time:2025-08-26 source:高工鋰電
In the first half of this year, the sales of lithium batteries for two wheelers in China increased by 40% year-on-year. With the official implementation of the new national standard for electric bicycles on September 1st, the demand for lithium batteries in small power vehicles is expected to further increase, attracting the attention of multiple leading lithium battery companies.
Targeting this market, Guoxuan High Tech recently stated that small power batteries will be the "third growth pole" after power batteries and energy storage. Not only that, BYD also made a high-profile official announcement in May this year to enter the two/three wheeler market and brought multiple products.
Entering the small power market, having products alone is not enough, compliance is also necessary. Under the new national standard, the maximum battery voltage for electric bicycles must not exceed 48V. However, there are still cases of illegally modifying batteries under the guise of performance improvement.
In terms of channel construction, from the perspective of the characteristics of the small power market, distributors, as a key link in promoting products to end consumers, directly determine the market promotion effect and sales volume of products.
In recent years, in order to quickly open up the two wheeler market, lithium battery companies have been accelerating the layout of product research and development, recruiting distributors and agents downwards, and focusing on building service networks. The essence of their strategy is to seize the market dominance under the trend of "lead to lithium" replacement.
In addition to BYD, battery companies such as Xingheng Power, Xinneng An, and ZTE Paineng have established their own small power battery distributors, agent networks, and service outlets.
Specifically, Xingheng Power has over 2600 service outlets nationwide, leading the industry. Currently, it has established extensive partnerships with top two wheeler brand dealerships and agents; The "Regional Lithium Battery Service Provider Plan" launched by Xinneng An aims to establish a professional channel service provider promotion team to provide product technology and after-sales service for businesses.
Other lithium battery companies are also accelerating the layout of two wheeled vehicle lithium battery channels, but it has not yet become a standardized system.
Industry insiders in the high-end lithium battery industry have learned that some companies lack a relatively complete channel system, either only supplying power to the host factory or only supplying power to the battery cells. Some battery cells even flow to small assembly workshops, especially the whereabouts of cascaded batteries are unknown, which to some extent exacerbates the chaos of two wheel lithium batteries.
Therefore, when lithium battery companies enter the two wheeler track, in addition to product strength, channel construction needs to be further strengthened, approaching terminals and consumers to understand the actual situation, improving after-sales processes, and timely accepting repairs.
What are the prospects and advantages of lithium batteries in the two wheeled vehicle market?
According to relevant data, the number of two wheeled electric vehicles in China has climbed to nearly 400 million units in the first half of this year, and the demand for battery "lead to lithium" replacement is expected to exceed 110 million sets. The global light power market may have a demand of nearly 2-2.5 billion units.
From a product perspective, the battery specifications for two wheeled vehicles under the new national standard are generally 48V, and the battery capacity is generally within 50Ah; However, tricycles and low-speed four wheeled vehicles have higher requirements for battery voltage and capacity due to the need for loading.
In terms of battery form, different forms of batteries such as soft pack, square, and small cylinder are suitable for the lightweight power market. Enterprises such as Xingheng Power, Xinneng An, ZTE Paineng, EVE Energy, Penghui Energy, BAK, Ruien New Energy, and Lishen all have related products.
In addition, large cylindrical batteries are impacting the high-end two wheeler market with their higher energy density. Among them, Lihua Power 46120 can be widely applied to the electric motorcycle market.
In terms of performance, the cycle life of lightweight power lithium batteries is between 2000-3000 cycles, and some brands can even achieve over 4000 cycles, with a theoretical lifespan of over 10 years, which is more than four times the lifespan of ordinary lead-acid batteries. In addition, high rate fast charging performance is also one of the advantages of "lead to lithium" conversion.
In terms of safety, the lithium battery safety issue that has been widely discussed before is mainly due to non compliant small workshop modifications.
In response, lithium battery companies have all started the certification of "new strong standards", and needle puncture experiments have become standard.
Furthermore, leading battery companies such as Xingheng Power, BYD, and EVE Energy have launched the slogan of automotive grade battery cells in the small power market, while also using a combination of BMS intelligent temperature control systems to dispel users' doubts about lithium battery safety.
In terms of price, currently the price of lithium batteries is generally higher than that of lead-acid batteries. For consumers, the lower single cost of lead-acid batteries is more easily accepted.
Although lithium batteries have a higher initial purchase cost, their advantages of long lifespan and fewer replacement times allow for the same lifespan of the vehicle and electricity, offsetting the replacement cost of lead-acid batteries.
In addition, companies such as Xingheng Power, Xinneng An, and ZTE Paineng have also launched specialized lithium battery after-sales services for two wheelers,
Channel construction in progress
According to relevant research institutions, 40% of the profits of traditional electric vehicle dealers come from lead-acid battery replacement services. On the one hand, the 1-2 year service life of ordinary lead-acid batteries means that they need to be replaced frequently. On the other hand, lead-acid batteries have a high residual value for recycling, and recycling old batteries can increase profits.
The long-life characteristics of lithium batteries and the imperfect recycling system may impact the existing profit chain of distributors. In addition, the maintenance and after-sales threshold of lithium batteries is high, requiring professional equipment testing, which also increases the operating costs of dealers' stores.
In response to the challenges of lithium battery maintenance and recycling, Gaogong Lithium Battery has learned that Xingheng Power has established a nationwide battery recycling network (with over 2600 service stations), building a closed-loop system from recycling, dismantling to regeneration.
The Huaibei recycling base of Xingheng Power has an annual processing capacity of 40000 tons of waste batteries. Through fine separation and repair technology, it can achieve a high proportion of extraction of core raw materials such as manganese, cobalt, nickel, and lithium from retired power batteries, with a lithium battery core material recovery rate of over 95%.
It is worth mentioning that the distribution network of lightweight power batteries can be refined to provincial agents, regional distributors, and terminal stores, and stores can also create a multi-channel business model of "sales, maintenance, and recycling".
In June of this year, ZTE Paneng Fengxian Office officially opened. Fengxian is the "golden corridor" of China's electric tricycle industry, with its electric tricycle production and sales accounting for 60% of the national market share. Zhongxing Pai can choose to establish an office in Feng County, which can form advantages and complementary industries with the tricycle industry cluster in Feng County.
In addition to offline physical stores, ZTE Paineng has also launched "Feihua Battery" as an online brand and actively laid out its offline experience centers (Feihua Battery stores), forming a dual track model of "ZTE Paineng distributor channel stores" and "Feihua experience centers".
In terms of building online channels, Xingheng Power has recently reached a cooperation agreement with JD.com to jointly promote services such as on-site installation, maintenance, and recycling of batteries.
In August, the first BYD light vehicle battery specialty store opened in Yunnan, providing lithium battery performance testing, model adaptation solutions, and standardized on-site/in store services, bringing one-stop battery solutions to Yunnan's two wheeler, three wheeler, and four wheeler users.
Overall, lithium battery companies entering the light power market need to not only meet consumers' expectations for performance and safety in product research and development, but also closely follow market and user needs in channel construction.