Updated on May 12, 2022
Merida Industry Co., Ltd (MIC; Chinese: ) is a Taiwanese company that designs, manufactures, and sells bicycles in over 77 countries. Ike Tseng (1932–2012) founded the company in 1972, and it now designs and manufactures approximately 2 million bicycles per year at its factories in Taiwan, China, and Germany. Tseng’s son Michael Tseng became the company’s president after his father died in January 2012.
where merida bikes are made
MERIDA’s development centre, which includes an assembly line for the European market, is headquartered in Germany, while production and manufacturing are based in Asia. MERIDA has a distinct edge in that it can combine German development competence with in-house Asian production and manufacturing experience.
Ike’s son, Michael Tseng, currently runs the company, which employs roughly 4,000 people worldwide. MERIDA has three factories in mainland China, in addition to its headquarters in Yuanlin, south of Taichung. To put that in perspective, the Taiwanese headquarters alone employs around 1,300 people and is capable of producing approximately one million bikes every year. MERIDA has gone a long way in the previous five years, with a vast and cohesive product portfolio ranging from road and gravel bikes to urban and mountain bikes. The eMTB range is the most recent and most successful addition to their portfolio. MERIDA’s ebike sector already accounts for 30% of the company’s overall sales.
In general, the spectrum of available motors and batteries influences the development of an ebike. Few bike brands are large enough to build their own motors capable of giving comparable performance to the competitors and, more importantly, to ensure a reliable, global service network. MERIDA already had a solid working relationship with Shimano, so it was clear who they would team up with to bring the new eONE-SIXTY to life. However, there was one issue: when MERIDA began developing the new eONE SIXTY, Shimano did not have a tiny internal battery to fit MERIDA’s goal. As a result, the Magstadt development team drew up drawings for a new battery, laying the groundwork for the new Shimano STEPS BT-E8035 battery.
Taiwanese-made
Our visit to the headquarters of MERIDA Bikes showed us once again that the world isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be – and that we’re not as amazing as we think we are! While German automobile problems have tarnished the “Made in Germany” stamp, each country proudly displays its own labels such as “Fatto en,” “Hecho en,” “Made in,” and “Fabrique en”… Taiwan produces both in quantity and in quality. A quality seal, whether created in Taiwan, the United States, France, or Germany, is only as good as the producer.
A decent seal is only as good as the maker, whether it’s made in Taiwan, the United States, France, or Germany.
MERIDA is on a roll, and the green rice paddies behind the factory grounds await further plans to expand. What will they produce there? If we had to ask William, he would probably answer, “I don’t know”. Whatever it may be, we have no doubt that it will continue to follow MERIDA’s philosophy of quality. And until then, may the patron god of the land residing in the adjacent temple watch over MERIDA!
