Electrically assisted bicycles are exempt from registration and driver's licenses, and there is no age limit. Many people use electric bicycles to move around. However, the accident death and injury rate has increased year by year in recent years. It is estimated that the number of accidents throughout the year may exceed 3,000, and even modifications and speeding are common, but it is difficult to clamp down on them. In this regard, the Ministry of Transportation stated that owners of modified bicycles can be fined up to 7,200 yuan according to law. The Ministry of Transportation is currently studying to add penalties for operators who sell or provide untested electric bicycles or micro-bikes.
Legislator Lu Mingzhe said during a recent inquiry that according to statistics, the number of electric-assisted bicycle accidents has continued to rise in recent years, from 1,059 in 2021 to 1,765 in 2022, 2,184 in 2023, 2,325 in 2024 and 2,836 in 2025. Even from January to August this year, it has reached 2,191, and it is estimated that the number may exceed 3,000 for the whole year.
Lu Mingzhe said that there are many modifications in the market, and the models are motorcycle-like and do not require pedaling. They are advertised as free of driver's licenses, vehicle inspections, registration plates, and no age restrictions. It is difficult to catch vehicle modifications and speeding. In particular, many electric auxiliary vehicles have already become motorcycles, and are still defined as slow vehicles in regulations like bicycles.
According to current regulations, electric-assisted bicycles refer to two-wheeled vehicles that have passed the type examination, rely mainly on manpower and supplemented by electricity, have a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour, and weigh less than 40 kilograms. Not only that, according to the appearance and structure of electric bicycles, they must comply with the requirements of general bicycle equipment, such as frames, handlebars, seat cushions, etc., and must be affixed with a certification mark before they can be put on the road. Not all vehicles with pedal devices are electric bicycles. Anyone who fails to affix a qualified stamp on the road in accordance with regulations may be fined not less than 600 yuan but not more than 1,200 yuan in accordance with Article 71, Item 1 of the Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations. Vehicles that have not passed the type examination may be confiscated.
In addition, electric-assisted bicycles are slow vehicles and are in principle prohibited from driving on sidewalks. However, Article 90-3 of the Road Traffic Management Penalty Regulations also stipulates that highway authorities, urban road authorities or police agencies may, on the principle of not impeding pedestrian traffic and ensuring safe driving, set up necessary signs or markings on sidewalks to allow slow vehicles to drive. As for whether electric vehicles can travel on shared bicycle lanes or dedicated bicycle lanes, it depends on whether the road authority has additional signs on the signs.
According to statistics, there are currently a total of 250 models of electric vehicles from 40 manufacturers that have passed the inspection. Among them, 13 manufacturers have a total of 55 models with an off-road "fat tire" design that has passed the inspection.
Regarding the use of electric-assisted vehicles on the road without type approval, the Ministry of Transport stated that the Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior will supervise all police agencies to strengthen enforcement of penalties in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations; and the Ministry of Transport has begun to study the addition of penalty provisions to the Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations for "business operators who sell or provide untested electric-assisted bicycles or micro-electric two-wheelers."
The Ministry of Transport emphasized that according to the regulations on the safety inspection and management of electric-assisted bicycles and micro-electric two-wheelers, when electric-assisted bicycles and micro-electric two-wheelers are submitted for review, the "prevention of unauthorized changes in maximum driving speed" information should be submitted to the inspection agency for review. Therefore, after passing Vehicles that have passed the inspection should have measures to prevent modifications and lifting of speed limits; if the electronic control device or original specifications are added, subtracted, or changed without authorization, the vehicle owner may be fined not less than 3,600 yuan but not more than 7,200 yuan, prohibited from driving, and ordered to make corrections.
