Electric scooters for the elderly are about to disappear How should the available resources be distributed?

How to distribute available resources as electric scooters for the elderly are disappearing?

【PhoneAuto】The term “Old Man’s Joy” has been around for a long time in China, referring to a type of low-speed electric vehicle named after its popularity among elderly people. With its low price, no registration, no driver’s license needed, no insurance required, and convenient charging, it is favored by consumers in some cities and rural areas.

Although “Old Man’s Joy” has high popularity in China, it has fatal flaws, such as safety hazards and management chaos, which often result in traffic accidents and disputes, and it is ridiculed by netizens as a “mobile urn”.

Recently, relevant departments are going to officially launch a comprehensive “ban” on “Old Man’s Joy”. Among them, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau once again clarified that from January 1, 2024, electric three- and four-wheeled vehicles that violate regulations will not be allowed to travel on the road, nor will they be allowed to park in public places such as roads, squares, and parking lots.

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In addition to Beijing, in March of this year, the Second Session of the 14th Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Congress reviewed the revised draft of the “Jiangsu Provincial Road Traffic Safety Regulations”, which strengthened the management of non-road vehicles and other power-driven tools, as well as the supervision of vehicles that do not meet national standards for production and sales. No unit or individual may produce or sell motor vehicles (including motorcycles, as well as three- and four-wheeled vehicles driven by power units) that do not meet national motor vehicle safety technical standards and have not been licensed by the national motor vehicle product regulatory authority.

Since April this year, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, has already strictly managed road sections for electric three- and four-wheeled vehicles (including “Old Man’s Joy” carrying people, as well as three- and four-wheeled electric vehicles for industry and general freight), and comprehensively strengthened management, including prohibiting “Old Man’s Joy” from traveling on strictly managed roads.

As early as two years ago, Shanghai and Puyang City in Henan Province respectively issued relevant regulations to strictly prohibit the use of elderly mobility scooters on the road and to clear illegal electric three- and four-wheelers.

Behind the strict inspections and controls in many places are safety hazards hidden in elderly mobility scooters. “Old man’s happiness” generally lacks basic safety equipment, with many vehicles even lacking seat belts, let alone airbags. The vehicles have not undergone collision tests before leaving the factory, and their safety performance cannot be guaranteed.

In addition, there is no unified safety standard for “old man’s happiness” in terms of overall vehicle safety, mechanical safety, electrical safety, fire resistance, and flame retardancy for reference. Many manufacturers and consumers even like to install sheds and make modifications without authorization.

The core reason for the comprehensive ban on “old man’s happiness” on the road is its “irresponsibility”, which is irresponsible for its own safety and the safety of others. Elderly mobility scooters do not need license plates to be on the road, which means that drivers do not have to abide by traffic rules. They do not need a driver’s license, which means that anyone can drive it. Imagine a person who has not learned traffic rules or how to drive a car driving on the road, what kind of safety hazards are hidden. In addition, due to the extremely low cost of “old man’s happiness”, there are great safety hazards in the materials used for the vehicles, with almost no active and passive safety measures.

The second important reason is to “make way” for the development of new energy vehicles. Wang Junjin, a member of the CPPCC, once mentioned the development of new energy vehicles in a proposal, “If new energy vehicles are widely promoted in rural areas, it can solve the problem of environmental pollution and improve the quality of life of villagers. In addition, many rural families are single households, which are more suitable for installing household charging piles than urban households, saving a lot of trouble for charging.”

He believes that if we want to develop new energy vehicles on a large scale in rural areas, the first thing to do is to eliminate the widely used “Lao Toudan” (a type of three-wheeled vehicle). When people no longer have access to this type of transportation, they will naturally choose new energy vehicles. If the government can provide certain subsidies for purchasing cars and professionals to install charging stations in rural areas, more rural friends will be willing to buy new energy vehicles.

Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, expressed his opinions, saying that it is right to restrict “Lao Toudan” because it is irresponsible to provide products without production standards and testing methods to consumers. He pointed out that for “Lao Toudan” popular in rural areas, it should be gradually replaced by mini electric cars that comply with relevant regulations and safety standards, which can better protect consumers’ travel safety.

So can “Lao Toudan” be completely replaced? China’s electric vehicle industry is booming and has become the second largest automobile exporter in the world. There are a large number of qualified electric cars for sale in the market, and there has been a trend of price reduction recently, making them a substitute for “Lao Toudan” in terms of quality and price.

However, price is still an unavoidable factor in the Chinese consumer market. Take the most popular mini car on the market today, the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, as an example. The low-end model has two doors and four seats, no technological configuration, and even no airbags, but the price is around 30,000 yuan. “Lao Toudan”, on the other hand, also has two doors and four seats, some of which are four doors, equipped with a display screen, and the price is less than 10,000 yuan.

Therefore, the key factor in whether mini electric cars can completely replace “Lao Toudan” is whether the price can be lowered.

After relevant regulations are introduced, the exit of “Lao Toudan” from the stage of history is already a fact. So which car companies will take over this market? Regardless of sales potential or technological threshold, the market for mini pure electric cars has shown great attractiveness, especially after witnessing the sales and reputation of Hongguang Mini EV, more and more car companies are choosing to join the competition in this niche market.

Wuling Hongguang MINI EV

At present, the pattern of the micro electric vehicle market has initially formed, which can be seen from the sales situation. Taking the data of March this year as an example, statistics show that Hongguang MINI EV ranks first in the micro pure electric vehicle market with a monthly sales volume of 23,159, and fourth in the pure electric car market, but the data of a 44.8% year-on-year decline also reveals the downward trend. In fact, as the leader of the subdivision market, Hongguang MINI EV has many potential explosive models, such as cute appearance, 100km+ endurance, and a starting price of about 30,000 yuan, which have been imitated by followers. However, it is precisely because of serious homogenization and weakened demand that sales inevitably decline.

Geely Panda mini

The second and third places on the list are occupied by Geely Panda mini and Changan Lumin, with monthly sales volumes of 10,550 and 10,217 respectively, with only a few hundred tiny differences. If ranked by seniority, both Changan Lumin, which was launched last year, and Panda mini, which was launched this year, can be regarded as “newcomers” in this field. However, more delicate exterior and interior designs, as well as the brand halo of a large group, still enable the two to win on the starting line. The achievement of selling over ten thousand in a month has contributed to the new energy process of their respective brands.

Changan Lumin

The models that squeezed into the top ten of the list also include Chery QQ Ice Cream, Leapmotor T03, Chery Little Ant, Coway CLEVER, Lingbao BOX, Baojun KiWi EV, and Wuling Air EV Qingkong.

Compared to the steady development of the pure electric vehicle market for household use and the continued cultivation of the high-end field, the development of the micro pure electric vehicle market is facing greater pressure.

Therefore, the future of micro pure electric vehicles is destined to have a fixed market capacity and limited market models. Under further natural selection, models lacking competitiveness will gradually exit, leaving only a few products with a strong foundation for consumer needs. However, it is currently uncertain which company will have the last laugh.

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