The highlights of the ECF Cycling Industry Club  throughout 2018 follow two themes.

Firstly, there is the support the Club is able to give to ECF in its purpose to create a better Europe through cycling. Therefore, we are pleased to acknowledge the successes of ECF, leading cycling advocacy at the European level. 

Secondly, we are working to place cycling’s business sector at the heart of European policy development in the areas of economic growth, technology and new mobility. This work took a big step forward in 2018 when we announced that the members of the Cycling Industry Club are going to form a new international trade association called Cycling Industries Europe in 2019, including our bike sharing platform, PEBSS.

Looking forward to an era of connected, shared electro-mobility our industries now contain experts in sharing, digitalisation, connectivity, freight, financial services and infrastructure. It is the ambition of CIE to unite the strengths of all these sectors and build a stronger industrial impact for cycling.

2018’s highlights reflected our role in setting the agenda for industry and technology. At Velo-city 2018 in Rio de Janeiro high level sessions were dedicated to Cycling as Big Data, Cycling as Intelligent Transport and Public Bike Sharing. There was a breakthrough for the presence of cycling at the World Intelligent Transport Congress in Copenhagen in September. It has taken several years of negotiations and lobbying but now cycling had a range of dedicated sessions and was represented in the highest-level plenaries. We have also secured nearly 4 million Euros in EU research funding to promote the development of cargo bikes and e-cargo bikes for logistics, bike share and passengers, identified as “the next big thing” for cycling growth.

Innovators and disruptors were also well represented in our work, contributing to numerous events and platforms supporting innovation. We titled our launch event for CIE “Future Cycling” and attracted high level policy contributors from the EU institutions to talk about the role of innovation in mobility. Our events of the year kicked off in Utrecht with our Leaders’ Summit which had a high focus on disruptive trends for our sector with contributors such as Uber and Vodafone. We supported the new “Startup Academy” at Eurobike and contributed keynote sessions to the e-bike policy day at the Taipei Cycle Show Forum and partnered with a well-attended Innovation Summit hosted by Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland.

It was also a really important year for advocacy that will have a direct impact on bicycle sales. The ECF team has coordinated cycling’s response to a proposal for compulsory Motor Insurance for e-bikes and the prospect of reducing VAT on all bicycles including e-bikes. Good progress is being made and the collaboration between industry partners and the advocacy community is a strength of our work.

One of the building blocks of our industrial programme is the direct support the industry gives to national advocacy movements. The ECF Leadership Programme takes groups from countries where the advocacy movement has high potential but needs an injection of support or funding to improve its impact. This programme is 100% funded by the ECF Cycling Industry Club and has now funded groups in 17 countries. 2018 saw a direct return for business as the organisations that have been through the programme delivered a major return on investment in many markets. Sweden became one of Europe’s leading e-bike markets due to new government support, in Italy a new cycling framework law was passed, France saw 100,00 citizens lobby the new government for a national Plan Velo and there were similar successes in Finland and Slovenia. 

A 2018 of the Cycling Industry Club cannot conclude without thanks and recognition for the journey of the past six years. In 2019 we look forward to a new future as Cycling Industries Europe, but the companies want to recognise ECF and its members who have delivered such as big impact from the funding contributed by the members of CIC. We have had great partnerships with other national and international industry bodies and we have been supported by the trade shows and industry media throughout the development of the Cycling Industry Club.

Through the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the boards of ECF and CIE we have a commitment that lets us build on this success for the growth of cycling and successful industries in Europe. We look forward to working with all our members and supporters towards our ambitious agendas for both organisations in 2019.