Portugal has maintained, for three consecutive years, the title of largest producer of bicycles in Europe, with an increase in exports even in the years of the pandemic, said today a source of ABIMOTA, an association that represents the two-wheeled sector.
“Portugal has been the largest European producer of bicycles for three years in a row. The sector’s exports will grow 4% in 2020, 39% in 2021 and 37% in 2022, exceeding 800 million euros, “said Armando Levi, president of ABIMOTA – National Association of Two-Wheeled, Hardware, Furniture and Related Industries, based in Águeda, in the district of Aveiro.
The president was speaking during a visit to ABIMOTA by the Secretary of State for the Economy, which took place in the late afternoon.
Despite the good moment that the sector is going through, Armando Levi stressed that it is necessary to “take a leap” to another level, in order to achieve leadership in product development, in partnership with the main European players.
He also advocated a focus on sustainability and the circular economy in partnership with customers and suppliers, as well as the integration of the scientific community in this chain.
In this sense, the sector has applied for a mobilization agenda under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), involving 47 entities, including 39 companies, seven entities from the scientific and technological system and ABIMOTA, with an expected investment of more than 210 million euros, focused on 55 new products that should reach the market within three years.
Also part of this agenda is Bikinnov, an association that will manage the Technological Interface Center (CIT), which is intended to create conditions for companies to innovate and develop their products in an appropriate way, constituting a “historic milestone” for the two-wheeled and soft mobility sector.
“We want a technology and innovation center at the world’s best level in terms of research and development in the two-wheeled and soft mobility sector. In this championship, it is not enough to be good. We have to be among the best and Portugal must not lose the peloton”, said the President of ABIMOTA.
