Laws & Regulations

European Cycling Industries (ECI) launches Manifesto to combat non-compliant e-bikes and tampering kits.

The summer holidays are over again. Last year, I wrote about my adventures with our car on the way to France. This time, we had the pleasure of spending our holiday in Curaçao, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles. Because you can simply speak Dutch there - my native language - the Netherlands can feel surprisingly close. In reality, of course, it is very far away. Despite all the Dutch products on supermarket shelves, Curaçao is much more oriented towards the Americas. And from a product compliance perspective, that makes for some interesting discoveries.

No less than 10,000 e-bikes and e-scooters seized in the course of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) investigation Calypso have been auctioned at bargain prices. According to EPPO, the sale generated €1.85 million, a small part of the financial effects from the ongoing investigation. "This is not what we want, and we would rather have them scrapped," said an EBMA spokesperson representing the European bicycle industry.

The UK will maintain its anti-dumping measures on bicycles and certain bicycle parts imported from China until August 2029, following the conclusion of a transition review. Duty rates will remain unchanged, ranging from 19.2% to 48.5%, with the measures intended to protect domestic manufacturers from a resurgence of low-priced Chinese imports.

The UK's bicycle industry has launched a new safety trust mark designed to help consumers identify compliant e-bikes while protecting reputable manufacturers and retailers from growing competition with illegal and unsafe products.

Industry association, European Cycling Industries (ECI), has set out a comprehensive framework for tackling the growing challenge of non-compliant e-bikes in Europe. In a new white paper, it distinguishes between different forms of non-compliance, including technical breaches of the EPAC standard, customs and trade fraud, and downstream tampering. These issues require targeted enforcement rather than blanket restrictions on compliant e-bikes, the industry organisation argues.

No less than 10,000 e-bikes and e-scooters seized in the course of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) investigation Calypso have been auctioned at bargain prices. According to EPPO, the sale generated €1.85 million, a small part of the financial effects from the ongoing investigation. "This is not what we want, and we would rather have them scrapped," said an EBMA spokesperson representing the European bicycle industry.

The UK will maintain its anti-dumping measures on bicycles and certain bicycle parts imported from China until August 2029, following the conclusion of a transition review. Duty rates will remain unchanged, ranging from 19.2% to 48.5%, with the measures intended to protect domestic manufacturers from a resurgence of low-priced Chinese imports.

European Union authorities are ramping up efforts to tackle customs evasion practices, specifically targeting split shipments and post-entry bicycle assembly. According to the European Public Prosecutor's Office's (EPPO) 2025 annual report, post-import assembly operations are becoming an increasingly common tactic to circumvent costly customs duties.

Singapore-based DuTech Holding Ltd. is rapidly snapping up a series of companies in the bicycle industry. As a global player in cash-handling machines (ATMs), the company is now also eyeing the bicycle industry, particularly in Europe. As the bicycle industry's financial position has remained weak since the aftermath of the pandemic, this strategic investor is a welcome guest for many companies.