2023 Tightening local laws on electric vehicles
Against the backdrop of “carbon neutrality”, the global electrification process of two wheeled transportation is accelerating. Electric bicycles and electric scooters, as two wheeled travel products, have continued to gain popularity and become iconic travel tools in the short distance travel trend. At the same time, electrification reform is sweeping through more markets, and global electric mobility is gradually being realized.
In 2023, the electric two wheeler market will continue to maintain a stable growth trend. The demand for personal transportation has shifted from avoiding close contact to pursuing environmentally friendly and healthy modes of transportation. The continuously rising market demand has attracted a large number of manufacturers to enter, driving product technology upgrades in the market and intensifying market competition. At the same time, the sudden surge in market size has also triggered many product safety accidents. With the government’s attention, regulations in various regions have tightened to regulate the development of the industry.
In recent years, the electric bicycle market has entered a stage of rapid expansion, with a surge in the number of products. On the one hand, people’s travel has become more convenient, and on the other hand, safety accidents caused by electric bicycles have also increased. For example, in the United States, fire accidents caused by indoor charging, illegal modifications, lithium battery failures, and other reasons have occurred frequently.
To effectively eliminate the safety hazards of such products, New York City announced last year a ban on the sale of electric bicycles with batteries that do not meet UL standards, raising the market entry threshold; French shared mobility products are also subject to regulatory restrictions due to frequent safety accidents. In 2022, the electric scooter accident in Paris resulted in 3 deaths and 459 injuries. The increasing number of accidents has raised serious doubts about the safety of electric scooters among the public, and electric scooters have been banned from the road since September 1st last year; The organizers of the Burning Man Festival also warned participants that if the behavior of electric bicycles does not improve, they will be added to the ban list; In addition, some university campuses have also begun to ban electric bicycles and electric scooters, and various regions are gradually tightening regulatory restrictions on electric two wheeled products.
For the electric bicycle industry, strengthened regulation means higher production standards and stricter market entry barriers, which will drive the market towards standardization; For consumers, they will purchase higher quality products and services, but due to increased production and sales costs, they also face price increases.
In 2023, the development of the electric two wheeler transportation market will enter a stable period, and global market demand will slow down. However, in the long run, overseas bicycle demand will remain relatively stable, and electrification reform will begin to expand to more markets and products. Market and consumer demand will continue to grow. After bidding farewell to the dividend period, facing the new market situation, manufacturers have begun to explore and meet consumer needs from multiple dimensions. The intensification of market competition has promoted product technology upgrades. In addition, the improvement of regulations in various regions will also drive the industry towards a more sustainable direction.