A press conference held in Taipei today also saw TAITRA and the Taiwanese Bicycle Association discuss the industry and look forward to TAIPEI CYCLE Online on March 3

February 24 2021: Taipei, Taiwan – TAIPEI CYCLE d&i awards announced 38 winning products for its 2021 edition today, including six recipients of the prestigious Gold Award and one recipient of the Young Enterprise Award. The ceremony was broadcast live from Taiwan as part of a press conference to share the latest news on the upcoming TAIPEI CYCLE Online Show.

TAIPEI CYCLE d&i awards 2021
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global industries, the awards this year still attracted nearly 110 qualified submissions from 10 countries, showing that innovation continues to thrive even in difficult circumstances. E-bikes continued to feature heavily in the winners, showing a growing maturity in the integrating of systems and parts designed with the user experience in mind.

This year’s award-winning products were chosen by Georg Todtenbier (CRE8 DESIGN, Taipei), Johann Geiger (Dayeh University, Changhua), Ken O’Rourke (KOR-DESIGN, Taichung), Moses Hu (VanMoof, Taipei), Debbie Huang (PEGA D&E, Taipei), Edward Chiang (CYD Innovation Co., Ltd., Taichung) and Francois Liang (Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Center, Taichung). The judges assessed the entries with their seasoned experience and through intense discussions on the basis of the following criteria: innovation and elaboration, functionality, aesthetics, responsibility and positioning.

The six winners of the gold award were:

• REACTO TEAM-E Aero Bike – Merida Industry Co., Ltd
• Cadex Boost Saddle – Cadex & Giant Group
• Liv Tropic Collection Cycling Gear – Liv & Giant Group
• Votani H3 E-Bike – Darfon Innovation Corp.
• Gmigo One Smart E-Bike – Tianjin Jidian Road Technology Co., Ltd.
• TA: e-Bike Twilight – Litemove Technology Co, Ltd. & IDS Corporations Ltd. (Winner of the Gold Award Young Enterprise 2021)

The judging group commented of this year’s awards: “The impact of the pandemic has caused significant changes in the bicycle industry in 2020. It can be seen from the entries in this year that the effort and energy put into innovative research and new product development have no longer focused on sports, competition or leisure, but tapped into the needs of various groups, such as commuting, cargo, etc. In addition, the creative process in product development also begins to shift from discovering and solving problems to focusing more on lowering the threshold and offer better user experience and narrowing the distance between the product and the user, which should be very much encouraged.”

TAIPEI CYCLE Online Pre-Show Press Conference
The press conference broadcast live from Taiwan to announce the TAIPEI CYCLE d&i award winners also brought together industry speakers to look forward to the first TAIPEI CYCLE Online Show. Opening remarks were given by Ms. Leonor F. M. Lin, President & CEO, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Mr. Steve Chien, Representative, Taiwan Bicycle Association and President of Fairly Bike Manufacturing Co., Ltd and Mr. Paul Yang, President of Taiwan Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. A video was then played giving a sneak peek at some of the booths on display at the event.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Lin’s discussed how Taiwan’s E-Bikes exports have been the biggest driving force for industry growth this past year, with a value almost as high as that of complete bikes. Exports grew by 18% in volumes and 14% in value from 2019 to 2020. This equates to 760,000 units of E-Bikes exported in 2020 worth 987 million USD. Top export markets for E-Bikes last year in terms of units sold were the Netherlands (41.08%), the US (22.08%), Germany (6.17%) and the UK (4.69%)

E-Bikes will feature prominently in the upcoming TAIPEI CYCLE Online Show, scheduled to take place March 3 – March 31. It aims to be the best networking platform for industry professionals, helping bring all 252 exhibitors closer to global buyers. International exhibitors now comprise 24% of the total exhibitors at TAIPEI CYCLE Online, hailing from different 22 countries.

For more information and to register to attend TAIPEI CYCLE Online, visit www.taipeicycle.com.tw.