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the highly anticipated mandatory national standard "electric bicycle safety technical specifications (draft for comments)" (hereinafter referred to as "technical specifications") was officially announced on september 19. compared with the current standard, this "new national standard" has made some improvements and upgrades. among them, in terms of improving fire retardant performance, the flame retardant performance requirements of key components such as non-metallic materials in direct contact with the battery have been tightened; in terms of better ensuring the riding safety of consumers, the maximum design speed is technically ensured not to exceed 25km/h, and the braking distance requirements are tightened; the vehicle weight limit of lead-acid battery models is relaxed from 55kg to 63kg to improve practicality; in addition, beidou positioning and communication functions have been added to facilitate consumers to understand the longitude, latitude, battery status and other key safety information of electric bicycles in real time, and identify abnormal vehicle conditions, and send alarm information through the communication network when necessary.

beidou positioning and dynamic monitoring

in accordance with the state council's national electric bicycle safety hazard rectification action plan, the ministry of industry and information technology, together with the ministry of public security, the ministry of emergency management, the state administration for market regulation, and the national fire and rescue administration, has carried out the revision of the technical specifications. compared with the current standards, this draft for comments has made some improvements and upgrades.

in terms of improving fire-retardant performance, the "technical specifications" improve the flame retardant requirements and test methods for non-metallic materials, reduce the use of plastic parts to reduce fire risks, reduce fire loads and toxic gas releases; and require that the vehicle coding should use high-temperature resistant permanent markings to facilitate strengthening of full-chain supervision and fire accident tracing investigation and handling.

in order to better ensure consumers' riding safety, the "technical specifications" set requirements for electric motor performance, technically ensuring that the maximum design speed cannot exceed 25km/h, while tightening the braking distance requirements.

in terms of adjusting the pedal riding device and the vehicle weight limit. the technical specifications take into account the low frequency of pedal riding in actual use, allowing manufacturers to decide whether to install a pedal riding device; at the same time, in order to adapt to the expansion of consumers' travel radius and mileage requirements, the vehicle weight limit of lead-acid battery models is relaxed from 55kg to 63kg; and electric bicycles are encouraged to install rearview mirrors.

at the same time, improve the anti-tampering requirements and methods of batteries, controllers, speed limiters, etc. to prevent illegal modifications; ensure mutual recognition and coordination between chargers, batteries, and controllers, and vigorously promote "one car, one battery, one charger, and one code", leaving no room for illegal tampering.

it is worth noting that the "technical specifications" have increased requirements for the production equipment and testing capabilities of electric bicycle companies; it requires that vehicles must have beidou positioning and dynamic safety monitoring functions.

the ministry of industry and information technology stated that the public consultation on the "technical specifications" will last for one month. the standard text will be revised and improved based on the opinions received, and the review, approval and other work will be accelerated to strive for early release. after the "new national standard" is officially released, manufacturers will be given a 6-month transition period to design and produce new products. in addition, an additional 3-month sales transition period is given to facilitate commercial circulation companies to digest inventory vehicles produced according to the old standards. after the new standards are implemented in the future, electric bicycles that do not meet the new standards shall no longer be produced, sold or provided. the existing electric bicycles that consumers have already purchased and used will not be affected.

focus on improving safety

my country is a major producer and consumer of electric bicycles in the world, with a social ownership of over 350 million. in 2023, there will be 738 enterprises above designated size in the power-assisted bicycle manufacturing industry, including electric bicycles, with an annual output of 42.28 million units, and an average annual growth rate of 11.8% in the past five years. electric bicycles have become a basic means of transportation for consumers' daily short-distance travel.

although a number of leading enterprises with annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan have emerged in the industry, many enterprises still lack sufficient r&d investment and design capabilities, and even use inferior raw materials and reduce testing items to reduce production costs, resulting in uneven product quality. in particular, fire risks are prominent and illegal tampering is common, threatening the safety of consumers' lives and property.

judging from the fire safety accidents involving electric bicycles that have occurred in recent years, many of them are caused by abnormal temperature of the electric bicycle battery during charging, but the user did not discover it in time and failed to cut off the power supply immediately, resulting in fire or even explosion. in addition, the theft of electric bicycles is also a major pain point that troubles consumers.

in this regard, the technical specifications have added requirements and methods for beidou positioning and dynamic safety monitoring. the beidou positioning module can record the current longitude, latitude and other information of the electric bicycle, and provide real-time feedback to the user through the communication module. once theft occurs, this information can effectively help consumers find the vehicle as soon as possible. the dynamic safety monitoring function can send consumers the abnormal driving status of the vehicle and the battery voltage, current and temperature outside the normal range in a timely manner, reminding consumers to identify and deal with abnormal safety issues and eliminate safety hazards as soon as possible.

in terms of protecting personal privacy and data security, it is reported that my country has currently promulgated a number of relevant laws and regulations, including the "data security law of the people's republic of china" and the "personal information protection law of the people's republic of china". all types of data platforms need to strictly abide by and implement them, which can fully ensure that personal privacy and data security are effectively protected.

on the one hand, the "technical specifications" make stricter provisions on the flame retardant properties of materials; on the other hand, it adds the requirement that "electric bicycles should not use plastic parts unless necessary, and the total mass of plastic parts used should not exceed 5.5% of the mass of the vehicle."

due to many illegal tampering of electric bicycles, technical indicators such as maximum speed, battery voltage, and motor power exceed the current standards, which has become an important cause of electric bicycle traffic safety accidents.

"speeding too fast is the main factor causing traffic accidents." he penglin, deputy director of the safety technology research center of the china institute of electronics standardization, said that if the vehicle is speeding too fast, once an emergency occurs, the cyclist will have very little time to make corresponding risk avoidance actions and the braking distance will also be longer accordingly, making it easy to collide with other vehicles or pedestrians. some may even lose control by skidding, falling, and other phenomena.

therefore, this technical specification sets requirements for motor performance to ensure that the vehicle speed cannot exceed 25km/h when the motor input voltage reaches the maximum, leaving no room for illegal tampering with the maximum speed. at the same time, the motor is allowed to output higher torque temporarily, so that the vehicle can cope with short-distance climbing, load-carrying and other situations, meeting the normal riding needs of consumers.

vehicle quality and consistency will be improved

after the implementation of the new standard, it will play a significant role in improving the supply quality of electric bicycle products, reducing fire risks, and reducing potential traffic accidents. the intelligentization of the whole vehicle and the improvement of its endurance can optimize the consumer experience. the further tightening of anti-tampering measures will be conducive to the standardized development of the industry.

at present, electric bicycles mainly use lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. however, due to the low energy density, large size and heavy weight of lead-acid batteries, the whole vehicle can only be equipped with small-capacity lead-acid batteries of 48v12ah. after the weight limit of the whole vehicle is relaxed, users can choose more from lithium batteries, sodium batteries and lead-acid batteries according to their own needs for products. those who are particularly pursuing a long range can choose lithium batteries, those who are pursuing low temperature resistance and fast charging can choose sodium batteries, and those who are pursuing economical and practical can choose lead-acid batteries.

from the perspective of cost, there is no longer a mandatory requirement for pedaling, and the number of plastic parts has been greatly reduced, which can also reduce resource waste and lower the production cost of the entire vehicle. an industry insider analyzed that, on the whole, the production cost of electric bicycles will remain basically stable after the implementation of the new standard, and the terminal market price will not fluctuate significantly. at the same time, for the industry, the new standard increases the product quality assurance capabilities and product consistency requirements of manufacturers, clarifies the production capacity, inspection and quality control indicators of key processes of electric bicycles, and can promote industry enterprises to improve the level of production process equipment and improve the quality of industry development.

beijing business daily comprehensive report