BY DANIEL FOONG

A great many manufacturers of complete bicycles, parts and accessories will take advantage of the opening of the 2008 Taipei International Cycle Show in mid-March to showcase their latest products and technology when many foreign buyers and visitors will tour the four-day show.

Ming Cycle Ind. Co., Ltd., founded 20 years ago in Taichung county, central Taiwan , is no exception. It will display five brand new electric bikes at the Taipei Cycle Show at the newly completed TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, a 15-minute drive from the Taipei exhibition hall. Beginning this year, all Taipei international bicycle shows in the future will be held at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall.

The e-bikes, which took the R&D team of Ming Cycle less than a year to develop, will be shown publicly for the first time in Taiwan . The E-bikes are expected to capture the attention of both local and foreign buyers and visitors during the four days of exhibition, according to Sara Tseng, sales manager of Ming Cycle.

Tseng said her company entered into the E-bike product line because its owner feels that E-bikes are the future direction of development in view of the fact that oil prices around the globe have been rising all the time and secondly E-bikes do not create pollution. Besides, E-bike is a convenient and comfortable vehicle for transportation. “We therefore see great potential for E-bikes in the future,” stressed the sales manager. Sara Tseng said Ming Cycle will promote its own Novo brand for its electric bicycles in the future.

Strida folding bikes are the key bicycle items of Ming Cycle which will showcase a new 14-inch folding bike at the Taipei International Cycle Show on March 13-16. The Strida 4.0 model is designed for ladies and children. Strida brand was originally owned by Strida UK Ltd and is well-known in the world market. Ming Cycle bought over Strida brand in 2007.

Pursuing top quality

Sara Tseng said the Strida folding bikes produced in Taiwan are exported the world over. South Korea , the Netherlands and Taiwan are the key destinations. Other export markets include France , the U.S. , Spain , Japan , Canada and Hong Kong.

Ming Cycle is continuing to develop high-quality bicycles with higher prices. Previously, the company concentrated on the production of OEM models. “Now, we are moving slowly and steadily towards promoting its own brand in the world market such as the Strida folding bikes and the future Novo E-bikes,” said the sales manager, adding the company attaches the importance of providing the best possible services to its customers worldwide.

The biggest bicycle manufacturer in Taiwan, Giant Mfg. Co., Ltd. established the Giant Electric Vehicle Co. in Kunshan, mainland China two years ago for the development and production of E-bikes.

A spokesman of Giant said the subsidiary in the Chinese mainland is responsible for designing and developing new electric bicycles. “We are developing only high-end E-bikes in a bid to differentiate ourselves from our counterparts on the mainland,” said Jeffrey Sheu, who is also special assistant to the corporate management.

Sheu said mainland China , the world’s fastest economy, has a vast market potential with six million E-bike requirement in 2005. Mainland China has a population of more than 1.3 billion people.

The spokesman said Giant produced 150,000 E-bikes in its Kunshan plant in 2005, with 130,000 units sold to the Chinese market, and the remaining 20,000 units going to Japan. The company projected to produce 350,000 E-bikes in 2007..

The special assistant said Giant has been in cooperation with Panasonic and Sanyo for the production of batteries, including lead acid, nickel hydride and lithium. “Our cooperation with the top Japanese makers is to offer our customers electric vehicles in good condition,” explained Jeffrey Sheu.

Ideal Bike Corporation, the third biggest manufacturer of a variety of bicycles mainly for export, has been focusing on OEM and ODM business with the world renowned bicycle suppliers until a few years back when attention was diverted to the development of electric vehicles.

Surging oil prices

In view of the fact that oil prices the world over have been surging every now and then, Ideal Bike Corporation has seen the great potential for developing E-bikes in the future. Several years ago, the company set up a R&D team for the research and development of electric bicycles. Over the years, Ideal Bike Corporation has increased its R&D fund, with the research on E-bikes taking a lion’s share, according to Louis Chan, president of the company.

The president said the high-end E-bikes produced by Ideal Bike have been largely exported to Europe, the United States and Japan . Chan said he pins high hope on the vast market potential for E-bikes around the globe.

Ideal Bike Corporation, headquartered in Taichung county, central Taiwan , has been operating two offshore factories for years, one in Dongguan, mainland China and another in Poland .

It is learned that Ideal Bike will display around 10 models of new electric bikes at the 2008 Taipei International Cycle Show on March 13-16 and several traditional bicycles.