Industrials Author：EqualOcean News , Yijuan Li Editor：Tao Ni Mar 16, 2022 11:00 PM (GMT+8)

Despite policies against e-scooter revamps, consumers opted to break the speed limit, and many e-bike sellers provided the services on the spot

Electric bicycle

Niu Technologies (NIU: NASDAQ) (Chinese: 小牛电动), Xinri (603787) (Chinese: 新日), Opai (Chinese: 欧派), and Xiaodao (Chinese: 小刀) were among a bunch of electric scooter companies singled out for criticism yesterday on Chinese state television’s popular annual consumer rights show.

According to the show, Qianda (Chinese: 骑安达车业) offered decoders that could lift the speed limit with a press of a bottom via remote control. Bangma (Chinese: 浜马车业) installed the decoder near the power supply, and the speed limit was lifted once the bikes were connected to power. 

The show also reported that Jiangsu Lanjun Technology (Chinese: 江苏蓝君科技) can keep the speed shown on the bicycle meter within 25 kilometers per hour to align with the government requirement specififed in "Safety Technical Specification for Electric Bicycle," a set of new national standards for e-bikes.

The standards also spelled out that the battery’s nominal voltage should be no more than 48V, and the electric bicycle weigh no more than 55kg. This is because modifying electrical wiring or adopting larger-capacity batteries can lead to circuit overload and short circuits, which can cause fire and explosion.

After the TV expose, Niu Technologies’s Shanghai agency admitted that the manufacturer provided decoders for dealers to raise the speed limit from 25 kilometers to 35-40 kilometers per hour. As of press time, Niu Technologies said it is verifying the claims internally. 

But regulations for e-bikes and e-motorcycles vary in most cities, and only first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai impose consistent restrictions. For example, the Beijing municipal government required all electric two-wheelers to be licensed and meet the new standards.

On March 14, Beijing Administration for Market Supervision published a list of severe legal violations involving scooters. Among them was the practice of assembling and retrofitting e-bikes by a local company, which was fined CNY 50,000 and had all the e-bikes confiscated.