Exports of bicycles, e-bikes and bicycle components from Taiwan are showing strong growth in 2022. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Taiwan Bicycle Association (TBA), total exports reached almost US$2 billion for the period from January-April 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 28.4%.
Overall export growth was driven by components, which rose substantially compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, revenue generated by the sale of e-bikes is projected to exceed that of traditional bicycles this year.
The NAFTA and EU regions remain the biggest markets for e-bike exports, with the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy the top five destinations.
In the first four months of this year, component exports grew by 42.7% year on year to reach a total value of over US$1 billion. The export of complete bicycles (non-electric) increased by almost 20%, with a total value of almost US$500m, while the export of e-bikes rose by 12.8% having a total value of US$470 million.
For the full year of 2021, figures supplied by MOEA and TBA confirmed that the total export value in 2021 reached US$5.15 billion, which was nearly 40% higher than in 2020.
In 2021, components increased by 56.7% totalling US$2.52 billion for the calendar year. The export of e-bikes grew by 33.2% to a value of US$1.31 billion while complete bicycles grew by 19.1% to reach US$1.33 billion in 2021.
The Taiwanese organisations noted that developed and cycling-friendly countries remained the major markets for Taiwanese bicycles. The top three export markets in 2021 were the United States (24.3%), the Netherlands (17.5%) and Germany (13.1%).
