Giant Joins Cycling Industry Club As Advocacy Gains Momentum - ECF Press Release, August 31, 2012

August 31, 2012 - Friedrichschafen, Germany

At yesterday’s Advocacy Summit the Cycling Industry Club got a huge boost. The biggest bike maker in the world - Giant – announced that it will join this club which is seeking to step up advocacy activities.

“Giant has decided to say we’re in. We’ve joined the club,” announced Tony Lo, CEO of Giant Bicycles. 

Lo added: “It’s our obligation to join forces with all of you to see how we can make cycling more popular in Europe. We want to have more people cycling.”

There was more good news at the crowded summit with Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association (TBEA) also joining the Cycling Industry Club. The two new members are contributing substantial funding with Giant providing €100,000 per year and the TBEA contributing €50,000 euro per year over a 3-year period. As well as new members from Taiwan, the club also welcomes the well-known Italian industry association ANCMA. 

With the newly enlisted members and more big names in the pipeline, advocacy is gaining momentum in Europe. The club is now another step closer to unlocking €6 billion in EU investment in cycling infrastructure and doubling the number of cyclists. Yet summit organisers believe that more bicycle companies need to sign up.

“As an industry we have to make investments for the future. Joining this club is important if we want to get more people on bicycles,” said Rene Takens, CEO of Accell Group.

“And we know that if we get more people on the bicycles than we get more people buying bicycle parts and new bicycles.”

More Information about the summit can be found at www.ecf.com/advocacysummit