Electric glide on easy street

Between 1991 and 2001, annual sales in China went from 100,000 to a million, and have been climbing at a faster rate since. Cashing in on the demand, more than 2,500 Chinese companies were manufacturing e-bikes by 2006.

One of the oldest companies, Jonway Group, established in 1986, is among scores of companies now pursuing Western clients as it pushes to establish its brand early in the market.

Its main factory, housed among dozens of other e-vehicle manufacturing plants in the small coastal city of Taizhou in Zhejiang province, where a large portion of China's electric bikes and scooters are made, churns out hundreds of electric vehicles daily.

Of the 50,000 vehicles it will produce this year, 10 percent will be sold in Europe and the US, says Liang Yulin, sales manager at Jonway Group's electric vehicle division.

Europe takes up most of its overseas sales, he says, but as the US shows more interest, he expects exports to grow quickly due to the relatively easier export regulations there.

"In Europe we must have an EUC (End User Certificate). Every one of our models must meet the standards outlined there," Liang says.

"The biggest difference between Europe and the US, is that in Europe you must have this certificate. But in the US there is no such certificate required."

Instead, the vehicles must be registered with the US Department of Transportation, he says.

While many of its products are sold overseas, Jonway is probably not a brand name many Western riders will recognize.

With most overseas exports, the receiving company buys the Chinese-made bikes or components and re-brand them as its own, marking up the price along the way, Liang says.

While Chinese e-bikes are cheap - on the streets of Beijing one can be purchased for around 1,400 yuan ($220) - the low price tag does not always attract interest from retailers. In Europe, the relative success of the industry is due to the popularity of luxury design e-bikes, selling for upward of 3,000 euros.

"The thing in Europe that's happened is bike shops have discovered they can make a lot more money selling electric bikes because they're higher price-point," says Frank Jamerson, author of the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report and a former General Motor Co employee involved with the development of the automaker's first electric car, the EV1.

"So they're promoting them very strongly, and the market is therefore accepting it."

Seeing the potential of this new trend, luxury car manufacturers such as Audi, BMW and Smart have released their own versions of futuristic-looking electronic bikes in the past two years.

While in China the e-bikes are generally marketed as a cheap alternative to automobiles, the overseas market potential for high-end electric models has not gone unnoticed.