Small Electric Donkey withdraws from government subsidies, terminals face further price hikes: some stores experience a 40% decline in sales

“Right now, all the new cars in the store are compliant with the new national standard (New Guobiao). There are no electric bicycles compliant with the old national standard (Old Guobiao) for sale. Monthly sales are a bit better than the first month after the new national standard was implemented, but these new-guobiao bikes still need to be promoted with discounts in order to sell out gradually. On average, the store has to sell 5 or 6 units per day; otherwise, it can’t survive.” Yang Li (a pseudonym), an Yadee dealer in Guangzhou, told a First Finance (First Financial) reporter that this year the biggest difficulty faced by electric bicycle dealers is— the cancellation of the “national subsidy” (“Guo Bu”) policy for electric bicycles. Under the 2026 “national subsidy” policy, electric bicycles are no longer included in the list of consumer goods in the six categories eligible for trade-in subsidies for replacing old items. Local cities also currently have not rolled out any “local subsidies” (“di bu”) for electric bicycles. The reporter conducted on-the-ground research into electric bicycle sales in multiple cities, and dealers at storefronts said that during the painful transition period when the new and old national standards are being phased in, in the first quarter, end-consumer promotions for electric bicycles could only be covered by manufacturers, but store sales still showed a fairly clear year-on-year decline. (First Finance)