Bike maker to build 50,000 cycles for UK market following lockdown surge
Manchester bike brand Insync Bikes has welcomed the Government’s decision to allow bike shops to continue trading during the second national lockdown as it unveiled plans to build 50,000 bikes between now and Christmas.
Insync Bikes, owned by India-based Hero Cycles, the world’s biggest bike maker by volume, said it was the correct move to include bike shops in England in the list of essential retailers allowed to remain open.
The business, which has its global design centre in Manchester, has urged independent bike shops to get in touch to ‘block their forward order’ to cater for the demand fuelled by the upsurge in cycling in 2020.
Bike shops will be able to open their doors between November 5, and December 2, the proposed end of the lockdown period, along with the likes of supermarkets and garden centres.
With gyms and leisure centres closing their doors, bikes will be among the few ways people can exercise.
Insync’s head of business, Gopal Krishan, said Hero is “pulling out all the stops” to make the 50,000 bikes at its factories in India, Sri Lanka and Europe in response to the unprecedented demand following the coronavirus outbreak which has driven up bike sales by 63%.
The bikes will be mainly in the affordable range of £150-£600 which are the most sought after, a mix of children’s and adult steel and alloy models. He added all the bikes are being designed at Hero’s new £2m global design centre in Newton Heath, Manchester.
“We are delighted the Government has recognised the vital role cycling played in the first national lockdown in improving physical and mental health, a legacy we have seen continue through the numbers of commuters exchanging their cars for bikes ever since.
“Allowing bike shops to remain open as essential retailers shows the significance of this form of exercise and should boost further the industry.”
The new bikes will be available through Insync’s 400-plus UK dealers, and the brand is looking to partner with more independent stores, many of which have struggled to keep up with the increased demand.
Krishan said: “It has been a very tough situation for the bike industry globally with supply chains and parts being severely disrupted. However, through our parent company, Hero Cycles, we have the facilities, manpower and the supply chain network to make these bikes.”
The massive effort is, in part, being driven by processes and supply chains being put in place for Hero’s planned new 100-acre Cycle Valley in Ludhiana, in the Punjab region.
“This will be the biggest and most advanced bike making centre in the world,” said Krishan.
“We plan to have all the suppliers and parts in one central location to de-risk supply chain disruption and share innovation between cycling industry’s leading companies.
“Ultimately, we want to have capacity to produce around nine million bicycles and ebikes each year, adding a further 60% capacity to our operations, eventually reaching around eight per cent of global production share.”
Hero Cycles was founded in India in 1956. It is the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world by volume producing 19,000 cycles per day and 5.2 million per year.
In August 2015, it acquired Manchester-based British brand Avocet Sports with a 51% stake targeting the high-end bicycle market in Europe and now has full ownership.
