Romania assembled 473,000 bicycles in 2013, about 25,000 more than in 2012, according to the latest available data.
The figures put it on the eighth place in the EU, with 4% of the total production of the 28 EU member countries. Romania is competing with both Western markets like Italy and Germany – the top two manufacturers, and with countries in its region, Poland (number three) and Bulgaria (fifth with almost 750,000 bicycles), according to the European bicycle industry association COLIBI.
Romania is the region’s bicycle part manufacturing champion, ranking third in the EU after Italy and Germany. It accounts for 12% of the total production on this segment with its EUR200 million bike part production.
Romanian plants make bicycles and parts for major international companies like Mavic and Decathlon. Decathlon’s bike manufacturer in Romania is Resita-based NextCity, ZF has found.
“Romania is becoming an increasingly important player on this market, we are seeing more and more foreign companies interested in manufacturing in Romania,” says Walter Fleck, training and communication manager with NextCity.
”The advantages of the local market are the geographic location and the still cheap and skilled workforce. Wages have been relatively constant in Romania in the last few years, while in Asia the workforce has become costlier. Add transportation costs and Romania is the better choice.”
Demand is coming not only from the West but also from the East, from Russia and Turkey, he added. Industry wages are about as high as the average wage in the country, ZF has found.
NextCity is one of the largest local manufacturers along with Eurosport DHS and Mechrom Industry. Mechrom is the market leader, according to 2013 data and makes luxury bicycle parts. Finland’s Amer, makes ski boots and straps, as well as bicycle wheels and rims in three plants in Romania. Amer’s brands include Salomon, Wilson and Mavic.
At a manufacturing price of about EUR100 per bicycle, Romania collects some EUR45 million to EUR50 million for the bicycles it assembles. Total production of bikes and bike parts amounts to some EUR250 million, while consumption stands at less than 45 million (361,000 units at a price of EUR120/unit).
COLIBI data show bike sales in Romania dropped by 20,000 units in 2013 compared with 2012, but companies in the business say otherwise. Still, Romania is a young consumer; two-wheel vehicles only became fashionable again in recent years and only in the big cities of the country. Even so, bicycle owners complain about the lack of manners in traffic, the crowded traffic especially during rush hour and the lack of bicycle lanes.
“We can feel a growing interest in bike riding in Romania, we have been seeing an increase in sales of such products for four years already,” says Catalin Pozdarie, general manager of sporting goods retailer Hervis in Romania.
“Moreover, Romanian consumers are no longer looking only at the price, but go for specialized products. They are migrating from hypermarkets and cash & carry to specialist stores.”
The latest trend on the two-wheel vehicle market is electric bikes, but sales are still low, less than one million units in the EU28 in 2013. Germany accounts for 45% of those sales, followed by Netherlands, 21% and Belgium, 9%. Romanian sales of such bikes hardly reach 1,000 units.
However, Romania is about to become a manufacturer of components for electric bikes. According to the financial report of Germany’s Bosch, in the future, it will manufacture the electronic heart of its eBike drive in Cluj.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)