Unsafe EV batteries end up in e-bikes as China battles illegal chop shops

Facing a flood of illegal battery disassembly shops that take apart used EV packs and then repackage the cells to sell to electric bike makers or users, authorities in China are implementing new e-bike traceability policies.

The move has been necessitated by an investigation into e-bike fire incidents, which found that a third are caused by non-compliant batteries, and 80% of those come from repackaging used electric car cells that may be at the end of their life cycle.

The crux of the matter is that unregulated recyclers pay more for old EV batteries than certified operators, then reuse and resell them as ostensibly new packs. When the cells are too degraded even for that, they reportedly get crushed and sold as raw metals, disregarding the fire risk or environmental contamination regulations that authorized recycle companies have to comply with.

The first wave of electric cars in China is already reaching the end of their packs' life cycle, and there will be seven million tons of EV cells to recycle or discard in the next few years, so this underground trade would only be expanding without appropriate measures.

Flouting e-bike battery standards

The national standard for electric bicycle batteries caps them at a 48 V voltage, a limit suitable for densely populated urban areas given the typical casual treatment of batteries by e-bike owners or renters. The repurposed EV cells, however, often blow past that ceiling to be offered by e-bike makers as "ultra-long range" models, while bike-share companies are routinely renting out lithium packs way above those specs and doing unauthorized rewiring of the bikes themselves.

"Manager Zhang frankly admitted that evading supervision is the top priority in this kind of business," reports the investigation into one of these EV battery chop shops, adding that the warehouse and disassembly factory are deliberately separated, "and even different battery cell products are shipped from different warehouses" to avoid detection.

One bike, one battery regulation

Regulators are now responding with a new standard that bans repurposed or second-hand cells outright, a provision specifically targeting this category of fire risk, adding a requirement for mandatory overcharge protection, thermal abuse testing, and puncture resistance requirements similar to those for EV batteries.

From November 1, a new certification rule will require every e-bike leaving the factory to carry a matched battery, charger, and traceability code at the factory unit level. The government calls it a "one bike, one battery, one charger, one code" framework, as each certified product, be it an e-bike, an electric scooter, or a stroller, must carry a unique QR code tied directly to its certification record.

The current 10-digit code can only identify the battery model, but the new QR mandate would allow inspectors to trace any e-bike back to its manufacturer and production batch. Bikes already registered under the old rules will not be forced off the road, and manufacturers must support spare parts and repairs for at least five years.