Currently, there are many types of electric bicycles and electric motorcycles on the market sold at cheap prices, with diverse models and types.
At some electric bicycle and motorcycle shops in Hanoi such as Ton Duc Thang Street (Dong Da District), Ba Trieu Street (Hai Ba Trung District), Quang Trung Street (Ha Dong District), customers only need to provide their requirements and budget to buy a vehicle, and the staff will advise on the suitable type of vehicle.
These counterfeit electric bicycles have exteriors that resemble genuine ones up to 90%, even industry insiders find it hard to distinguish between real and fake. According to Van Huy Khoi (a sales staff), the market currently has many types of vehicles with different origins, priced from a few million VND to several tens of millions VND.
The Bao (Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that with a budget of about 10 million VND, there are many types of vehicles to choose from with eye-catching designs and styles. However, at this price, it is impossible to buy genuine electric vehicles.
Kim Chi (Tay Ho District) said she once bought an electric vehicle from SK brand for her child at 4.5 million VND. However, after 6 months, the vehicle quickly ran out of battery and the battery degraded. After multiple times needing "rescue," she had to replace the battery at nearly 2 million VND. "When replacing the battery, I found out that the quick battery failure was due to buying floating goods. Genuine goods do not come cheap, and the warranty period is 36 months," Chi shared.
Not only sold in stores, these cheap electric vehicles are easily found on e-commerce websites and social media platforms. For instance, used counterfeit Vespa-style electric motorcycles from Dibao brand are priced at 7.5 - 9 million VND, and brands like Giant, Milan, Ninja... are surprisingly cheap, only from 1.5 million to 4 million VND. Most of these vehicles have new batteries installed and come with a warranty of less than 3 months. However, many people still decide to buy because of the reasonable prices.
According to Nguyen Nhu Quynh - Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology, they regularly coordinate with businesses and individuals to organize forums on genuine and counterfeit goods and strictly handle violations. However, the most important issue is still consumer awareness.
In an interview with Lao Dong Newspaper, Khuong Kim Tao - PhD in automotive engineering, former Deputy Chief of the National Traffic Safety Committee Office, said that cheap, counterfeit electric bicycles sold without clear origins on the market pose many risks. Only products that meet quality management, technical safety, and environmental protection standards are allowed to circulate on the market.
According to statistics from the Hanoi Market Management Department, since the beginning of the year, the force has detected 5 cases of transporting and trading electric bicycles and motorcycles without origin, imposing administrative fines of 235 million VND and seizing goods worth over 211 million VND.
In an interview with Lao Dong Newspaper, Tran Huu Linh - General Director of the General Department of Market Management, said that recently the market management force has inspected and fined many violations related to electric motorcycles and bicycles. The rampant violations regarding models, brands, and product quality require coordinated efforts from functional forces such as police, border guards, market management... and especially need to be addressed at the source because once goods are released into the market, they are very difficult to control.
Experts believe that there are many causes leading to fires and explosions of electric bicycles and motorcycles. One of them is the battery connections, which if not well insulated, can cause short circuits, leading to fires and explosions. When one vehicle catches fire, the battery explosion can spread to other vehicles, causing a large explosion.
Despite many warnings about low-quality, floating electric vehicles sold on the market, many people who have suffered from "bitter experiences" have raised alarms, and there have been many tragic fires caused by the unsafe nature of electric vehicles. However, as long as there are sellers of floating vehicles, there will still be buyers, and vice versa.
"To manage the quality of products circulating in the market, the primary responsibility lies with the Market Management Department. Of course, market management alone cannot solve the problem but must coordinate with related units such as police, transportation...," Khuong Kim Tao said.
