German Company Blaupunkt Officially Announced Plans To Establish a Factory In The United States! Production Of e-Bikes Is Scheduled To Begin In 2026, Reflecting The Growing Trend Of Localization In The Global Supply Chain.
On November 5th, Blaupunkt Americas President Tedesco officially confirmed through industry media that the company will invest $12 million to build an e-bike assembly plant in North Carolina, USA. Production is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with an annual capacity of 250,000 units. This decision not only makes Blaupunkt the first European brand to establish a mainstream e-bike assembly line in the US, but also confirms the new trend in the global bicycle industry of upgrading from "nearshore manufacturing" to "local manufacturing," resonating with the simultaneous expansion of battery production capacity in Europe and technological innovation in France.
US Factory: A European Brand's "Localization Breakthrough"
According to Tedesco, the new factory will be located near Asheville, North Carolina, and will take over the US market assembly business previously located at the Paraguay factory. Initially, the factory will recruit 60-80 employees and adopt the same ISO standard production system and UL 2849 electrical safety certification process as the Paraguay factory. It will primarily produce magnesium alloy frame e-bike folding bicycles, which will be directly supplied to US retailers and online channels. It's worth noting that the frames will still be manufactured in Malaysia or China, with the factory initially focusing on core assembly processes rather than finishing and painting to control initial costs.
"This isn't a temporary adjustment, but a necessary step in a long-term strategy," Tedesco emphasized. After establishing a factory in Paraguay in 2022 to achieve "nearshore manufacturing," delivery times in the US market were shortened by 40%. This upgrade to "domestic manufacturing" will further reduce delivery times to within 72 hours, while mitigating the risks of cross-border tariff fluctuations. This move is supported by the US bicycle industry organization PeopleForBikes, and Blaupunkt has explicitly expressed its support for the US Bicycle Production and Assembly Act (H.R. 3904), which proposes tax breaks for domestic manufacturers and is currently under review in the House of Representatives.
Industry data shows that Blaupunkt's strategy is not an isolated case. Since 2025, California-based electric-assist bicycle companies and eBliss, among others, have launched US domestic assembly plans, while high-end mountain bike brands like Pivot and Yeti have already achieved domestic production. Market research firms predict that by 2027, the proportion of e-bikes assembled in the US will increase from the current 12% to 35%.
Europe Responds: Central and Eastern Europe Becomes a Battery Production Hub
Just as Blaupunkt announced its US factory construction, the restructuring of the European supply chain is accelerating. EMBS (formerly Johnson Matthey Battery Systems), a Polish battery manufacturer under the German Prettl Group, revealed on November 4th that it has completed the capacity upgrade of its Gliwice plant, increasing its annual e-bike battery assembly capacity to 3 million sets, a 50% increase compared to last year. This factory covers the entire process from solution design and compliance verification to large-scale mass production, with major clients including Bosch (Germany) and Batavus (Netherlands), among other major European OEMs.
This move is driven by stringent EU regulations. The new EU battery regulations, which will officially take effect in 2025, require e-bike batteries to have a recycling rate of at least 90% and to provide a complete carbon footprint report. “Localized production can significantly reduce compliance costs,” said the COO of EMBS. Central and Eastern Europe is becoming a core hub for the European bicycle supply chain. Besides Poland, Hungary has attracted over €200 million in investment from Chinese battery companies, forming an industry structure where “complete bicycle brands are in Western Europe, and core components are in Central and Eastern Europe.”
Industry analysts point out that the dual-track localization strategy implemented by Europe and the US is shifting the global bicycle supply chain from “global sourcing” to “regional aggregation.” Taking batteries, a core component of e-bikes, as an example, in 2023, 70% of global production capacity was concentrated in Asia, while by 2026, the proportion of local production capacity in Europe will increase to 28%, and in North America to 15%.
Technological Highlights: French Innovation Defines the “Next-Generation Commuter Bike”
While the supply chain is being restructured, technological innovation is also injecting new momentum into the industry. The Vigoz e-bike concept bike recently launched by the French engineering company Cixi has attracted industry attention with its unique PERS (pedal energy recovery system). The system employs a chainless drive design, directly converting the energy from pedaling into electricity to drive the motor. It can also recharge during braking, achieving a range of 160 kilometers with a 22kWh battery pack and a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour, balancing commuting practicality with sporty attributes.
Even more disruptive is its business model—Cixi plans to use a subscription model instead of traditional sales. Users pay €39 per month to use the vehicle, which will be recycled by the company after a 15-year lifespan. "This provides a new approach to sustainable development for the industry," said a technical advisor from the European Cycling Federation. Vigoz's tilting tricycle design, weatherproof frame, and child seat compatibility precisely target the needs of family commuting. If mass production is achieved in 2026, it is expected to open up a completely new market segment.
Industry Challenges: How to Balance Localization and Globalization?
While localization has become a trend, the industry still faces many challenges. Blaupunkt admitted that the initial production costs at the US factory will be 18% higher than at the Paraguayan factory, which needs to be gradually amortized through economies of scale and tax incentives; EMBS faces a shortage of skilled workers, with its Polish factory experiencing a 20% shortage of skilled workers. “Localization is not about isolation, but about more efficient globalization,” said the policy director of PeopleForBikes. Blaupunkt’s practice of retaining Asian frame production and EMBS’s adoption of Asian technology exemplifies the new logic of “globalization of core components and localization of assembly.” This model satisfies the compliance and timeliness requirements of regional markets while maintaining technological synergy across the global supply chain.
From factory blueprints in North Carolina, USA, to battery production lines in Gliwice, Poland, and technology labs in France, the global bicycle industry is undergoing a profound supply chain restructuring in 2025. As Tedesco stated, “Future competition will no longer be about individual products, but about the efficiency of regional supply chains.”
Reference information
1.Blaupunkt plans to assemble e-bikes in North Carolina, USA. Meiqi.com. 2025-09-30. http://m.toutiao.com/group/7555708375577657871/?upstream_biz=doubao
2.EMBS strengthens Prettl Group's e-bike battery production capacity. Meiqi.com. 2025-09-30. http://m.toutiao.com/group/7555708375577657871/upstream_biz=doubao
3.2025 Global E-Bike Supply Chain Report. European Cycling Federation. 2025-10-25. http://www.confederationofbicycleindustries.co.uk/reports/2025-supply-chain
4.Cixi Vigoz e-bike technology white paper. Cixi Engineering website. 2025-10-18. http://www.cixi-engineering.com/technical-whitepaper
