The transition to electric bikes in china_history

AbstractAnnualelectricbike(e-bike)salesinChinagrewfrom40,000in1998to10millionin2005.Thisrapidtransitionfromhuman-poweredbicycles,busesandgasoline-poweredscooterstoanall-electricvehicle/fueltechnologysystemisspecialintheevolutionoftransportationtechnologyand,thusfar,uniquetoChina.Weexaminehowandwhye-bikesdevelopedsoquicklyinChinawithparticularfocusonthekeytechnical,economic,andpoliticalfactorsinvolved.ThiscasestudyprovidesimportantinsightstopolicymakersinChinaandabroadonhowtimelyregulatorypolicycanchangethepurchasechoiceofmillionsandcreateanewmodeoftransportation.TheselessonsareespeciallyimportanttoChinaasitembarksonalarge-scaletransitiontopersonalvehicles,butalsotoothercountriesseekingmoresustainableformsoftransportation.KeywordsE-bikeÆElectricbicycleÆElectricscooterÆChinaÆTwo-wheelvehicleAbbreviationsAGMAbsorptiveglassmatBSEBBicyclestyleelectricbikeE-bikeElectricbicycleorscooterLPGLiquefiedpetroleumgasOEMsOriginalequipmentmanufacturerJ.Weinert(&)InstituteofTransportationStudies,UniversityofCaliforniaDavis,1ShieldsAve,Davis,CA95616,USAe-mail:[e-mail]ionEngineering,TsinghuaUniversity,Beijing100084,Chinae-mail:[e-mail]rtationStudies,UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeley,Berkeley,CA94720,USAe-mail:[e-mail]123Transportation(2007)34:301–318DOI10.1007/s11116-007-9118-8ORIGINALPAPERThetransitiontoelectricbikesinChina:historyandkeyreasonsforrapidgrowthJonathanWeinertÆChaktanMaÆChristopherCherryPublishedonline:13March2007
SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2007SSEBScooterstyleelectricbikeVRLAValve-regulatedleadacidWhWatt-hours2WVTwo-wheelvehicleIntroductionElectricbikesareacategoryofvehiclesinChinathatincludestwo-wheelbikespropelledbyhumanpedalingsupplementedbyelectricalpowerfromastoragebattery,andlow-speedscooterspropelledalmostsolelybyelectricity(usuallywithperfunctorypedalstosatisfylegaldefinitions).ThesevehicleshavebecomeapopulartransportationmodeforChineseconsumersbecausetheyprovideaninexpensiveandconvenientformofprivatemobilityandarethusanattractivealternativetopublictransitorregularbicycling.Theyarepromotedbynationalandmanylocalgovernmentsduetotheirlowenergyconsumptionandzerotail-pipeemissions,especiallyimportantinChina’scongestedurbanareas.E-bikesaregaininganincreasingshareoftwo-wheeledtransportationthroughoutChina,andinsomecitieslikeChengduandSuzhou,haveevensurpassedthebicyclemodeshare.Understandingthetransitiontoe-bikesisimportantforguidingthefutureofpersonalmobilityinChinaandotherdevelopingcountries.First,Chinaisonthebrinkoflarge-scalemotorization(i.e.peoplebuyingcars).Understandinghowandwhyalarge-scaletechnologysystem(e-bikes)issuccessfullyadoptedmayprovideinsightandafoundationforasmoothertransitiontocleanervehicle/fuelsystemsforpersonalcarsasmotorizationcontinues.Secondly,manyotherdevelopingnationsinSoutheastAsiawithhightwo-wheelvehicle(2WV)suchasIndiaandVietnamuseareconfrontingthesameairqualityandenergyissuesasChina.ThesecountriesmaybeabletolearnfromChina’sexperienceinadoptinge-bikes.MethodologyTheliteratureone-bikesinMainlandChinathusfarisrelativelylimited.Thusthisreportreliesextensivelyonfirst-handinterviews.Usinga35-questionsurvey,weinterviewed23electricbikeoriginalequipmentmanufacturers(OEMs)andcom-ponentsuppliers(including4factoryvisits),5e-bikedealers,12e-bikecustomersand1governmentrepresentative.Weaskede-bikeOEMsandsuppliersquestionsrelatedtotheirproducts,manufacturing,thee-bikemarket,suppliers,costs,quality,governmentregulations,andresearchanddevelopment.Weaskeddealersaboutmaintenanceissues,e-bikemarketdemographics,andtheimpactofgovernmentregulationsonsales.Weaskedcustomersaboutcostsofowningandoperating,usagebehavior,andtheirattitudestowardse-bikesversuscompetingtravelmodes.Fordataonconsumertravelbehaviorandattitudes,weconductedthreesurveysofover1,000e-bikeusersinShijiazhuang,Kunming,andShanghai.Anindepthanalysisoftheresultsofthissurveyisfoundin(Weinertetal.2006)and(Cherryand302Transportation(2007)34:301–318123Cervero2006);relevantresultsarereportedinthispaper.Surveyswereconductedinthesecitiestorepresentmediumandlargecitieswithhighe-bikeuse.Otherdataandhistoricinformationhavebeencollectedfromindustryreports(Guo2000;JamersonandBenjamin2005;Ni2006),media(2005;Fairley2005;PeoplesDaily2002;XinhuaNet2002;Xue2004),tradejournals(EbikeBusiness2006),andacademicstudies(ChiuandTzeng1999;Li2002;Ulrich2006;Yang2005).ElectricbikesbackgroundandcurrentstatusTherearehundredsofmodelsofelectricbikesmanufacturedinChina.Mostcanbecategorizedasbicyclestyleelectricbikes(BSEB)orscooterstyleelectricbikes(SSEB)(seeFig.1)(JamersonandBenjamin2005).Thereisaspectrumofstylesbetweenthesetwotypesthatalmostallelectricbikesstylesfallinto.TheSSEBshavemanyofthefeaturesofgasoline-poweredscooterssuchashorns,headlights,brakelights,turnsignalsandspeedometers.Mostrelyexclusivelyonelectricpower,nothumanpedaling.BSEBsaremoresimilarinappearanceandfunctiontostan-dardbicycles,includingfunctioningpedals.Inmostcities,electricbikesareallowedtooperateinthebicyclelan