China's low-speed electric vehicle industry: strong export growth momentum-Xinda Motor- electric motors and EV accessories supplier|INDEX--

China's low-speed electric vehicle industry: strong export growth momentum

Date：2024-08-09　　　Author：XINDA MOTOR

Low-speed electric vehicle industry definition

Low-speed electric vehicles refer to electric vehicles with a maximum design speed of no more than 70 kilometers per hour (or lower according to the laws and regulations of different countries and regions). Such vehicles are usually used for short distances, within cities or in specific places, such as tourist attractions, campuses, factory parks, golf courses, and community patrols. Due to their speed limit, they are more suitable for use in limited areas.

Low-speed electric vehicle industry classification

The low-speed electric vehicle market is diverse and widely used, mainly divided into four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles, electric tricycles, electric bicycles and electric motorcycles, as well as special-purpose and other special or modified low-speed electric vehicles. Four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles are suitable for short-distance commuting in cities and transportation services in specific areas; electric tricycles have become the choice for cargo transportation in urban and rural areas and convenient transportation in towns; electric bicycles and electric motorcycles are widely used for daily commuting, leisure riding and express delivery; and special-purpose low-speed electric vehicles provide customized solutions for special industries and environments such as police, sightseeing, and operations; other special or modified low-speed electric vehicles serve specific outdoor activities or work needs, showing strong terrain adaptability and special functions.

Development History of Low-Speed Electric Vehicle Industry

Low-speed electric vehicles began to appear in the 1990s. At that time, they were more like a simple means of transportation with relatively basic functions and designs. In the early 21st century, as the world paid more attention to environmental protection and sustainable transportation, low-speed electric vehicles began to attract attention and were gradually promoted in some countries. During this period, low-speed electric vehicles have made significant improvements in technology and design, and the improvement of battery performance has enhanced their endurance. In the 2010s, with the support of new energy vehicle policies and technological advances, the low-speed electric vehicle industry entered a period of rapid development. More manufacturers entered the market, and product types and functions became more diversified. At the same time, there are higher requirements for the safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency standards of low-speed electric vehicles. By the 2020s, low-speed electric vehicles have become an important part of the urban transportation system, especially in some developing countries and cities, they have become an effective tool to solve traffic congestion and environmental pollution problems. In addition, with the development of the Internet of Things and smart technologies, low-speed electric vehicles have also begun to incorporate more intelligent elements, such as autonomous driving and vehicle networking functions.

Low-speed electric vehicle industry upstream, midstream and downstream

The upstream of the low-speed electric vehicle industry chain mainly includes the manufacturing industry of core parts such as batteries, motors, electronic control systems, body materials, tires, and various electronic components. In the downstream application field, low-speed electric vehicles are widely used in multiple industries and social life scenarios. In urban transportation, low-speed electric vehicles are used as short-distance travel tools to serve the needs of residents' daily commuting, elderly people's mobility, and disabled people's assisted travel; in urban-rural fringe areas and rural areas, electric tricycles are widely used for cargo transportation and agricultural product sales due to their strong cargo carrying capacity and low cost; in addition, low-speed electric vehicles are also widely used in sightseeing services in tourist attractions, teaching experiments on campus, the last mile delivery of the logistics and express delivery industry, and specific places such as airports, ports, and material handling inside factories.

Market size and growth rate of my country's low-speed electric vehicle industry

China's electric two-wheeled vehicle exports have shown strong growth momentum, achieving a significant growth rate of 34.8% during 2020. This positive trend has undoubtedly provided a strong impetus for the development of the entire industry. On the other hand, in the low-speed electric vehicle segment, especially in the four-wheel electric vehicle industry, production has achieved a major breakthrough since 2016, with more than one million vehicles produced nationwide that year, with a specific figure of 1.169 million vehicles. However, with the uncertainty of the draft national standard in 2017, the growth rate in this field has slowed down, but despite this, a production record of 1.335 million vehicles was still reached that year. Since then, due to the implementation of rectification and standardized management within the industry, the production of four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles has begun to show a downward trend. As of 2021, annual production has dropped sharply to 320,000 vehicles.

Since 2018, Chinese low-speed electric vehicle companies have taken self-help measures, and companies with certain technical research and development capabilities have chosen to transform and upgrade to high-speed electric vehicle business. These companies have successfully obtained relevant national production licenses for passenger cars and commercial vehicles through multiple means such as mergers and acquisitions of traditional automakers, active application for production qualifications, and establishment of cooperative relationships with traditional automakers. At the same time, some companies with relatively weak conditions have chosen to adjust their business direction and turn to the production and sales of electric motorcycles. With the newly issued industry standards setting higher thresholds for low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers, this change will undoubtedly further accelerate the transformation of the entire low-speed electric vehicle industry. According to statistics, as of 2022, the market size of China's low-speed electric vehicle industry has shrunk to 3.473 billion yuan. Among them, low-speed electric tricycles account for about 11.6% of the market share, while low-speed electric vehicles account for the remaining large proportion, that is, about 88.4% of the market share. This shows that the market is gradually achieving structural adjustment and optimization and upgrading under policy adjustments.

A number of leading companies have emerged in my country's low-speed electric vehicle industry, which have performed well in technology research and development, market layout, and brand building. These companies include Jinpeng, Hongri, and Entu. Among them, Jinpeng has become a leading company in the low-speed electric vehicle industry with its strong production capacity and extensive sales network. Hongri Automobile has won wide recognition in the market with its high-end product positioning and innovative R&D capabilities. Entu Automobile focuses on user needs and creates high-quality products that meet consumer expectations.

Low-speed electric vehicle industry policy

The development of the low-speed electric vehicle industry in China has been closely supervised and guided by government policies. Since 2010, with the country's strong support for the new energy vehicle industry and the promotion of the concept of low-carbon and environmentally friendly travel, low-speed electric vehicles, as products with broad market demand and energy-saving and environmentally friendly characteristics, have once shown an explosive growth trend. However, due to the lack of unified standards and specifications and low technical barriers in the early days, the industry has exposed many problems in its rapid development, such as uneven product quality, greater safety hazards, and complex road traffic management. In order to solve the above problems, government departments began to gradually tighten the management policies of the low-speed electric vehicle industry after 2016. On the one hand, a series of strict national standard drafts have been issued at the national level, which have put forward higher requirements for vehicle performance, safety standards and production access conditions, aiming to eliminate backward production capacity and promote industrial upgrading; on the other hand, local governments at all levels have also increased the control of low-speed electric vehicles on the road, and ensure road driving safety through measures such as registration and filing, and restricted area driving.

date	policy	content
June 17, 2021	Technical Requirements for Pure Electric Passenger Vehicles	First, the original technical conditions for pure electric passenger vehicles are revised and updated; second, technical requirements for micro low-speed pure electric passenger vehicles are added, including definition, power, braking, external dimensions, curb weight and other relevant technical indicators and requirements.
November 8, 2018	Notice on Strengthening the Management of Low-Speed Electric Vehicles	All localities are required to organize a cleanup and rectification of low-speed electric vehicles, strictly prohibit the addition of new low-speed electric vehicle production capacity, and strengthen standardized management.
March 14, 2019	Safety Technical Requirements for Pure Electric Passenger Vehicles	Formulate mandatory national standards for the safety technical conditions of pure electric passenger vehicles.

Problems in the low-speed electric vehicle industry

The low-speed electric vehicle industry faces a series of complex and urgent problems in its development in China. First, the lack of standards and specifications is a major pain point for the industry. For a long time, the unified technical standards and production access system at the national level have not been fully established, resulting in uneven quality of low-speed electric vehicle products on the market, and the inability to fully guarantee safety performance, which seriously affects consumers' trust and acceptance of such products. Secondly, the problem of safety hazards is prominent. Due to the low level of design and manufacturing, some low-speed electric vehicle products lack the necessary safety protection facilities, such as collision energy absorption structure and insufficient stability of the braking system, which leads to frequent traffic accidents and increased pressure from public opinion. In addition, disorderly market competition is also an issue that cannot be ignored. Many small enterprises have flooded into the market without core technologies, dominated by low-price competition, and ignored technological innovation and service quality improvement, which has hindered the healthy development of the entire industry. The imperfect recycling system of waste batteries is also one of the important factors restricting the development of the low-speed electric vehicle industry. Due to the lack of an effective recycling mechanism, improper handling of a large number of retired power batteries will bring hidden dangers of environmental pollution, which is not conducive to the sustainable development of the industry.

Forecast of the development prospects of low-speed electric vehicle industry

The development prospects of the low-speed electric vehicle industry present a complex and diverse trend driven by policy adjustments and technological progress. With the country's continued support for the new energy vehicle industry and the strengthening of standardized management of low-speed electric vehicles, the industry is gradually shifting from wild growth to standardized and standardized development. In the future, companies with the ability to meet the new national standards and technological innovation will be expected to stand out in the market reshuffle, and achieve product quality and efficiency improvement through transformation and upgrading, and meet more stringent safety requirements and environmental protection standards. Although the market size of low-speed electric vehicles has shrunk to a certain extent in recent years due to the impact of industry rectification and standard improvement, market demand still exists in view of its unique advantages in urban-rural junctions, rural areas and specific application scenarios. Especially in places where public transportation coverage is insufficient, and as a short-distance travel tool or logistics distribution vehicle, low-speed electric vehicles still have a lot of room for development.

In addition, with the continuous breakthroughs in key areas such as battery technology and intelligent network technology, the cruising range, driving safety and intelligence level of low-speed electric vehicles will continue to improve, which will further broaden its application areas and attract more consumer groups. At the same time, under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, the government's support for clean energy vehicles will not weaken, which provides a long-term development policy orientation for the low-speed electric vehicle industry. Only through innovation-led, quality upgrades, service optimization and ecological construction can we ensure that the low-speed electric vehicle industry seizes opportunities and meets challenges in the new development stage, and ultimately achieves a green, safe and convenient transportation mode transformation.

China's low-speed electric vehicle industry: strong export growth momentum

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