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the picture shows consumers choosing electric bicycles. photo by huang zhiling

on july 25, the national development and reform commission and the ministry of finance jointly issued the "several measures on strengthening support for large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in". reporters found that in addition to strengthening support for the trade-in of cars and home appliances, the trade-in policy will also expand the scope of support to old house renovation, partial renovation of kitchens and bathrooms, home adaptation for the elderly, promotion of smart home consumption and other aspects of home kitchen and bathroom "renewal", as well as electric bicycle trade-in. in mid-august, beijing, chongqing, jiangsu, hainan and other places have introduced detailed plans to increase the trade-in of consumer goods, and some provinces and cities have included electric bicycles in the trade-in scope for the first time.

unlike household appliances, home furnishings and other consumer goods, the old-for-new policy for electric bicycles is mainly centered around the rectification of safety hazards of electric bicycles throughout the entire chain. it aims to support consumers in replacing safer and smarter electric bicycle products, accelerate the elimination of old electric bicycles with safety hazards on the market, and then promote companies to accelerate the launch of higher-quality, safer and more durable second-generation electric bicycle products, and help the high-quality development of the electric bicycle industry. so, how is the implementation of the old-for-new policy for electric bicycles, and has it promoted the upgrading of electric bicycle consumption? the reporter recently conducted an interview.

local governments focus on supporting the replacement of old electric bicycles with new ones

maximum subsidy: 1,000 yuan

walking into the "electric bicycle street" in datou street, beijing, the reporter immediately felt the busy atmosphere here. sales stores of electric bicycle brands such as yadea, emma, ​​nine, niu, and xiaodao are gathered on this street, and there is a constant flow of people inside and outside the stores. some consumers are asking about product configurations, some are trying out new electric bicycles, and some are asking the store maintenance staff to repair the purchased vehicles.

according to data from the ministry of industry and information technology, enterprises above designated size will produce a total of 42.28 million electric bicycles in 2023. according to data from the china bicycle association, the number of electric two-wheeled vehicles in china will exceed 400 million in 2023. as a major producer and consumer of electric bicycles, ensuring the safety of electric bicycles is of vital interest to residents.

in april this year, the ministry of commerce and 14 other departments issued the "action plan for promoting the replacement of old consumer goods for new consumer goods", emphasizing that reference should be made to the relevant practices of the replacement of old cars and home appliances, and research should be conducted to promote the replacement of old electric bicycles for new ones, so as to effectively prevent and control the safety risks of old electric bicycles. on july 25, the national development and reform commission and the ministry of finance officially issued the "several measures on strengthening support for large-scale equipment renewal and replacement of old consumer goods for new consumer goods", which clearly stated that all regions should make good use of the ultra-long-term special treasury bond funds to focus on supporting the replacement of old electric bicycles for new ones.

on august 1, nanning, guangxi launched the "2024 guangxi electric vehicle trade-in cycling month" event. regardless of the brand or age of the old electric bicycle, consumers can participate in the exchange from august 1 to august 28, and can receive a discount of up to 1,000 yuan. on august 8, xining, qinghai issued "several measures for the implementation of the trade-in policy in xining city", which provides a subsidy of 30% of the actual purchase price to consumers who purchase new electric bicycles and electric bicycle batteries.

a staff member of ninebot told the reporter, "the 'ninebot second-hand car' wechat applet launched by the company previously provides consumers with one-stop services such as old car valuation and appointment recycling, which simplifies the replacement process for consumers."

"consumers who buy new cars who have old cars on hand are usually willing to use them for discounts because this is more favorable than consumers selling their used vehicles themselves. in addition, the stores cooperate with qualified recycling companies to uniformly recycle old cars, which is both environmentally friendly and safe." said the manager of xiaodao electric vehicle sales store in fatou street, beijing.

avoid “bad money driving out good money”

more "peace of mind" after "replacing"

safety is an important consideration in the electric bicycle trade-in policy. in recent years, electric bicycles have rapidly entered thousands of households due to their economic and convenient features. at the same time, related fire, traffic and other accidents are also rising. in order to protect the personal health and life and property safety of consumers, the state has issued various electric bicycle-related standards to regulate the production, sales and recycling of electric bicycle products.

in 2018, the ministry of industry and information technology issued the "safety technical specifications for electric bicycles", which stipulate that the weight of electric bicycles shall not exceed 55 kilograms, the motor power shall not exceed 400 watts, and the nominal voltage of the battery shall not exceed 48 volts.

after the new national standard was introduced, many places launched trade-in activities to encourage consumers to use their old substandard cars to offset the purchase of new national standard cars.

"after the implementation of the new national standard in 2019, all electric bicycles that did not meet the standards needed to be replaced. at that time, there were a lot of consumers who exchanged their old ones for new ones, which set off a trend of replacement." a sales staff of emma electric vehicles in panjiayuan street, beijing, told reporters.

the implementation of the new national standard has improved the standardization of the production and sales of electric bicycles, but there are still certain problems in their use, including illegal modifications, long battery charging time, and battery "overdue service".

the emma electric vehicle salesperson said, "the service life of lithium batteries is usually 3-5 years, while lead-acid batteries should be replaced after one year. some consumers find that the battery life of electric bicycles has decreased after using them for a year, but they are reluctant to replace them and continue to ride them. in fact, if the battery is used for too long, the internal circuit is prone to short circuit and even cause spontaneous combustion."

in april this year, the state administration for market regulation issued the "safety technical specifications for lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles", which set product safety access thresholds for battery packs in terms of electrical safety, mechanical safety, environmental safety, thermal diffusion, etc., and at the same time stipulated that the safe use period should be marked on the battery pack to remind users to promptly eliminate old batteries.

in an interview with reporters, a staff member of ninebot pointed out that "the new lithium battery regulations will help promote the gradual withdrawal of inferior lithium batteries from the market, avoid the phenomenon of 'bad money driving out good money', and allow consumers to choose between high-quality products, thereby ensuring consumers' travel safety."

the industry believes that as an important means of transportation closely related to consumers' travel, the relevant mandatory national standard system of electric bicycles will continue to be improved, and the old-for-new policy is an effective measure to guide and accelerate consumers to replace vehicles and batteries that meet national standards, thereby creating a safer traffic environment.

"change to new" but also "change to smart"

intelligence gradually becomes standard for electric bicycles

the policy of replacing old electric bicycles with new ones not only accelerates the replacement of unsafe vehicles, but also promotes the upgrading of the consumer market and industrial ecology.

"intelligent functions such as vehicle positioning, mobile app interconnection, and keyless unlocking are almost becoming standard features of electric bicycles. major brands are actively deploying them, and prices have also dropped a lot. you can buy a new car equipped with these intelligent functions for more than 2,000 yuan." a salesperson of tailing electric vehicles in nanmofang street, beijing, told reporters. it is worth noting that some brands of electric bicycles have also launched intelligent anti-theft functions. through triple positioning of gps, beidou, and base stations, the vehicle's position can be monitored in real time even if the vehicle is turned off. in addition, consumers can set up electronic fences for the vehicle. once the vehicle moves, the big data cloud will receive the abnormal data as soon as possible. after analysis, the big data will call the port to push reminder messages to consumers.

data shows that the average level of intelligence of major electric two-wheeler brands in 2023 will increase by about 25.7% compared with 2022. among them, the overall intelligence level of the ninebot brand remains significantly ahead, while yadea and tailing brands are catching up rapidly in terms of intelligence.

the reporter visited and found that electric bicycle brands such as ninebot, luyuan, yadea, and tailing all exhibited intelligent electric bicycles. these electric bicycles use the internet of things technology to connect the vehicles with other smart devices, realizing more functions such as remote unlocking, key sharing, and automatic locking. mr. wang, who exchanged for an electric bicycle in the store, told the reporter: "i can unlock it without a key. for someone like me who often forgets to bring things, it really saves a lot of trouble."

according to the "2024 china two-wheeled electric vehicle industry research report" released by iresearch consulting, vehicle durability is the factor that consumers pay most attention to when buying a car. at the same time, more than 60% of consumers said that they would prefer electric two-wheeled vehicles with intelligent functions. as consumers' requirements for the intelligence, comfort, and safety of electric bicycles continue to increase, the demand for replacement is growing rapidly. with the support of the old-for-new policy, electric bicycle companies will accelerate technological innovation and product iteration to help the industry develop with high quality.

text | reporter zhao xi □ huang zhiling