Gov't to develop local luxury bicycle industry to fuel 'green' growth

SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) -- The government said Sunday it will strive to build South
Korea's luxury bicycle industry to help fuel eco-friendly growth.
The plan calls for arranging strategic tie-ups between local bicycle
manufacturers, high-tech components makers and auto companies, with the
government providing research and development (R&D), administrative and
infrastructure support, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
"The idea is to create a corporate environment and consumer market that can allow
companies to make high-tech, value-added bicycles that can meet growing domestic
and overseas demand," said Kim Chang-kyu, head of the ministry's transportation
systems division.
He pointed out that while there is a large market for ordinary products,
carmakers like BMW, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz have marketed bikes with price tags
up to 5 million won (US$3,892), while fashion brand names like Chanel and Hermes
have manufactured bikes that fetch up to 14 million won.
"Because these bikes will be state-of-the-art, they can share technology that go
into upper-end automobiles," he said.
Kim said suspension and brakes could be shared, while small engines and
navigational devices can be incorporated. The engines could be used to drive
bicycles up hills.
The director said the importance of bicycles has taken on new significance as
countries across the globe move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ordinary
people become more conscious about saving energy and improving their health.
He added that besides local demand, top quality bikes could find consumers abroad
since over 130 million were sold worldwide in 2007.
South Korean companies on the whole provided most of the domestic demand until
the 1990s and posted a trade surplus before losing out to cheap imports from
countries like China and Taiwan. The move by people to use passenger cars as the
main form of transportation contributed to the decline. At present, the country's
seven bicycle manufacturers can produce a maximum 200,000 units a year out of a
total market of 2.39 million units, with the trade deficit in this field reaching
$100 million in 2007.
To support growth, the ministry in charge of the country's industrial policies
said Seoul plans to spend 6 billion won this year on R&D, with efforts being
pursued to create safe and standardized bikes that can be used to augment
transportation needs in towns, large research centers and manufacturing sites.
As part of this effort, South Korea plans to lay down a total of 3,000 km of
dedicated bicycle lanes across the country by 2018, with 170 km to be built this
year.
Related to the blueprint, government officials, local bicycle producers Samcully,
InFiza, Alton, auto parts makers Mando Corporation and steelmaker POSCO met in
Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province to discuss cooperative arrangements.
Industry and government sources also said that talks are underway, with local
carmakers like Hyundai Motor Co. to jointly develop bikes modeled after luxury
sedans.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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