Cycle Industry at a Glance
As per the Union Government of India, our country is the second biggest producer of bicycles in the world.
It is estimated that India produces close to 125 million bikes per year. Nearly 10 million cycles find their market within India every year and almost 40 percent of the said requirement is from the government due to several welfare programs.
India exports cycles majorly to Africa and Hero, Avon, Atlas and TI cycles are some of the key players.
Current scenario of the bicycle industry in India
In recent years the industry has experienced a commendable increase with a lot of people taking a keen interest in cycling. And cycling is not just for kids, apart from the major chunk into children’s cycles, cycles for adults have seen a huge jump in the past few years. Cycling is becoming a part of the lifestyle for many, especially those who take fitness seriously. The number of cycling events across the country has gone up by a marginal percentage in the last 5 years. In fact, a lot of celebrities have also been seen promoting cycling as a part of the lifestyle.
The pricing of these lifestyle cycles has also gone up from Rs 5,000-Rs 8,000 brackets to now starting from Rs 15,000 and going up to a couple of lakhs. Tourism bodies have also started promoting cycling as a way to explore new places. Both the government tourism boards and private players are now organizing many cycling tours. Some of the destinations that attract a lot of cycling tourists are – Himachal Pradesh, Leh, Goa, and the North Eastern States of the country.
The definition of various segments is changing as well. Previously the cycles were categorized into the following:
Gents
Kids
Ladies
High end
As of now, there are several new categories of cycles that are available in the market
Road bikes
Hybrids
Mountain bikes
BMX
Tourers
The growth of the bicycle industry in India
While the growth of cycle industry is sluggish in the mass market with just about 4-6% annual growth, the lifestyle segment, on the other hand, is observing around 30% year on year growth, which is great.
List of Top 5 bicycle brands in India
Hero Cycles
Headquartered at Ludhiana, Hero cycles are the leading manufacturer of cycles and allied products in India. It is one of the most popular brands and offers a wide range of products across segments. SLR, Roadster and Hero Sprint are some of the highest selling products of Hero.
Hercules
Established in, 1910 at Aston in England, the Hercules brand is part of the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company The brand first came to India during 1951. At present, it is part of the TI Cycles.
Roadsters, Roadeo, Jr. Roadsters, Turbodrive MTB, and CMX, make for the most popular products from the brand.
BSA
Acquired by TI cycles in 1964, BSA was originated in the UK and has been in operations for over 140 years now. This was the brand that gave India, its first ever sports light roadster named SLR, in 1975. At present, it offers a wide range of products like the Champ, Toddlers, Ladybird, Workouts, Jr. Roadsters, Roadsters etc.
Mach City
Launched in 2015, a relatively new brand, Mach City has gained popularity very fast, especially with the urban lifestyle cyclists. They have city bikes and hybrids that suit the need of any city cycling enthusiast. The iBike W Single Speed is one of their most popular products.
Firefox
Firefox started its India operations in Delhi during April 2005. Since then it has played a very pivotal role in changing the cycling scenario in India. They made cycles like a fashion statement, which act as a catalyst in attracting consumers at large into taking up cycling as a sport and lifestyle. Their BMX and the range of kids cycles are extremely popular.
