Bike industry seeks tech upgrade, sets standards.

The Indian Bicycle Industry Looks to Turnaround

The bicycle manufacturing industry in Ludhiana, Punjab contributes to the majority of bicycle manufacturing in India, producing roughly 90 percent of the country’s bicycles. However, changing trends in bicycle demand and import dependency have threatened the industry’s manufacturing dominance. To revitalize this crucial industry, Indian bicycle manufacturers have identified five areas of potential turnaround strategies.

The Current State of the Bicycle Industry

The All India Cycle Manufacturers’ Association (AICMA) and United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) released a joint statement calling for a comprehensive, concurrent, and continuous effort to transform the Indian bicycle industry. Since India’s independence, the bicycle industry has grown to feature 4,000 micro and large units and is the second-largest volume producer, at about 20 million bicycles per year. However, the trend in bicycle demand has shifted towards lighter bicycles that require high-quality components such as multi-gear, disc brakes, and suspension. The Indian bicycle industry is becoming increasingly import-dependent and is losing its manufacturing dominance.

Additionally, unhealthy competition has emerged with companies utilizing malpractices that adversely affect the quality of the product to the end consumer. This emerging situation is creating fear that the Indian bicycle industry may not be able to sustain its production capacities, investment, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), and employment.

Strategies for a Turnaround

The industry needs comprehensive support to leapfrog to the next level of technology and quality, which will create numerous business opportunities, generate employment, and spur allied industries and service sectors. The identified turnaround areas are:

• Empowering MSMEs through hand-holding
• Migrating from voluntary to mandatory minimum standards of bicycles and parts
• Upgrading company-level technology through production-linked incentives support as viability gap funding
• Creating world-class testing and certification
• Building safe cycling infrastructure in 8,000 cities and towns

Bicycle manufacturers hope that implementing these turnaround strategies will transform the Indian bicycle industry to the Atmanirbhar level, which roughly translates in Hindi to self-reliant or self-sufficient.

In conclusion, the Indian bicycle industry is at a critical juncture where the country’s manufacturing dominance is threatened due to import dependency, technological changes, and malpractices affecting the quality of products to consumers. The identified turnaround strategies provide hope to revitalize the crucial industry and further support India’s push towards being Atmanirbhar.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)