Taiwan’s tech and IT industries are making headlines all over the world. Leading player Darfon Electronics has grown its bicycle business over the last ten years and is now placing its focus on expansion in Europe.
Founded in 1997, Darfon Electronics quickly grew into an important producer of consumer electronics. Today, Darfon counts over 10,000 employees worldwide with operations in Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany. But the company’s involvement in the bicycle industry only started in March 2013 when it won a d&i Award at the Taipei Cycle Show for its smart e-citybike design. One year later it launched its BESV e-bike brand. And in 2017 the Votani brand was rolled out as a more affordable alternative. With the acquisition of assembler Kenstone Metal and then trader Kenlight Manufactory Bicycle, Darfon further upped its involvement in Taiwan’s bicycle industry.
Darfon Electronics and its partnerships with leading industry players
Apart from its BESV and Votani e-bike brands, the core business of Darfon in the bicycle industry has been the supply of battery packs. As such it is one of the very few companies that have been officially accepted and certified by Shimano to supply replacement or OE battery packs for its Steps and EPS e-drive systems. Due to the way its production is set up, Darfon only produces standard battery packs both for external and in-tube mounting. It has also recently partnered with Delta Electronics as the battery supplier for Delta’s e-drive system. In August 2020, Hsinchu-based TD Hitech Energy was acquired, adding custom-made battery packs to Darfon’s portfolio, including oversized battery packs for the premium speed pedelecs from Switzerland’s Stromer. In 2023 a prototype of a solid-state ceramic battery developed by Darfon was displayed at Stromer’s Eurobike booth.
Another interesting move saw Darfon Electronic enter a joint venture with frame maker Astro Engineering. The main goal was to speed up the development of smart e-bikes with advanced connectivity and integrated electronics. With modular battery packs one interesting result of this cooperation was soft-launched at the Taipei Cycle Show. By splitting the battery into two blocks with a capacity of 360 Wh each, consumers can opt to mount both battery blocks for long rides or just one for shorter rides. This not only saves weight: as one battery block can be replaced with an empty shell of the same shape, it creates a storage compartment that fits a rain jacket and other personal items. As another advantage of the modular battery concept, the cutout in the frame can be reduced in size. This means that the frame can be stiffer or more lightweight.
An increasing business focus on Europe
Darfon’s business is 80 percent in Asia and 20 percent in Europe. Some of the latest investments are likely to change this ratio, with the management aiming for a 50:50 split. To further grow its European business the company opened an e-bike assembly plant in the Czech Republic in December 2023. And just before this year’s Eurobike show, Darfon turned heads with the acquisition of Grofa — one of Germany’s key distributors for softgoods, parts and components that also owns subsidiaries in Poland and the Benelux region, with an annual turnover of EUR 120 million. As Grofa had already been the German distributor for the BESV brand for the last four years, the two companies knew each other well before the acquisition.
The deal was also driven by Darfon and BESV’s desire to gain increased access to Grofa’s European dealer networks to further grow sales in Europe. The market share of e-bikes is still growing in most European countries and the US market is far from mature and still offers plenty of potential. And with key parts of the supply chain for e-bikes and now also some key distribution channels under its roof, Darfon Electronics is well-positioned to further grow its bicycle-related business.