When the demand exceeds the supply. It rarely happens, especially in the days of the Coronavirus. Yet the two-wheeled mobility industry is experiencing this anomaly. The bicycle has experienced a boom year, which also promises to continue in the near future. And yet the problems of the sector concern the fact that the supplies of components, coming from Asia, cannot keep up with the demand. To this is added another obstacle, almost more geopolitical than industrial: the cartel of prices – and delivery times – put in place by the three major global consortia of intercontinental transport.
The boom of the e-bike
The e-bike is growing in double-digit sales. During the pandemic it was seen as an alternative way to get around the city. The spread was also encouraged by public administrations, which have increased the cycle paths by reducing spaces for the car.
Loading…
In 2020, the increase in Italy was 44%, also because it was obviously still not widespread. But even for the next few years, the increase could be significant given that the goals already achieved by other European countries are still far away. “The positive fact is that the e-bike has not subtracted anything from other segments, on the contrary it has enlarged the cake and brought this vehicle even to those who did not have it”, explains Paolo Magri, president of the two-wheel association Ancma, who it has 170 members of the supply chain. And in fact, even the traditional bike went well, thanks to the incentives: 2 million pieces of traditional bikes and e-bikes were sold, with an increase of 14 percent over 2019.
Too slow Asian suppliers
Paradoxical fact: the growth trend could be inhibited not by demand, which is still growing, but by the difficulty of keeping up with production by component suppliers, mostly Chinese. From Asia come for example brakes, wheels, gearboxes and sometimes engine parts.
«Certainly the year of the pandemic could have worsened the situation, because it is difficult to restart what has been stopped – explains Magri – However, a flaw in our production system is emerging. In China above all, but also in India and Taiwan, the bicycle components industry is not keeping up with our needs, we risk not fully intercepting the favorable trend due to these delays ».