electra-supply.comAs cities across the country accelerate their electric bicycle trade-in programs, 33 provincial departments have already issued detailed implementation guidelines. By October 16, over 125,200 electric bicycles had been exchanged, generating sales of 325 million yuan.
What kind of benefits can consumers expect from trading in their old electric bicycles? What subsidies have been set up in different regions? How significant are the financial advantages for buyers who turn in their old bikes for new ones?
This morning, at an electric bicycle sales store in Yangpu District, Shanghai, a steady stream of customers arrived to inquire about the trade-in subsidy policies. One customer, Mr. Deng, brought in his old bike, which he had used for five to six years, and was looking to upgrade. Under Shanghai’s trade-in subsidy policy, customers receive a recycling reference price for their scrapped old bikes: between 130 and 320 yuan for lead-acid models, and between 60 and 110 yuan for lithium models. Mr. Deng received 260 yuan for his old bike and chose a new one priced at 3,699 yuan, benefiting from a 500 yuan government subsidy.
Mr. Deng shared, “With the 500 yuan subsidy for the new bike and over 200 yuan for the old bike, it all adds up to around a 20% discount. This feels quite cost-effective for me.”
Shanghai boasts over 3,000 electric bicycle retail points, with 315 stores across 27 companies participating in the subsidy program, covering all 16 districts of the city. Most mainstream market brands have joined the initiative.
Liu Min, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commerce Commission, explained, “Consumers can enjoy direct subsidies when purchasing a new bike and trading in their old one at stores. In this process, we’ll also handle the recycling of old bikes while assisting with new bike licensing, all aimed at enhancing consumer convenience.”
Not only is there government support, but retailers in Wuhan, Hubei province, are also offering various factory-subsidized electric bicycles. For instance, one model that retails for 3,199 yuan can be purchased for just 2,299 yuan after applying multiple layered subsidies.
With the increased support for the trade-in program, consumer willingness to upgrade has notably risen. Retailers in Hebei are seizing the opportunity, launching various promotional events and hiring more professional sales staff to offer higher-quality services.
To further regulate the trade-in process, five government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, recently issued a notification clarifying the subsidy conditions, process management, and recycling protocol for electric bicycles.
The notification stipulates that participating businesses must publicly commit to adhering to the policy, ensuring that the selling price of models eligible for the trade-in subsidy does not exceed the lowest transaction price from the previous month.
Additionally, the notification mandates the publication of a list of participating electric bicycle sales companies and stores, encourages direct consumer discounts, and streamlines the verification and payment process for participating businesses to ease their financial burden.
On the recycling side, the notification instructs local authorities to release lists of companies participating in the trade-in program, setting a minimum of two recycling companies based on city distribution.
As for the safety of storing old electric bikes, the notification emphasizes that stores must transport old bikes featuring lithium-ion batteries daily to designated safe storage from where they will be collected by recycling companies. Improper storage in residential or crowded areas is strictly prohibited.
What happens to the old electric bicycles after they are traded in? During interviews in Shanghai, it was discovered that to prevent these bikes and their batteries from entering the second-hand market or illegal modifications, the city has established a comprehensive service platform for the trade-in policy, ensuring full process management.
At an electric bicycle store in Shanghai, each trade-in bike’s information is uploaded to the service platform, which tracks data from collection to disassembly and scrapping. Once the details are logged, employed transport companies retrieve the old bikes and deliver them to certified recycling firms for processing.
Shengdong Shi, General Manager of a local automotive dismantling company, explained, “During the dismantling process, we first separate the batteries. The acidic and lithium batteries are sent to qualified entities for disposal, while the bike frames are separated. We also cut off the vehicle identification numbers to ensure that these bikes can never be used again. Finally, the license plates are returned to the public security department for cancellation, creating a closed-loop management process.”
Currently, Shanghai has four trial units for collecting and transporting waste lead-acid batteries, including four centralized storage sites and 49 collection points, with an annual collection capacity of 120,000 tons. Local authorities are also conducting special inspections on electric bicycles and their parts to prevent unauthorized dismantling and the re-entry of scrapped bikes and batteries into the market.
