MINI-ELECTRIC vehicles (EVs) may be the answer to the transportation headache as Shenzhen moves to tackle illegal electric bike usage in the city. The four-wheeled low-speed vehicles will be classified as motorcycles if the expected national standards are passed in June this year.

    The vehicles, which are half size of regular cars and have a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour, are currently exempt from registration. They are common in China’s rural areas and smaller towns and cities.

    Deputies to the annual session of the National People’s Congress earlier in March proposed that low-speed EVs be regulated.

    Zhang Zhiyong, a commentator in the automobile industry, said the low-speed EVs are a substitute for e-bikes and they are good for low-income families.

    A Shenzhen driver surnamed Yang said the vehicles are small but pointed out they don’t have a trunk.

    The vehicles were first developed in Shandong Province. Between 2012 and 2015, the number of low-speed vehicles grew by 196 percent a year. Production reached 347,000 vehicles in Shandong a year, accounting for half of the total production in China.

    Shiyan City in Hubei Province issued management rules about the vehicles last week, becoming the second city in Hubei Province, following Xiangfan, to allow EVs on the road. So far, 14 provinces and cities have standards for the vehicles.

    “The mini-vehicles could replace motorcycles and electric bikes, which are not allowed on the road in larger cities,” said Zeng Shuangquan, the marketing manager with the Zhidou Electric Vehicle Co., a subsidiary of Geely Holding Group. Deng added that setting standards for these would boost prospects for manufacturers and battery suppliers.

    A committee for China’s mini-electric vehicles standardization was set up last year. New standards may be unveiled in June this year, according to a Southern Metropolis Daily report.

    (Han Ximin)