Sharp Increase in Production Lead Time and Factory Overcapacity

Since the beginning of July 2020, a significant number of component vendors have announced sharp increases in production lead time. Taiwan based bicycle industry manufacturers are enjoying a boom in sales thanks to the huge demand for electric bikes around the world, in particular Europe and the United States.

Brands and buyers will need to plan accordingly and expect some delays from their supply chain due to this general increase in production lead time from key component vendors. Moving towards 2021, order placement, production planning, and forecasting will be crucial in achieving success with e-bike production in Taiwan - as well as all other production locations. Key component suppliers such as Shimano for example, now have production lead times well over 180 days for certain models and require ordering in advance.

Another development concerning Taiwan based production of complete bikes and e-bikes is that many assembly factories are now operating at full capacity. With electric bikes now accounting for nearly 75 percent of all bike production in Taiwan, assembly factories have collected enough clients and orders to last well into 2023 should the e-bike boom continue until then.