In recent years, driven by the demand for environmental travel and sports, bicycle sales have increased. Recently, the financial Associated Press reporter visited Shenzhen Jieante, Merida and other bicycle stores and found that a variety of mountain bikes were sold and the shelves were vacant. The clerks were busy assembling new cars to fill seats, and many consumers came to buy them. A bicycle store manager told reporters, “it’s good to wait two or three months to order vehicles. Some expensive cars have to wait half a year, and even others have to pay a deposit for a year to get the goods.” While C-end consumption shows a high growth trend, the supply of bicycle components is tight. Bicycle parts suppliers told reporters that there are abundant orders and the factory production line is at full load.
environmental sports drive up bicycle sales
During the first-line visit, the reporter found that most bicycle sales stores sell children’s bicycles, mountain bicycles, folding bicycles, electric power assisted bicycles, road bicycles and other models. According to the performance configuration of the vehicle, the use of raw materials and the differences in style design, the price also ranges from 1000 yuan to more than 10000 yuan.
According to the salesperson of the exclusive store, folding bicycles are easy to store, but they are also easy to deform, and the actual demand group is small. The design essence of road bicycle is to pursue speed, posture and reduce wind resistance, which has high requirements for rider’s technology and road surface. Electric power assisted bicycles are loaded with motors, power batteries and control systems. In addition, the overall weight of the body is increased by nearly 10kg. Electricity will make people dependent and can not achieve the purpose of exercise. The shift and speed change of ordinary bicycles can solve the problems of uphill difficulty, and electric power is not necessarily required. In general, mountain bikes sell best. The consumer groups cover teenagers, white-collar workers, the elderly, bicycle lovers, etc. The purpose of buying cars is commuting, competition, sports, etc.
The store manager of the aforementioned exclusive store said, “from 2020, there are many people riding bicycles, and most of them buy expensive cars.” On the e-commerce platform, mountain bikes of permanent, Phoenix, flying pigeon and other brands are on sale.
According to the data released by the General Administration of customs, China’s total bicycle exports from January to November 2021 were 64.05 million, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%, involving an amount of 30.087 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.5%.
From the performance of listed companies, Shanghai Phoenix Enterprise (Group) Co.Ltd(600679) (600679. SH) achieved a revenue of RMB 1.618 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 57.08%, and the net profit attributable to the parent company was RMB 89.369 million, a year-on-year increase of 66.82%. The relevant person in charge of the company said, “after the epidemic, the general public’s demand for sports and health has increased. We can see from our own sales that we are indeed moving upward.”
Senior industry insiders told reporters that there are three main reasons for the vigorous consumption of bicycles. First, the impact of the epidemic has further awakened people’s health awareness, increased willingness to leisure and exercise, and the popularity of sharing bicycles has further stimulated people’s use of bicycles. Second, in the context of pandemic, people try to avoid using public transport and do not want to gather people or exercise in a confined space. Bicycles that are convenient and safe to ride on urban roads and can meet people’s leisure sports demands have become travel options. Third, the government advocates green and low-carbon travel. In addition, at present, long-distance travel is limited. As the winter vacation approaches, many parents buy bicycles to carry out parent-child sports together.
spare parts are in short supply
It is worth noting that bicycles are in short supply while selling well. A store salesperson said. “Hot sales are often out of stock. They can only be ordered in advance. They can\’t even be bought. It’s good to order in advance. Some don\’t accept reservations at all.” It further explained that the main reason was that many parts were scarce under the epidemic situation. Most of the key parts such as brakes, shifters and transmission systems were produced abroad. The factory was built in Southeast Asia. The severe epidemic situation led to the shutdown of the production line and the capacity could not keep up.
The above bicycle store manager stressed that as long as one of the accessories is missing, the whole bicycle manufacturing cannot leave the production line. Under the epidemic situation, the entry process of imported accessories slows down. Some parts are in short supply, and there is only one shipment in half a year, and some take longer.
Insiders of Hl Corp (Shenzhen)(002105) (002105. SZ), a leading enterprise in the field of bicycle parts, said in an interview with the financial associated press that there have always been orders, and the demand for orders does always exist. According to the current production capacity, it is almost running at full load. However, due to the tight shipping schedule, rising raw material costs, labor arrangement, cooperation with external suppliers and other factors, the final production and operation results need to be judged in combination with the actual situation.
Is the shortage of bicycle parts in the upstream and the rising cost of raw materials transmitted to the downstream vehicle consumption? “In fact, the price of bicycles has been increasing since last year.”. A clerk told reporters that the factory has absorbed a lot of rising costs of raw materials. Specifically, the price increase on the consumer side is not large. The price of high-end cars rises by about 1000 yuan and that of cheaper cars by 100-200 yuan.
Shanghai Phoenix Enterprise (Group) Co.Ltd(600679) the relevant person in charge said that the impact of external factors such as the rise of steel and the lack of key parts objectively exists, and the vehicle cost must rise. Talking about how to deal with it, he said that firstly, the company’s supply chain has a certain affordability, secondly, it will compress other controllable costs internally, and thirdly, it will export to the downstream by raising product prices to digest some of the price rising factors. The comparable prices of the same products have increased, but not all products have increased, because the company will also consider the acceptance of consumers in the process of seeking parts replacement.
“At present, the trend of market demand is very good and can be continued. However, products and technologies need to be continuously upgraded in order to seize a larger market share,” said the industry official
The future development trend of bicycle industry has been reflected at the policy level. Recently, the Ministry of industry and information technology issued the guidance on accelerating the construction of modern light industry system (Exposure Draft), which mentioned “diversified bicycles such as fashion and leisure, sports and fitness, long-distance cross-country and high-performance folding, lightweight, networked and intelligent electric bicycles” in the upgrading and innovative product manufacturing project
With the maturity of new energy technology, the power battery of electric bicycle has gradually changed from traditional lead-acid battery to hydrogen fuel and lithium battery.
At present, Youon Technology Co.Ltd(603776) (603776. SH) has launched hydrogen energy bicycles using hydrogen exchange technology, with a total mileage of about 70km and a maximum speed of 23KW / h. The external price of Y200 hydrogen energy bicycles is 6000 yuan / vehicle. In addition, Shenzhen China Bicycle Company (Holdings) Limited(000017) (000017. SZ), Bafang Electric( Suzhou) Co.Ltd(603489) (603489. SH) are respectively arranged on the core parts of electric bicycle such as lithium battery and motor system.
