Three years ago, 5-6 thousand electric bicycles were sold in Hungary, two years ago more than 10 thousand, and last year already 23 thousand - said Máriusz Révész Active, State Secretary for Hungary, on Wednesday at the 20th anniversary celebration of Accell Hunland Kft. in Tószeg.
The politician noted that the number of electric bicycles sold in Germany increased from 4,000 to 2 million in seven years.
He explained that the Hungarian government supports the purchase of electric bicycles with a tender, and so far they have contributed to the purchase of 14-15 thousand such two-wheelers. With another tender, they support the purchase of electric Cargo type bicycles, so far they have supported the purchase of 245 such bicycles, the tender continues.
He recalled that the parliament accepted the proposal according to which employers can provide bicycles or bicycles with electric assistance to their employees free of charge, the costs of which - including repair costs - can be accounted for.
Béla Szabó-Lukovszki, managing director of Accell Hunland Kft., said that when the factory in Tószeg started in 2001, there was still demand for traditional middle and upper-middle category bicycles, especially in the German market. The first bicycle, a regular Hercules (Wave 7) type bicycle, was produced in the factory in August 2002, and the three millionth bicycle, a Haibike type electric two-wheeler, was produced in November 2020. According to the company's plans, the 3.5 millionth bicycle will be manufactured at the Tószeg plant this fall.
He also explained that the area of the factory is now 27,500 square meters and that 98 percent of the total sales are electric bicycles. In addition to Germany, France and the United Kingdom, their most important recording markets today are the Northern European countries. The company's portfolio includes such well-known bicycle brands as Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Lapierre, or Raleigh - he listed.
He added: there are about 480 permanent employees at the company, during the season the number of employees reaches 700, including the hired workforce.
Francesca Gamboni, Deputy CEO of Accel Group's supply chain, said at the event: the company is an important supplier of e-bikes in Europe, where it is the market leader in terms of revenue. In terms of bicycle parts and accessories, it is the second largest player on the European market. He added: in 2020, the group sold around 897,000 bicycles, and its turnover exceeded 1.3 billion euros.
Miklós Gyuricza, the (independent) mayor of Tószeg, said: in the last three years, about 400 million forints were spent on bicycle path development, the bicycle path between Szolnok and Tószeg was built, and the entire inland network in Tószeg will be renovated by the end of October this year.
Földiné Rusa Marianna, the HR manager of Accell Hunland Kft., told MTI that 92 percent of the parts come from Asia, and the Russian-Ukrainian war does not affect the supply of parts.
Among others, Désirée Bonis, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Budapest, and Mária Kállai, the region's Fidesz parliamentarian, took part in the event.
According to public company data, the taxable profit of Accell Hunland Kft. in 2021 was a profit of 6.894 million euros, while a year earlier it had a loss of 7.448 million euros. The company's net sales exceeded 317 million euros in 2021 and 306 million euros in 2020.
According to the company's announcement, the Accell Group employs almost 3,300 people in 15 countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Turkey, and China, and its products are sold in more than 80 countries.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)