Perhaps unsurprisingly satellite data has revealed that Beijing experiences some of the dirtiest air among of all the planet’s cities, resulting in the Chinese capital being awarded an unwelcome new accolade- the air pollution capital of the world. As the Olympics host country is cutting back on industrial production and transportation in an effort to keep its air at healthy enough levels for the games, a new report presents electric motorcycles as the new ‘it’ vehicle for China’s motorists.
Having been denied registration by Beijing’s transport authorities as they were considered an illegal means of transport, the change in the numbers suggests that the debate on whether or not electric scooters should be allowed on public roads has been resolved, while environmental issues open the market. Electric motorcycles and motorbikes are today one of China’s major modes of transportation. In fact electric scooters have become big sellers across China, making them the key behind the strong growth of the whole of the Chinese motorcycle market.
The reasons behind the increasing popularity of the electronic bike are numerous. The attractive pricing combined with the low levels of government regulation it is subject to, makes it a common choice among urban consumers, often functioning as an upgrade to the push-bike or bicycle. It also provides an alternative to the gas motorcycle as the runaway growth of petrol-driven motorcycles in Chinese cities has resulted in serious environmental pollution leading to many medium to large-sized cities starting to ban their use.
Furthermore, as China’s oil prices are bound to rise, operating costs of public buses and taxis will increase and transport expenses will go up. The electronic motorcycle is predict to continuously be the prime driver of the motorcycle market, which is projected to increase at an annual rate of 13.9 percent, reaching 44.4 million units by 2011. It is clear that the market for electric scooters has exploded, in 2005 16 million of them were sold taking the total nationwide to 25 million. Industry insiders expect at least 350 million of China’s 450 million push-bike owners will eventually switch
to electric scooters and the total market value of the whole sales and servicing chain could be some HK $1.2 billion.
It seems that the practical issue of energy conservation that is seen as a guiding principle of China’s future economic development could be well served by this move to electric transport, and for China’s half a billion cyclists it could prove to be the next step up.
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