‘Back to normal’ is high priority at Taipei Cycle

Following a 3 year pause for international guests, a visit to Taipei Cycle Show this year will mark the moment of returning back to normal. Last year, Taiwanese residents could already travel internationally, but entering the country was almost impossible for overseas visitors. That situation has now reverted back to normal and all the entry restrictions have been lifted. However, the business situation can’t be considered as normal at all.

The past three years, the bicycle industry has seen many highs and lows. Some even described it as “bizarre”. In the past months it became obvious that the industry is facing extremely high inventories of components as well as complete bicycles, and production is being scaled down where possible. Also Taiwan’s bicycle and e-bike export dropped dramatically in the final quarter of 2022 as the most recent statistics clearly show.

Matching production and demand

The urgency to attend the Taipei Cycle Show as an overseas trade visitor could be felt less than in a ‘normal’ year. Why go to Taiwan when your warehouses are filled to their maximum capacity in an economy which is showing clear signs of slowing down? Or must we see the packed warehouses still as one of the many hick-ups of the restart of the industry after everything came almost to a standstill in 2020. The production rush which followed in an attempt to catch up all delays as quickly as possible has inevitably lead to the current situation of oversupply. The bicycle industry has always had its difficulties in matching production and demand. This issue only became all the more obvious in the past years and is now even higher on the agenda as it already was pre-pandemic: How can we arrange the industry most efficiently and what is best to produce on which location in the world? This requires more coordination than just looking at your sales sheets and planning the order at your suppliers.

Five new themes

These supply chain challenges sparked a major transformation of the e-bike and bicycle industry in Taiwan. “In 2023, Taipei Cycle will be rebranded,” announced TAITRA chairman James Huang already last year. “The show will be focusing on five key themes in sustainability, including resilient supply chain, digital connections, vibrant innovations, dynamic lifestyle and sustainable moves. These themes will cover supply chain, OEM, brands, smart wearables, training software and equipment, and bike tour services.”

On the day of the start of the physical show in Taipei, also the Taipei Cycle DigitalGo will go live and take place until 7 April. This online event was created to keep in contact with the market. The success of the physical show this year will be decisive about the future of the online event.