Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Since the beginning of this year, due to the rising cost of materials and other factors, the price of new energy vehicles has risen round after round. Some new energy models have even increased their prices by tens of thousands of yuan in a short period of three or four months.

As for the miniature pure electric vehicles that were once thought to be losing money, many models either stop production or increase their prices, resulting in a sharp decline in performance-to-price ratio. As a result of these conditions, most of the relevant car buyers choose to continue to hold money and wait and see.

However, there is still a demand for consumers to travel and commute, so who is going to seize this market?

Perhaps smelling the business opportunity, some manufacturers of electric two-wheeled bicycles (commonly known as "small electric donkeys") have begun to seize the demand for short-distance commutes left after the "disappearance" of miniature cheap electric cars.

We all remember that the much-criticized sales of electric bicycles were in the doldrums for a time because of relevant laws and regulations and safety issues. Nowadays, with the rising prices of new energy vehicles, can the "little electric donkey" get a piece of the pie? Can the new electric bicycle with long range become a new way for consumers to commute?

01 long-range "Little Electric Donkey" has a good opportunity? "with the rise in the price of new energy vehicles, long-range electric bicycles will be popular in the future."

Zhang Chang (a pseudonym) is an e-commerce operations manager at an electric bicycle factory in Tianjin. He said that the factory's product department has been working overtime since March, and new products are also being developed. According to the factory's plan, almost all the new electric bicycles launched this year can have a range of 100 kilometers.

In his view, the use of long-range electric bicycles to "seize" the market of low-end new energy vehicles is not a fantasy.

At present, the low-end pure electric vehicles on sale on the market have a range of less than 200 km, with the lowest being only 120 km and the longest only 300 km.

"with the current technology, it is not difficult for electric bicycles to have a range of hundreds of kilometers." Zhang Chang revealed to understand notes that mainstream electric bicycles with 60V24Ah lead-acid batteries can have a range of up to 120km.

Some second-and third-line electric bicycle brands, in order to "mismatch" with head manufacturers, have launched 72V48Ah lead-acid and even lithium battery products with a range of up to 200km. "the nominal range has already exceeded some models of Hongguang MINIEV and QQ ice cream."

As for the price, Zhang Chang revealed that the 100-kilometer endurance products of Yadi, Emma and other industry leading brands are usually sold at more than 4000 yuan. The price of some lithium models can even be as high as 6000 yuan. As for the products of second-and third-tier brands, the prices are basically very low.

"take the products with a range of 100 kilometers in the factory as an example, the market prices all range from 3000,000 to 4,000 yuan." He revealed that some of the long-lasting products produced by the workshops of electric bicycles in Shandong even sell only 2000 of them. "these range can still break 100 kilometers, but the workmanship and the quality are a little poor."

By contrast, the landing price of even the cheapest pure electric car on the market is more than ten times that of the leading brand in the long-range electric bicycle industry.

In fact, both can achieve short-distance, cross-district commuting, and can ride two people more comfortably. However, some low-end pure electric vehicles, although marked with four seats, have limited storage space, and the driving texture and ride experience are also very general. In contrast, the only advantage is that it can keep out the wind and rain. "it's just that it pays to save tens of thousands of yuan to buy a car, ride a motorcycle when the weather is fine, and take a taxi to and from work when it's windy and rainy."

In addition, electric bicycles, like low-end electric cars, are charged slowly. Take Hongguang MINI EV as an example, its slow charging time is 6.5 hours, while for long-lasting electric bicycles, the charging time is mostly between 7 and 9 hours, so there is not much difference in the experience of replenishing energy.

In Zhang Chang's view, new energy slow filling piles are mostly built in residential parking lots and are often occupied by fuel-fueled cars. The charging shed of electric bicycles is rarely heard of being occupied by motorcycles and bicycles. Even if it is occupied, it is relatively easy to move the car, and even if it is recharged once a day, it is not a problem.

Therefore, there are many similarities between electric bicycles and low-end pure electric vehicles. But is it just wishful thinking that the sales of electric bicycles will rise after the rise in the price of new energy and the "disappearance" of cheap pure electric cars?

02 short-distance commute is the first choice, "Little Electric Donkey" is popular? "if I hadn't hired an apprentice, I would have been exhausted recently."

The shopkeeper, Xiao Zhu, opened a mom-and-pop shop specializing in electric bicycles at the junction of Shenhui. On weekdays, Xiao Zhu is in charge of assembling the parts of the new car, while his lover is in charge of sales. He found that business in the store began to flourish after the Spring Festival this year.

In the past, about three or four electric bicycles were sold in the store a day, and most of the models sold were lightweight models with a range of about 2000 yuan (with a mileage of about 30 to 40 kilometers), and most of the buyers were housewives who lived around them. Usually they just run the vegetable market.

"but in the last two months or so, about 10 long-range electric bikes have been sold every day." Due to the "blowout" of sales, Xiao Zhu had to hire an apprentice to help him assemble the parts into a whole car. "I worked until midnight every day to barely catch up with the speed of selling." Xiao Zhu's lover also said that most of the users who buy long-term service are commuters who commute to and from Shenhui.

"there are many young commuters who commute across the city, who originally planned to buy cheap electric cars, but the prices have gone up this year, so they feel that it is not very cost-effective, so they plan to buy a small electric donkey and drive it first." Xiao Zhu revealed that electric bicycles are a good choice for users commuting within 30 kilometers.

He knows a man who lives in a deep area. after buying a car, he rides his bike to Pingshan and Longgang to work every day, and the commuting distance is less than 30 kilometers. Zhu said that in order to attract this group of buyers, mid-and high-end electric bicycles have begun to attach importance to the configuration of driving comfort, such as increasing the thickness and length of seats, increasing the USB port (to facilitate mobile phone charging), and pressing the function of low-end pure electric vehicles.

Coincidentally, an electric bicycle seller in Baiyun in Guangzhou also told him that with the lifting of the ban on electric bicycles in some areas of Guangzhou and the rise in the price of low-end pure electric cars, sales of long-lasting electric bicycles in the store began to soar.

Some users who live in unrestricted areas and originally planned to buy cheap pure electric cars to take their children to school and commute have started to buy lighter and more comfortable long-range e-bikes. " In particular, the family has a non-local license plate, affected by the city limited number of fuel vehicles, planning to buy a green card on the mini pure electric vehicle, as a supplementary use of travel users are now thinking about buying medium-and high-end electric bicycles. "

So, what is the sales situation of electric bicycles in the third and fourth-tier markets where low-end pure electric vehicle companies "focus"?

Dayao, who runs an e-bike store in Queshan County, Zhumadian, said that in the past four months this year, sales of e-bikes have increased compared with last year.

"in small cities, everyone's income is not high, and cheap pure electric cars have risen by thousands of yuan, which has influenced the plan of small town residents to buy cars. When it comes to walking around the streets, two rounds of electricity are more convenient." He stressed that electric bicycles are still the mainstream in small towns.

According to the report of iResearch Consulting, it is predicted that the sales volume of domestic electric bicycles will reach 45 million in 2022, an increase of 9.8% compared with 41 million in 2021. There is still great growth potential in the electric bicycle market in the future, and car buyers are mainly concerned about factors such as battery life, quality and power.

03 affordable "little electric donkey" is just a transitional product for walking? If the price of new energy vehicles goes up, will electric bicycles go up?

The answer is yes. as early as March this year, the media reported that a number of electric bicycle brands, such as Mavericks, had raised their prices, also because of the rising prices of lithium raw materials. Other consumers have found that terminal discounts for long-range electric bicycles using lead-acid batteries have also been reduced or even disappeared.

"I didn't expect that the small electric donkey would become popular. The same type of lead-acid battery electric bicycle cost 300 yuan more than it did before." In order to solve the problem of her son's transportation to school, Ms. Mai, who lives in Baoan, Shenzhen, spent 4300 yuan on a long-lasting electric bike at the end of March this year.

She revealed that she originally planned to buy a cheap pure electric car before the Spring Festival, with a budget of less than 40,000 yuan. But the price of new energy vehicles has been rising, 40,000 yuan budget has been very difficult to buy cost-effective models, "so choose electric bicycles, anyway, it is more than 100 kilometers range, but also cheaper."

But after buying a car, she found that she spent 300 yuan more than her neighbor who bought the same type of motorcycle a year ago. The official price was 4499 yuan, and the neighbor bought the car at 4100 yuan after a bargain. "when I bought it, the business in the store was very good, and the shopkeeper looked like whether he liked it or not."

Understanding notes visited several brand e-bike stores in Pingshan, Longgang and Baoan in Shenzhen, and almost all of them said that due to the current sales of e-bikes (especially the long-lasting version) continued to rise, so lead-acid e-bike terminal offers also began to shrink.

"however, compared with the increase of tens of thousands of yuan in new energy vehicles, it is acceptable for small electric donkeys to rise by hundreds of yuan." Ms. Mak admitted that although electric bicycles are temporarily "competent" to take children to and from school, she continues to wait and see the price trend of pure electric vehicles.

After all, compared with low-end pure electric vehicles, electric bicycles are low-cost, convenient and free from traffic jams, but their safety and reliability are not guaranteed. Coupled with the speed limit of electric bicycles under the new national standard, the safe speed of 25km / h affects the efficiency of commuting, which makes the car experience of some users not ideal.

"for many office workers and mothers who pick up and pick up their children, electric bicycles are a transitional product. In the long run, they must choose pure electric cars that are cheap and easy to park, but now the price is rising too fast. Let's wait." Ms. Mak said.

The emergence of cheap pure electric vehicles once moved a large number of consumers of electric bicycles. With an extra budget of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, users can "exchange shotguns for cannons" and have safer and more comfortable means of transportation. In addition, some car companies even put forward the slogan of "give up electric bicycles and buy more than 30,000 new energy vehicles", which tempted many e-bike users.

But after a series of price increases in the past six months, the cheap mini electric vehicles with a landing of more than 30,000 yuan have gradually disappeared, while the advantages of electric bicycles with a price of several thousand yuan and a range of more than 100 kilometers have been highlighted again.

Therefore, some ordinary consumers who are discouraged by the rise in the price of low-end pure electric vehicles and low performance-to-price ratio to buy long-lasting electric bicycles may just vote with their feet.

In conclusion, the manufacturers of electric bicycles should not be too optimistic about this trend, and they should consider the shackles behind the strong demand, while the consumption situation extended behind some of the users of electric bicycles deserves many "Hongguang mini" to think carefully.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.