For the Chinese motor manufacturer Bafang, the year 2024 is tough: new financial results show a sharp decline in turnover and profits compared to 2023. The group nevertheless remains optimistic about the future of the electric bike.
If the year 2023 marked a small halt for the electric bicycle industry, the 2024 vintage is also causing damage on several scales. While the results of the largest component supplier, Shimano, were once again down in the third quarter, it is the turn of Bafang, a major Chinese engine manufacturer, to publish its own – via Bike EU.
Net profit in free fall
Spoiler : they are not good. Over the first nine months of the year (January – September), Bafang's performances were down compared to those of 2023: – 25% in turnover (from 176.3 million euros to 132,000 euros). 5 million euros), and a net profit down 55% (15 million euros to 6.7 million euros). It's relatively substantial.
Bike EU also mentions Bafang sales, which contracted by 25% between January and June.
Several reasons – which are very regularly mentioned by other manufacturers and players in the sector – explain this bad situation: inflation, slowdown in demand, geopolitical uncertainties or even high stocks.
Optimism
«It will still take time to return stocks to normal levels and for consumption to recover, but in the long term, given the need for low or zero carbon emissions, more countries will support electrification of mobility by increasing subsidies and investments in infrastructure. The electric bike market still has a bright future», Estime Bafang.
The subject of excess stocks has been central for around 2 years. Very costly for brands, overstocking has become a daily struggle for many of them. Today, not everyone is in the same boat: some are doing better, like Accell Group, the number 1 bicycle manufacturer in Europe, which has returned to a relatively normal level.
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