Tribune News Service
Vijay C Roy
Chandigarh, May 3
Registering a decline in all three major segments — roadster (standard), fancy and kids — bicycle sales shrunk by 6% across the country in the fiscal 2021-22. In FY21, the industry had witnessed a significant surge in the fancy and kids bicycle segment. However, it failed to retain the momentum and coupled with the decreasing trend in roadster cycle sales, the industry could sell only 1,14,37,826 units in the last fiscal compared to 1,21,65,800 in FY21.
According to All India Cycle Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the fancy and kids’ bicycle segment grew by 13% and 40%, respectively, in FY21. According to the manufacturers, the reasons for decline in sales were frequent lockdowns, hike in steel prices and limited institutional (government) tenders. In addition, component shortage also hit the sales.
“The frequent lockdowns due to the Covid disrupted supply chain, which not only affected production but also sales,” said Onkar Singh Pahwa, CMD, Avon Cycles Ltd.
“The decline is mainly due to low sales of roadster segment, shortage of components and rising steel prices. The latter added to burden on the manufacturers, making bicycles costlier,” said KB Thakur, secretary general, ACMA.
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