours and she sang her first album at our house last Boxing Day before her debut album was released, it was fantastic, I urge you all to buy the new album because it’s fantastic," said Biro. Nine Million Bicycles was loaded onto iTunes today].
A press release from Research and Markets of Dublin headlines with the fact there are 6.7 million electric bikes produced in China annually.
"In 2004 production of electric bicycles, a relatively new product segment, topped 6.7 million – up 70 percent from 2003."
This is an underestimate. 7.5 million electric bikes were sold in China in 2004, reports the Promotion Association of Electric Bicycles of Taiwan. This organisation estimates there to be 260 bicycle manufacturing companies in China making electric bikes and electric bike components.
Research and Market’s 132-page ‘China Sourcing Report on Bicycles’ costs 476 Euros.
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/…/c24383
The stats below are in the BikeBiz.com stats section and are free.
STATS
A 2002 report called ‘How to Manage the Development of Electric Bicycles in Beijing’, released by the Beijing Traffic Development Research Center concluded that electric bicycles were "not in keeping with Beijing’s image as a major world capital.” Instead, bicycles of all sorts are to be "phased out" in preference to the motor car. The ban on electric bikes may never be carried out. The law that comes into force in January 2006 discontinues electric bicycle licences yet in October 2004, a separate road safety bill for Beijing granted electric bicycles the same legal status as non-motorized vehicles. This may allow electric bikes to stay on the road, at least for the time being.
China is the worldÂ’s biggest producer of bicycles, 79 million units in 2004, of which 51 million were exported. Imports of Chinese bicycles into the EU attract dumping duties. The average unit price was only US$34.5. By contrast, the average unit price of Taiwan-made and Japanese-made bicycles last year was US$164.41 and US$150, respectively. (Source: China Bicycle Association, May 2005).
According to the Seventh Edition of Frank JamersonÂ’s Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports, in 2004, 10 Million Light Electric Vehicles, including bicycles, will be sold. (Source: Electric Bicycle Battery Company, Naples, Florida, June 2004.)
China is the worldÂ’s biggest producer of bicycles, 79 million units in 2004, of which 51 million were exported. Imports of Chinese bicycles into the EU attract dumping duties. The average unit price was only US$34.5. By contrast, the average unit price of Taiwan-made and Japanese-made bicycles last year was US$164.41 and US$150, respectively. (Source: China Bicycle Association, May 2005).
The PeopleÂ’s Republic of China produces 55-60percent of the worldÂ’s bicycles. India produces 11 percent. 86 percent of the bicycles sold in the US are imports from China.
The Chinese domestic market for bicycles is about 22-25 million per year, down from a peak of 40 million just a few years ago. Thanks to government policies of promoting cars, and discouraging cycling, cycle use in China is plummeting, down to 20 percernt of all trips, compared to 33 percent in 1995. The Chinese bicycle industry employs 150 000 people and geneates $1bn a year in foreign exchange earnings. Most of the domestic Chinese bikes are produced by state-owned companies, who wouldnÂ’t dare criticise the official policy to discourage urban cycle use. The Chinese Bicycle Association (CBA) is a branch of China Light Industrial, a government minstry, and its leaders toe the party line, viewing the removal of bikes lanes as a necessary measure for accommodating increasing car use. However, thereÂ’s one glimmer of hope: the Olympic village being built for the 2008 Beijing Games is to be criss-crossed by cyclepaths (Source: BikeEurope, February 2003)
Customs statistics indicate that China exported a total of 45.57 million bicycles in 2002, which represented growth of 31% from the 34.94 million export figure of 2001. While ChinaÂ’s reported bicycle production for 2001 was 51.95 million units, actual production for the year probably exceeded 60 million units. This suggests that actual production exceeded 70 million units in 2002, and means that China has captured more than 60% of the 110 million-unit global bicycle market. (Source: WheelGiant, May 2003). However, domestic use of bicycles is on the wane. According to the Cycling Association of China, bicycle ownership was an average of 142.7 bikes per 100 households in 2002 compared to 182.1 in 1998. In Beijing, only 20 percent of commuters rode bikes in 2002, compared to 60 percent in 1998.
According to statistical data on 206 bicycle firms collected by the Tianjin Bicycle Association, a total of 20.28 million bicycles were produced in the Tianjin area of China in 2002, accounting for over one-third of ChinaÂ’s total output. Of the total of 821 companies composing the Tianjin bicycle industry, 403 are whole bicycle companies (including 61 makers of electric bicycles) and 418 are parts manufacturers. The sole whole bicycle manufacturer to exceed the million unit mark last year was Tianjin Fushida (1.23 million bikes). Seven manufacturers produced 500,000~ 800,000 bikes last year: Tianjin Flying Pigeon (800,000), Jie Ma (650,000), Kai Te (600,000), Tai Mei (600,000), Ko Lin (560,000), Golden Wheel (530,000), and Boma Bike (500,000). In addition, three manufacturers produced 300,000~500,000 bikes: Ganda (400,000), Ta Ming (300,000), and Zheng Yi (300,000). Most exported bikes were sold to Japan and Korea. The number of exporting firms in Tianjin has been growing steadily, rising from 18 in 2001 to 32 in 2002. The top three exporters are currently Tianjin Fushida (exported 611,000 units; up 160.34% from 2001), Kelin (282,000 units; up 106.04%), and the Tianjin Machinery Import/Export Group (247,000; down 4.6%). (Source: Wheel Giant, May 2003)
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