Giant Founder King Liu Dies at 93 — His Bicycle Empire Had Already Bet Big on Vietnam

King Liu died in Taichung on February 16. He was 93.

In Taiwan, they called him the "Godfather of Cycling." Internationally, the label was simpler: the cycling missionary. He built Giant Group into the world's largest bicycle manufacturer — a brand sold in over 50 countries with revenue of about NT$71.3 billion in 2024.

The newest piece of that empire sits in Bình Dương province, Vietnam: two factories, nearly $180 million invested.

But the story of how Liu got there started with dead eels.

Failed Eel Farmer, Serial Restarter

Liu was born in 1934 in Shalu, Taichung. In his younger years, he tried everything — lumber, flour, screws, trucking. He bounced through more than a dozen industries.

The worst was eel farming. He sank NT$20 million into it. A typhoon in 1971 wiped out the whole operation.

The next year, at 38, Liu scraped together what he had left, pooled NT$4 million with eight other investors, and founded Giant Mechanical in Dajia, Taichung. The company name was aspirational. The reality was 38 employees and four years of consecutive losses before a single real order came in.

Schwinn Saved Him. Then Schwinn Left.

In 1977, Giant landed a manufacturing contract with Schwinn, America's dominant bicycle brand. It was a lifeline.

When a 1980 strike shut Schwinn's Chicago factory, the company closed it entirely and moved all production to Giant. By 1984, Giant was making about 500,000 bikes a year for Schwinn — two-thirds of Schwinn's sales volume and 75% of Giant's revenue.

Liu could see the risk. In 1981, he launched Giant's own brand with a line that became legendary in Taiwanese business: "We can't spend our whole lives making wedding dresses for other people."

The break came in 1987 when Schwinn moved its orders to a cheaper factory in Shenzhen. By 1991, the partnership was over. But the Giant brand already accounted for 60% of revenue. Liu had been preparing for this moment for a decade.

Schwinn filed for bankruptcy in 1992. Giant kept growing.

Building a Global Brand

Without Schwinn, Giant went all in on its own name.

The company opened its first overseas subsidiary in the Netherlands in 1986, cracking the European market. In 1987, it launched the Cadex — the world's first mass-produced carbon fiber road bike. Through the 1990s, Giant sponsored professional cycling teams. Its TCR frame showed up at the Tour de France in 1998.

In 2003, Liu did something unusual: he called his competitor. He and Merida's leadership brought together 11 component makers to form A-Team, the Taiwan Bicycle Alliance. They adopted Toyota's production system and collectively moved Taiwan's bicycle industry from low-cost OEM work to premium manufacturing.

By 2017, Giant was producing 6.6 million bikes a year with $1.9 billion in revenue — the largest bicycle manufacturer on earth.

Around Taiwan on Two Wheels at 73

Liu's most famous personal story has nothing to do with business.

In 2007, at 73, he was moved by a line from the Taiwanese film "Island Etude": "Some things, if you don't do them now, you never will." He decided to cycle around the island.

His family and executives opposed it. He had sleep apnea and sciatica. On the brutal climb up Shouqia Pass, he stopped five times before reaching the top. It took 15 days and 927 kilometers.

That ride became the annual "Formosa 900" event. In 2014, Liu did it again at 80 — 966 kilometers in 12 days. This time he rode up Shouqia without stopping once.

Liu also championed YouBike, Taiwan's public bicycle system. When it launched as a pilot in Taipei in 2009, it averaged 23 rides a day and hemorrhaged money. Liu kept going, calling YouBike "a gift to the people of Taiwan." By 2024, Taipei alone logged over 65 million YouBike rides per year.

Why Vietnam, Why Bình Dương

Giant operates nine factories worldwide — in Taiwan, China, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Vietnam.

The Vietnam operation sits in Bình Dương province, built in two phases. The first plant, in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP II-A), started in 2021 with about $60 million invested. It has a designed capacity of one million units per year, though current output is around 250,000. The second plant, in VSIP III, added another $120 million.

Combined Vietnam investment: nearly $180 million.

The location choice was strategic. Bình Dương already had a cluster of Taiwanese bicycle component suppliers. Topkey, a major carbon fiber parts maker, set up there in 2023. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has been slashing tariffs on bicycle products since 2025, with some items reaching zero. US-bound exports also carry tariff advantages.

For Giant, Vietnam serves a dual purpose: sharing the production load from its European factories while cutting tariff costs on shipments to both Europe and America. The Vietnam plants have also started supplying e-bike frames to the Hungary factory.

E-bikes now account for about 30% of Giant's revenue and are the fastest-growing segment. The company wants that at 50% by 2030.

What Comes After Liu

Liu stepped back in 2017, handing the chairmanship to his niece Bonnie Tu (Đỗ Tú Trân). Under her watch, Giant hit a record NT$92 billion in revenue in 2022 and pushed forward the Hungary and Vietnam factory builds.

The years after 2022 were rougher. A global bicycle inventory glut — the hangover from pandemic-era demand — dragged revenue down for two straight years. Net profit in 2024 fell to a ten-year low.

In January 2025, Giant entered its third generation: Liu's son Liu Yung-chang became chairman, and his daughter Liu Su-chuan took the CEO role.

King Liu started with a bankrupt eel farm and 38 employees. Over half a century, he built the world's largest bicycle company. Vietnam — two factories, nearly $180 million — is one of the latest pieces of that story. It won't be the last.