High production costs and recession in the domestic market have led to the closure of several Iranian bicycle factories.
Experts believe that Iranian manufacturers could produce high quality bicycles and motorbikes, provided that related organizations extend support, Donyaye Khodro reported.
Several factors are involved in the decline of bicycle and motorbike manufacture, of which the lack of working capital due to the small market and the lingering recession have exacerbated their production.
Bicycle manufacturers, in particular, face many problems in importing raw materials, including forex rate fluctuations.
At present, the domestic market is aflush with Chinese bicycles assembled in Iran.
While the import of bicycles is prohibited, the import of parts is permitted with a low tariff. As a result, many people import bicycle parts from China and assemble them in the country. In fact, 95% of bicycles in the Iranian market are assembled.
Mohammad Khadim Mansouri, the head of Tehran Bicycle and Motorcycle Dealers Union, said the production of bicycles will likely resume in Iran next year.
"Currently, traders who used to import bicycles are moving toward domestic production," he said.
Mansouri noted that some bicycles are currently produced in Tabriz, but the technology of this product should be upgraded.
He emphasized that bicycle production is not complicated, but when domestic producers cannot compete with importers and there is no economic justification, they lose their motivation.
The closure of bicycle factories during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of parts, as well as the sudden rise in demand, gave a big jolt to the world bicycle industry
"The main problem of bicycle producers in the country is not technology, but high production costs," he said.
Referring to the fact that bicycle importers have decided to establish an association and are looking to produce this vehicle domestically, he said the association has 1,400 members in the field of bicycles, motorcycles and related spare parts, of which 400 members are importers and sellers of bicycles.
“Currently, bicycles have become expensive, which has resulted in recession. Most people have turned to repair their old bicycles,” he added.
Mansouri said manufacturers claim that they can produce the bicycle body and fork in Iran, just as they produce bicycle spare parts in the country, so they could produce bicycles as early as the next year.
The reason behind the importers’ interest in producing bicycles might be the global surge in bicycle demand. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people avoided public transportation and preferred to use bicycles. As a result, the world's bicycle industry faced a supply crunch.
The closure of bicycle factories during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of parts, as well as the sudden rise in demand, gave a big jolt to the world bicycle industry.
According to the official reports of European Union countries, the US and Canada faced a 30-63% rise in demand for buying bicycles.
According to the Global Bicycle Market report, the market for this vehicle will continue to expand until 2025.
Although in the mid-1960s, the production of bicycles and cars was about 20 million units, this figure jumped to 42 million for cars and 100 million for bicycles at the end of 2003 and reached 130 million bicycles and 52 million cars in 2007.
Major industry drivers such as rising income, expanding urbanization, growing population, increasing traffic and mounting awareness of fitness issues are expected to speed up the development of bicycle industry in Iran.
