The world is scrambling for China’s three jumpers

Author: Chinese businessman Wang Kaiwen

 As new energy vehicles compete to go out to sea, domestic electric three-wheeled vehicles are not willing to be outdone.

At the beginning of 2024, a series of Short Video titled Domestic Tribunes attracting attention in small American towns became popular on social media.

Accompanied by the familiar warning tone, please pay attention to the reversing tone, an American family was riding a domestically produced electric tricycle and was pouring out of the backyard. There was no expression of unaccustomed to it. His eyes were shining and he gave a thumbs up to express his great satisfaction.

“Riding this to pick up my grandson from school has brought me great convenience, said the American uncle in the picture. Later, he gave the electric tricycle ordered by China’s daughter-in-law to the residents of the town for experience, and successfully planted grass for many people.

In addition to the popularity of product use videos, the story of a China guy who started a business and sold electricity in the United States and made millions in three rounds is also quite popular.

As an international student born in the 1990s, Luo Hao keenly discovered sales opportunities in the overseas electric three-wheeled market after graduation, so he chose to start a business and distribute the three-wheeled electric three-wheeled market in California. The sales on the first day reached 10,000 US dollars. Some customers were willing to drive for 3 hours. Order and pick up goods.

Although he is in the initial stage, Luo Hao has successfully sold more than 200 electric three-wheeled units in less than a year, with a total turnover of several million yuan. He said: Strive to make sales exceed 10 million next year.

At that time, some public opinion questioned that these were all Internet celebrity effects and were destined to be short-lived, but now it seems that these are just a tip of the iceberg of three overseas craze.

In the past two years, domestic electric tricycles have experienced explosive growth in overseas markets!

According to industry statistics, China’s export volume of electric tricycles in 2023 will be approximately 600,000, an increase of approximately 20% compared with 2022. The total export value is close to US$5 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 25%.

In 2024, China’s exports of electric tricycles will reach 650,000, an increase of about 8% compared with 2023. The total export value is expected to be close to US$5.5 billion, an increase of about 10%.

Behind the dazzling export data are the busy major electric tricycle manufacturers.

Jiangsu Guowei Electric Group, which was the protagonist of Short Video at the beginning, quickly tripled its sales in the United States. Ni Xiaofeng, the company’s general manager, revealed: We obviously feel that there are more orders in the United States than before, and they are all made through e-commerce platforms., privately ordered one order.

Henan Wei carriage industry, which only began to enter the export business of electric tricycles at the end of 2023, has exported its products to many European countries such as Italy, Germany, and Romania, with exports reaching 3000 vehicles in a single quarter.

Sichuan manufacturer Kaixi Shuyuguang undertook the production of 52,000 electric tricycles in the first half of 2024, with an estimated output value of 150 million yuan, of which 40% are foreign trade export orders, and customers are spread across Southeast Asia, America, Africa and other regions.

The company’s general manager proudly said: In May last year, he won a large order from Thai customers and agreed to deliver 10000 electric tricycles to customers every year. The first batch of vehicles has been successfully delivered.& rdquo;

In the second half of the year, its overseas orders were still uninterrupted.

The person in charge of the company’s operations admitted that they are now working overtime to catch up with production, and the production capacity is full but the supply exceeds demand. It has reached the point where some sales personnel are helping with front-line production.

Zhejiang Luju Automobile Industry said that in the first quarter of 2024, the volume of export inquiries from companies surged by 40% to 50% year-on-year, and the transaction volume increased by 10% year-on-year. Most of the consultants were customers from the United States and Australia.

Another company, Jiangsu Feimi Vehicles, signed a cooperation agreement with China Africa Economic and Trade Investment Promotion Association to export 50,000 electric tricycles to Tanzania.

Throughout 2024, the volume of foreign trade consulting will increase by nearly 35%. News such as customers rushing to order and making payments several months in advance are almost the norm in the industry.

Generally speaking, the three rice dumplings are the product of properly sinking into the market and seem to have nothing to do with exporting overseas.

How did this somewhat unexpected increase happen so suddenly?

According to overseas customers, although the electric tricycle has one less wheel than the small pickup truck, its practicality has increased instead of decreasing, and the price is much lower.

Even with various expenses such as ocean freight and tariffs, the price of a domestically produced three-pronged truck in the United States is usually only about US$3,000 – 4,000, which is more cost-effective than traditional pickup trucks costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Affordable prices and good cargo pulling performance, my country’s electric tricycles also fully support customer customization to meet various production and living needs.

Various colors, closed and semi-closed, power levels, model size and other options can be met. Even if they are not customized, there are usually dozens of ready-made styles for customers to choose freely.

From the domestic Canton Fair to the Milan Auto Show in Italy, the exhibition area of domestically produced electric three-wheeled vehicles is getting larger and larger, and more and more models are displayed. It not only attracted a large number of foreign dealers to stop and watch, but also allowed many of them to directly get on the car and test drive to experience all aspects.

Behind these market advantages are mature industrial clusters and technology accumulation under years of market tests.

According to CCTV news reports, there are currently 1.517 million electric vehicle-related companies in my country. The electric tricycle industry clusters are mainly distributed in Wuxi, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, Luoyang, Henan, Linyi, Shandong and other places.

These areas bring together many well-known manufacturing companies such as Yadi, Changli, Guowei, Jinpeng, and Everest Huaying. Among them, Jiangsu has about 180,000 related companies, ranking first in the country.

This is why Jiangsu has become the core town of electric vehicle manufacturing in my country.

Feng County, Xuzhou City, is the largest electric tricycle industry base in the country. It has 7 of the top 10 electric tricycle companies in the country. There are more than 1000 electric vehicle and parts manufacturers in the region.

The local vehicle production capacity will exceed 5 million units in 2022, accounting for more than 60% of the domestic electric tricycle market share and more than 95% of the motor market share.

Today, Feng County has formed the largest production and research and development base for electric tricycles and key core components in the country, with a domestic market share of key components such as motors and controllers exceeding 95%.

“The world looks at China on the third day, and the third day of China looks at Feng County on the third day, which is the most resounding slogan in the local area.

Xishan District, Wuxi City, has 195 vehicle manufacturing companies. Among the top ten electric vehicle companies in the country, Yadi, Xinri, Tailing, Aima, Jinjian and Xiaodao, all gather here. The annual output exceeds 15 million electric vehicles, and the number of companies with large export orders reaches 160. It is the hometown of electric vehicles in China and another important town for electric tricycles.

Feng County and Xishan cover almost the entire chain of electric vehicle production and manufacturing. The cluster effect and scale effect are very obvious. In addition to strong R & D and manufacturing, they also regard overseas markets as growth poles and adopt a series of measures.

For example, Xishan electric vehicle companies currently have more than 1800 overseas sales stores in more than 40 countries around the world, and have invested in building more than 20 production bases in more than 10 countries. The advantages of going abroad are very obvious.

In 2023, the average foreign trade growth rate of the Xishan electric vehicle industry will reach 20%, and some companies will even reach 50%.

Different overseas regions have diverse demands for electric tricycles. They can respond to these demands individually and quickly. Even being the only supplier that can fully meet the demand is also the key to the success of China electric vehicle manufacturers overseas.

According to portraits of overseas customers in the industry, Southeast Asia has a prosperous tourism industry, and there is a high demand for electric sightseeing tricycles; African tricycles are mostly used for cargo transportation, and larger and more durable models are preferred; European and American countries have many farms, urban streets are relatively narrow, and there is a strong demand for high-horsepower, light chemical tricycles.

And China manufacturers can do all these in minutes.

Like new energy vehicles, the intelligence level of domestic electric tricycles is also a selling point to attract overseas customers.

my country’s electric three-wheel manufacturing companies focus on product upgrades. Some high-end products have been integrated into the Internet of Vehicles. Application scenarios have been expanded to unmanned logistics and distribution, advertising, intelligent sanitation and other industries. They even plan to deploy electric three-wheel power replacement projects around the world. To solve the pain point of limited regional vehicle operating mileage.

Domestic electric tricycles already have the advantages of high cost performance, good quality, and mature technology. The upgraded electric tricycles also take the lead in adopting a series of intelligent technologies, further strengthening their market position.

This makes it no surprise that domestic Sanjiao is selling well overseas.

2017-2024 In 2001, the domestic electric tricycle market increased from 25.724 billion yuan to 45 billion yuan.

Among them, there is both an increase in shipments and an increase in selling prices. As the proportion of high-power electric tricycles continues to rise, the overall average market price of electric tricycles is also growing steadily, rising to 3050 yuan/vehicle in 2024.

However, behind the rapid growth, the domestic electricity three-round market is facing two major challenges. One is that the growth rate is gradually slowing down, and the other is that the high degree of competition has caused the industry’s gross profit margin to continue to fall, generally not exceeding 10%.

Therefore, the international market with broad prospects is regarded by various companies as a new growth pole.

According to data released by the research organization Baijian Strategy, including the China market, the global electric tricycle market sales will reach 61.86 billion yuan in 2023, and is expected to reach 149.89 billion yuan in 2030.

In addition to scale, the profit level in overseas markets is also considerable. According to data from representative companies, the net foreign trade profit of general electric three-wheeled vehicles can also reach 8%-10%, and customized products can be even higher.

Therefore, going out has become inevitable.

Currently, India is the largest overseas market for China’s electric tricycles. In 2024, India will export approximately 220,000 vehicles, accounting for 34% of the total exports. China’s electric tricycles are often difficult to find locally.

In the Southeast Asian market where tricycle culture is already strong, sales of electric vehicles in China are also continuing to grow. In 2024, about 90,000 vehicles will be exported to them, accounting for 14%.

The market size in Africa is also continuing to grow with the improvement of transportation infrastructure. In 2024, its export volume will be approximately 60,000 vehicles, accounting for 9%.

With the effective promotion of green travel policies, the European market is also performing well. In 2024, its export volume will be approximately 50,000 vehicles, accounting for 8%.

The American market, which exports about 40,000 vehicles next year, is expected to become a new growth pole in the future.

Whether on rural farms or on city streets, domestic electric tricycles are becoming more and more exposed in the United States. The United States has also become the largest export market for domestic tricycles in the Americas, with annual imports exceeding 20,000 units in 2023.

At the same time, the penetration rate of two-wheel and three-wheel electric vehicles in the Mexican market is less than 20%, and the market potential is great. Many local importers hope to introduce more electric vehicles from China to promote products and open up the market.

At present, in addition to shipping products made in China to sea, China electric vehicle manufacturers have also begun to establish production and assembly bases overseas, which will further improve production and logistics efficiency and enhance competitiveness.

However, while the prospects are broad, challenges are also increasing.

First of all, China’s electric three-wheel manufacturers have not yet formed brands with general influence and market popularity overseas. With the increase in the scale and intensity of domestic overseas shipping, involution in overseas markets is inevitable.

On the other hand, India is also eyeing this market. India, which regards electric tricycles as an important means of transportation, not only has a huge market base, but is also spawning competitive local companies competing for market share of China companies.

In 2023, Indian local manufacturer Montra Electric and Exponent Energy jointly developed a 15-minute fast-charging electric three-wheel, and will launch an ultra-fast charging three-wheel with a charging rate faster than 8.8kWh in the future.

In 2024, India’s Surge Company launched the innovative electric vehicle Surge S3. This product can convert an electric tricycle into a two-wheeled electric scooter in 3 minutes, broadening the product’s use scenarios and solving the trade-off between two and three wheels.

If these companies enter the international market in large quantities, they may become strong opponents.

At present, the domestic electric three-wheel wheel is also continuing to increase its technical research and development, including brand cultivation, in order to maintain international competitiveness in the long term. In the next few years, it has become a general trend for China to further advance internationally.

[1]”Behind the explosion of three rickets in the United States” The Paper News [2]”Three rickets in the county dominate overseas markets” Interface News [3]”Domestic three rickets explode out of the sea” Securities Times [4]”Xishan Electric Vehicle Enterprises Fight Global Market” Wuxi City People’s Government [5]”Jiangsu Feng County builds the country’s largest tertiary electric industry cluster” Consumer Daily [6]”Behind the soaring three rickets, who has caught this wave of wealth?” Watch the trend and new consumption