Insync Bikes pledges 50,000 bikes to UK market for Christmas run up

Hero Cycles owned Insync Bikes has pledged to fill a shortfall in key price points for bikes between now and Christmas with 50,000 units.

The Indian parent group has prioritised a largely affordable steel and alloy production, which will largely retail for between £150 and £600, spanning a range of key models and sizes across children’s and adults bikes. Each of the bikes on offer traces roots back to the £2 million Global Design Centre, based in Manchester.

Where others are struggling with a supply of components with which to build the bikes, Hero’s influence in India has enabled it to begin creating a new 100 acre Cycle Valley in Ludhiana, in the Punjab region. With these supply chains coming in to place the firm is able to meet demand with heightened flexibility.

“This will be the biggest and most advanced bike making centre in the world,” said Insync’s head of business Gopal Krishan. “We plan to have all the suppliers and parts in one central location to de-risk supply chain disruption and share innovation between cycling industry’s leading companies. Ultimately we want to have capacity to produce around 9 million bicycles and e-Bikes each year adding a further 60pc capacity to our operations eventually reaching around 8pc of global production share.”

Krishan said Hero is “pulling out all the stops” to make the 50,000 bikes at its factories in India, Sri Lanka and Europe in response to the unprecedented demand for bikes following the coronavirus outbreak, which has driven bike sales up by 63%. A key concern among shops now is not having bikes for the key Christmas sales season with many suppliers not able to source good stocks until next year.

Further to that, in the UK electric bike sales have jumped by 88% in sales volume when comparing H1 in 2020 over the prior year. Stocks of bikes remain at a low, with brands explaining what the hold up is in a recent CI.N analysis of the trend.

Krishan said: “We are delighted the government has recognised the vital role cycling played in the first national lockdown in improving physical and mental health, a legacy we have seen continue through the numbers of commuters exchanging their cars for bikes ever since.

“Allowing bike shops to remain open, as essential retailers, shows the significance of this form of exercise and should boost further the industry.”

In August of 2015, Hero acquired Manchester-based Avocet Sports, taking a 51% stake, but later taking full ownership. It is with this business that the group supplies the UK cycle trade. In November 2019 the company changed its name from Avocet Sports Ltd to Insync Bikes Ltd.

In total, the Hero Motors Company owned bicycle division supplies over 70 countries worldwide and is said to be responsible for one in 20 of all bicycle made globally. It produces around 19,000 bicycles per day.