Whereas a lot of the Western world continues to be determining the best way to get extra folks on electrical bikes, China simply flipped a swap, and the outcomes are staggering. Due to a beneficiant nationwide trade-in program rolled out round six months in the past, China has seen an explosive surge in electrical bicycle gross sales, with over 8.47 million new e-bikes hitting the highway within the first half of 2025 alone.
This system, which presents subsidies to riders who commerce of their outdated, usually outdated electrical bikes for newer, safer, and extra environment friendly fashions, has sparked a brand new e-bike sale growth in a rustic already dominated by e-bike journey. In main provinces like Jiangsu, Hebei, and Zhejiang, over a million new e-bikes have been offered in every area in simply six months. That’s a tidal wave of e-bike gross sales.
The incentives range relying on location and the mannequin being traded in, however for a lot of shoppers, the subsidies cowl a considerable portion of a brand new e-bike’s worth – sufficient to show a “possibly subsequent 12 months” buy right into a “proper now” improve. And these aren’t simply funds bikes both. This system has pushed demand for higher-quality fashions with higher batteries, safer braking methods, and extra dependable electronics, accelerating each adoption and innovation throughout the trade.
The transfer has confirmed profitable in changing the thousands and thousands of older fashions with lower-quality lithium-ion batteries that had posed security dangers across the nation. As an alternative, China has pushed for higher-quality lithium-ion batteries, a return to a more moderen technology of higher-performance AGM batteries, and even fascinating new sodium-ion battery choices.
In keeping with China’s Ministry of Commerce, greater than 8.4 million shoppers have participated within the e-bike trade-in program to this point, contributing to a gross sales improve of 643.5% year-over-year and greater than doubling gross sales month-over-month. In the meantime, manufacturing of recent electrical bicycles rose by practically 28%, as producers scrambled to satisfy demand. The gross sales boosts have already been seen within the monetary reviews of main trade gamers like NIU.
And it’s not simply the large gamers benefiting – over 82,000 small impartial e-bike sellers reported common gross sales will increase of ¥302,000 (round US $42,000), giving a critical enhance to native economies.
What’s notably placing right here is how briskly this occurred. This system was formally launched late final 12 months as a part of a broader effort to stimulate home consumption and part out outdated autos and home equipment. However whereas most analysts anticipated gradual progress, the e-bike sector responded far more shortly. In lower than a 12 months, the trade-in subsidies have reshaped the electrical bicycle market, making a consumer-driven growth that exhibits no indicators of slowing.
For these of us watching from exterior China, it’s onerous to not surprise what may occur if different nations tried one thing related. Whereas most households in Chinese language cities already personal an electrical bike and thus see this as a possibility to commerce it in for a more moderen mannequin, Western nations just like the US are nonetheless determining the best way to stimulate commuters into shopping for their first e-bike.
It’s too quickly to know precisely how lengthy the growth will final or whether or not the momentum will carry into 2026 and past. We’ve seen bicycle trade bubbles develop and burst earlier than. However one factor’s clear: with the fitting incentives, even modest ones, it’s doable to ignite actual, large-scale change. China simply proved it with practically 8.5 million new e-bikes to point out for it.
And when you’re questioning what it appears to be like like when a rustic takes electrical micromobility critically, that is it.
