Cycling sector enjoying strong demand amid pandemic

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s bicycle manufacturing industry is one of the sectors that has been benefiting from opportunities arising amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Production capacity and employment in the sector have stretched to their limits, said Esat Emanet, the head of the Bicycle Industry Association (BİSED).

People’s interest in bicycles in Turkey are growing by the day thanks to improved infrastructure and the industry can easily meet strong local demand, he said, adding that the sector may expand its reach to new foreign markets.

The industry’s exports, including electric and conventional bicycles, amounted to $90 million with electric bicycles having a $41 million share in the total figure, according to Emanet.

“Export figures in the first half of the year are encouraging. For the whole of 2020, export revenues are expected to surpass that of last year,” he said.

Turkey is well positioned to benefit from the anticipated expansion of the electric bicycle market in the next 10 years, Emanet furthered, citing an EU report suggesting that the size of the market in this segment will reach at least 20 million units in the 2030s.

“Turkey is also making progress in this field. Locally produced battery was a good start, the next step is to develop indigenous motor. We have enough experience, infrastructure and vision to accomplish this task,” he said.

Emanet stressed that the local industry and European companies are dependent on imported intermediate goods. “We have to work with Asian suppliers and the pandemic laid bare the downsize of this dependency. Turkey may become a supplier to European market thanks to its logistics capabilities,” he said.