The decision by German company KED, a manufacturer of bicycle helmets, to relocate all of its production to China later this year marks a new milestone reflecting the increasing pressures faced by European industries amid Chinese competition and rising production costs in Germany.

The company is the last German factory to maintain domestic production of bicycle helmets, after other companies had already moved their factories abroad.

The decision highlights a broader challenge facing the European manufacturing sector: the difficulty of maintaining domestic production amid rising labor, energy, and raw material costs, compared to the ability of Chinese factories to offer cheaper and more competitive products.

The company attributed its decision to the increase in the minimum wage in Germany to 13.90 euros per hour over the past four years, along with higher raw material prices due to rising oil prices, as well as price competition from low-cost helmets sold in European discount stores after being manufactured in China.

Sun, 28 2026

Although Germany is one of the largest bicycle markets in Europe, with government estimates indicating that most of the population owns a bicycle, the bicycle helmet sector does not benefit from the trade protection that Brussels provides to certain other industries, making it more vulnerable to foreign competition.

In contrast, bicycle manufacturers within the European Union benefit from anti-dumping duties imposed years ago on Chinese imports, which has helped sustain domestic bicycle production.

The European Union also imposes high tariffs on traditional and electric bicycles imported from China, as well as on some key components, in an effort to prevent circumvention of anti-dumping measures.

In contrast, these measures do not cover the bicycle helmet sector, leaving companies in this industry to face Chinese competition without similar protection.

Accordingly, KED decided to keep its research and development and quality control activities in Germany, while shifting all manufacturing operations to a specialized company in China.

Tue, 07 2026

The company's CEO, Viktor Porsche, said that the pressures were not limited to rising costs but also included weak consumer spending and declining demand after inventory buildup since the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is in addition to bureaucratic complexities that delayed the implementation of some investments, such as waiting an entire year for a permit to install a cooling system on the factory roof.

He explained that the company would have needed to raise the price of each helmet by about 20 euros to cover the higher costs, but such an increase would have negatively affected sales, leading it to close local manufacturing facilities and instead focus on product development and accelerating the innovation cycle in collaboration with a contract factory in China.

The decision will result in job cuts, with only about 15 employees remaining in sales, quality management, and internal operations, after the company had relied on manufacturing most of its product components at its factory in Freiberg.

Sat, 20 2026

Industry experts see the decision as reflecting the challenges facing Germany as one of the highest-cost manufacturing countries, due to high wages and labor market inflexibility, according to Nikkei Asia.

They point out that small and medium-sized enterprises are now required to focus on branding, innovation, and customer service, as factors that give them a competitive advantage, at a time when domestic manufacturing alone is no longer sufficient to maintain their competitiveness in the face of global competition.

The relocation of the last German bicycle helmet factory to China confirms that the pressures facing European industry are no longer limited to heavy sectors, but have extended to specialized consumer industries, at a time when the 'Made in Germany' label faces increasing scrutiny as consumers and retailers acknowledge that high-quality goods can be produced in China, even for established European brands.