Thailand's bicycle demand is expected to remain flat for the third consecutive year, largely due to relatively low purchasing power.
Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer (NEO), said limited space for riding and unsuccessful bike lane projects in Thailand are also key factors behind the sluggish sales.
The market size for bicycles in Thailand is estimated at 7.5 billion baht this year, on par with last year. Of the total, 4.5 billion baht is from bicycle sales and 3 billion is from fashion and accessories.
"The market peaked at 12 billion baht in 2015 and gradually declined in 2016 and 2017," he said. "Apart from poor purchasing power, which leads people to opting for running, safety concerns are an issue as there is little concern about traffic rules here."
More importantly, there are also many running activities supported by the government and private companies.
Mr Sakchai said some 300,000 people ride a bicycle in Thailand. Of the total, about 70% live in Bangkok and the remaining 30% are in upcountry areas.
"There is still a huge room to grow the bicycle market in Thailand," said Mr Sakchai.
He urged the government to improve and develop more bike lanes, and come up with a clear import tax rate on e-bicycle to promote the domestic bicycle market.
Mr Sakchai said the popularity of e-bikes has gone global.
The trend has come to Thailand as well, but high prices are an obstacle because of unclear import tax rates.
"If e-bicycles are treated as regular bicycles, prices will go down and attract more people to use more bicycles. Once the volume is large enough, e-bicycle companies may be able to use Thailand as an export production base for e-bicycles in the future," Mr Sakchai.
With this, the NEO and bicycle distributing companies are calling on the government to reconsider import tax rates for e-bikes in Thailand.
In a related development, to promote bicycling in Thailand, the NEO has scheduled the 12th International Bangkok Bike festival from Nov 22-25 at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
More than 300 booths will showcase bicycle innovations at the event.
At least three e-bicycle brands are scheduled to join the event.
The bike show also offers plenty of exhibits and meeting opportunities for importers and retailers. The exhibition will showcase leading bicycle brands as well as fashion, accessories and other related components.
There will also be a series of seminars on trend and innovation updates, an innovation pavilion featuring the latest bicycles and related equipment, and a demonstration on group rides and safety standards.
The company expects 50,000 visitors at the event to circulate 500 million baht during the four-day event.
