(Central News Agency, Taipei, 25th) Since electric bicycles, which are most commonly used by Chinese people for travel, often cause fires, the official issued a draft today to ban on-board chargers that can be wired and charged by themselves. This also means that 350 million electric bicycles will only be able to use charging piles or replace batteries in half a year, which may cause public resentment.
On the 25th, the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released a public solicitation for comments on the revision of the No. 1 mandatory national standard “Safety Technical Requirements for Chargers for Electric Bicycles”.
The opinion draft mentions that in response to the recent emergence of a large number of vehicle chargers, which may affect the safety of electric bicycles, it is planned to ban vehicle chargers, clearly stipulate that “chargers for electric bicycles shall not be designed, manufactured and used in vehicle form”, and increase the number of chargers Traceability code permanent identification.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that due to the addition of high-temperature-resistant permanent markings, companies will need a certain amount of time to improve design and upgrade production equipment. It is recommended that the transition period between the release date of this document and the implementation date be set at 6 months.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the current number of electric bicycles in mainland China has reached 350 million. In 2023, enterprises above designated size nationwide will produce a total of 42.28 million electric bicycles, making them the most important means of transportation for short-distance travel.
However, Chinese people are accustomed to using car chargers to connect to home plugs for charging, which often causes fires.
Statistics from the China National Fire and Rescue Administration show that in 2023, a total of 21,000 electric bicycle fires were reported in mainland China, an increase of 17.4% compared to 2022. 80% of e-bike fires occur while charging, and more than half of them occur during nighttime charging.
Chinese officials announced a radical policy today that will prohibit private power supply charging. This also means that in 6 months, people will only be able to use charging piles or exchange batteries. As soon as the document came out, Chinese charging pile concept stocks surged in the afternoon, and mainland netizens were divided in their opinions.
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In the relevant news discussion area on Weibo, many netizens expressed their support for the new policy. They believed that car chargers should be banned, charging standards should be unified, and people should go to charging sheds to charge or exchange batteries. This would prevent people from wiring charging or even leaving electric bicycles. The dangerous behavior of charging at home will greatly reduce the chance of a house fire.
But the backlash from netizens was even louder. Many people point out that there are no charging piles in rural areas and everyone uses cables to charge. There are also many communities in cities that do not have charging sheds. They ask where to charge in the future? There are also many people who complain that the electricity bills at charging piles are higher than household electricity bills, and criticize the government for “cutting leeks” by forcing people to change cars, install charging piles, and force consumption. (Editor: Yang Shengru/Chen Kaiyu) 1130425
