Beijing resident Mr. Yi owns a car and 4 motorcycles, but prefers commuting on his electric two-wheeler. "I live outside the 4th Ring Road and work on Chang'an Avenue. Driving takes an hour each morning, the subway takes 80 minutes, but my electric scooter only takes 30," he told CGTN.

This scene is replicated across hundreds of Chinese cities, where electric two-wheelers zip through streets, fill sidewalks, and line up outside markets, metro stations, and shopping malls. Used for daily commutes, school runs, and errands, these vehicles, affectionately nicknamed "little electric donkeys," are often adorned with personalized decals.

In Shanghai, the number of electric scooters reached 10 million in 2023, meaning 1 in every 2.5 residents owns one. Most resemble Vespas, are designed for speeds under 25 km/h, and offer a range of 40–60 km on a single charge.

Joseph Constanty, Senior Director of Global Strategy and Growth at NIU, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese electric two-wheeler brand, estimates China's annual consumption at over 45 million units. Nationwide, approximately 400 million electric two-wheelers (primarily electric scooters) were in circulation by the end of 2023, according to Xinhua, compared to 20.4 million electric cars.

A delivery driver on an electric two-wheeler in Chengdu, China on 28/5. Photo: Phien An

Electric two-wheelers emerged on Chinese streets about 20 years ago and are now ubiquitous, driven by a confluence of factors, from policies aimed at reducing traffic emissions to abundant supply and purchase subsidies.

Gasoline motorcycles have been banned or severely restricted in many areas of China since the early 21st century due to traffic safety concerns. Simultaneously, many large cities banned tens of millions of gasoline motorcycles to combat air pollution.

Consequently, sales of electric two-wheelers exploded, exceeding 32 million units annually throughout the 2010s, according to a Deloitte report. Growth accelerated further from 2019 after the government revised safety standards and introduced subsidies.

Market research firm Mordor Intelligence estimates the size of China's electric two-wheeler market at over 11 billion USD this year, projected to reach 12.39 billion USD by 2029. "The government's commitment to sustainable transportation has created comprehensive policies to promote green technology and smart mobility solutions," the company's report states.

The electric two-wheeler industry shares similarities with the electric car industry, including large production capacity and innovation, but also fierce price competition due to numerous manufacturers and hundreds of brands.

Last year, the world's largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer, Yadea, reported revenue of 28.24 billion CNY (3.91 billion USD). Industry leader Emma Technology earned 21.6 billion CNY (over 3 billion USD). Younger, innovative brands are also thriving.

For example, Nine Company's 2024 revenue reached 14.196 billion CNY (nearly 2 billion USD), a 38.87% increase from 2023, with net profit surging nearly 160% to over 1 billion CNY (almost 150 million USD). Smart electric vehicles contributed half of the company's revenue.

Mavric Electric, a premium smart brand dubbed the "Tesla of two-wheelers" or the "Hermes of the electric vehicle industry," recorded revenue of 3.288 billion CNY (over 460 million USD), a 24% increase from 2023.

Battery technology is pivotal. Manufacturers are heavily investing in R&D to improve performance and reduce battery costs, with prices falling 5.75% in 2022 compared to 2021. The market is rapidly shifting to lithium-ion batteries, with domestic demand projected to reach 740 GWh by 2030. Innovations in charging infrastructure and battery management systems are extending range and reducing charging times.

Beyond incentives and convenience, affordability makes electric two-wheelers the third most popular mode of transportation in China, according to a 2022 Meiqi survey. Mordor Intelligence reports prices ranging from 1,500–3,000 CNY (approximately 180–360 USD), a fraction of car ownership costs.

At a shop in northern Shanghai, a candy-colored Aima e-bike sells for 2,399 CNY (336 USD), about 20% of the average monthly urban income. "Most of our models are under 4,000 CNY (560 USD)," the shop owner told Semafor in August 2024.

Electric two-wheelers are also subsidized under a government trade-in program launched in September 2024. Last year, 1.38 million vehicles were traded in, with subsidies exceeding 600 million CNY (83.67 million USD), averaging over 430 CNY (over 60 USD) per vehicle.

Old vehicles are scrapped at local scrap prices. The policy aims to eliminate outdated, unsafe vehicles, boosting market sales by approximately 3.74 billion CNY (over 520 million USD).

China's Ministry of Commerce announced an additional 1 billion CNY (140 million USD) in subsidies for the program in early 2025. By mid-March, over 1.66 million new vehicles were sold through the program, generating 4.51 billion CNY (630 million USD) in revenue for around 47,000 retailers.

China will increase subsidies for consumers trading in old lead-acid battery vehicles for lithium-ion ones due to their higher safety and versatility, the Ministry announced.

Phien An (compiled)