Green Gadgets | August 28, 2011 |
China Buys 27 Million Electric Bikes Annually
by Timothy Hurst
While I think no piece about electric bikes is really complete without touching on the Optibike electric mountain bike I had the thrill of taking on a week-long test drive two years ago, this piece by energyNOW!'s Josh Zepps about the trajectory of the e-bike industry in a changing world economy and transportation landscape really puts things into perspective. As Zepps points out, electric bikes may be gaining a small foothold in the U.S. market, with 80,000 purchased last year, the Chinese market is responsible for 27 million of the 28 million e-bikes sold annually.
Photo by Revolution_Ferg/flickr/Creative Commons
Reprinted with permission from Earth & Industry
Reddit
Digg
Stumble
ShareThis
Comments By Readers
This item seems to have been picked up by some environmental networks. I just wanted to point out that this isn't necessarily a positive thing from an energy perspective: both in China and in NYC where they have been widely adopted by predominantly Asian restaurant delivery people, these bikes are replacing not cars, but muscle power. So this is an INCREASE in electricity use and emissions. I believe that in China this is mostly an interim position, since so many still can't afford cars.
Want a bike? Get the real deal.
Post Your Comment