These were the most popular electric bike news stories of 2023
Electric bikes have grown in popularity every year, and so too have their news stories. (If you don’t believe me, just ask yourself why your favorite car or motorcycle media sites are all suddenly covering e-bikes too.)
This year was no exception to the expanding e-bike takeover, with millions of you surfing on over to check out the most popular electric bike stories on Electrek. As 2023 winds its way down, let’s take a look back at the most popular e-bike stories of the year.
Honda shows off its first electric bike
Honda hasn’t exactly been hot to trot when it comes to electric vehicles. Both their motorcycle and automotive teams have dragged their tires when it comes to replacing fuel tanks with charging ports.
But that didn’t stop the company from apparently imagining what a Honda electric bicycle could look like.
Known as the Honda e-MTB Concept, it was shown off at this year’s Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo, where it joined several other futuristic and/or brand-widening debuts from other leading Japanese motorcycle companies and automakers.
Interestingly, the Honda e-bike featured a fairly primitive suspension setup and a motor that looks suspiciously like a German-made Brose mid-drive system. Considering Honda is perhaps best known as an engine company that also builds vehicles, it was a shame to not see a Honda e-bike motor debuting in the concept electric bike.
There’s no word on whether Honda would actually produce this electric bike, though the design seems fairly manufacturable, unlike some of the wilder concept e-bikes out there. So perhaps there is hope that Honda coul leapfrog its way into a leading e-bike maker among automotive companies. It probably won’t, but maybe.
These two guys built the world’s smallest (and cutest) camper on a bicycle
This one was a seriously fun project to follow along with. Two brothers, Chris and Jeff from the popular YouTube channel Dangie Bros, built a tiny camper on the back of tricycle to take on a 100-mile (160 km) road trip.
Technically this one wasn’t even an e-bike, though just about every commentor helped point out that a small e-bike motor could have made the grueling journey much easier.
The brothers took their trike-based camper on quite an adventure, though they found that the trials and tribulations of the road were more intense than they had anticipated. Ultimately, the trip was cut short after just a few dozen miles due to exhaustion and slow progress. That might not come as a surprise when you see just how boxy and non-aerodynamic their build ended up becoming.
Even so, it was a fun journey to follow along with, especially if you weren’t the one pedaling!
Cops on horseback in California are cracking down on illegal e-bikes
This summer we saw one of the first instances of police departments using mounted officers to catch illegal e-bike riders. The horseback cops are an interesting solution to the issue of overpowered and non-street legal electric bikes mixing it up with cyclists and pedestrians on bike paths and sidewalks.
This case came to us from the Newport Beach Police Department whose mounted police officers stopped and cited a rider of a Sur Ron electric motorbike that was riding on a bicycle-only path. The Sur Ron is a fun machine, but it’s an electric trail bike that is essentially lightweight electric dirt bike. A beach front bike path is not the place for a 45 mph motorbike (though a massive horse blocking both lanes of the bike path isn’t a great look, either).
Why more college campuses are starting to ban electric bikes
In an unfortunate turn of events, we saw a number of universities and college campuses announce that while students were welcome back at the start of the school year, their e-bikes were not.
Several campuses began banning electric bikes and scooters, either outright or from being stored inside campus buildings and dorm room housing.
The issue lies with a growing number of lithium-ion battery fires that have originated in electric bikes and e-scooters. The number of batteries that have caught on fire has been a very small fraction of total e-bikes, but the news stories are widely reported and have helped to create a much larger scare around the issue.
In response, many e-bike companies are switching to UL-compliant batteries that should be safer and better contstructed.
Why e-bike companies are fighting to stop riders from repairing their electric bikes
It’s rare that my articles are this divisive, but that was the case when I reported on a move by some e-bike drive system manufacturers to limit the ability of riders to make repairs on their own e-bikes.
The issue largely centered around the batteries, which can be dangerous to work on without proper training.
On the flipside, many e-bike riders worry that the issue is being used to further exclude e-bikes from “right to repair” laws, ensuring that manfuacturers can either force riders to use expensive company-owned repair services or push them towards simply buying a new e-bike instead of repairing the one they own.
Those were the top five e-bike stories of the year for 2023.
Who knows what next year has in store for us? The only way to find out for sure is to keep coming back here for the latest in e-bike news. We’ll see you in 2024!
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![India's Waaree to double its solar module output at its Texas factory [update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/Waaree-Energies-Texas.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
India’s Waaree Energies doubled Texas production in April to counter US solar tariffs – now it’s investing hundreds of millions more.
May 15, 2025: Waaree Solar Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Waaree Energies, has announced that it will invest an additional $200 million in battery energy storage. This raises Waaree’s total US solar and storage investment to $1.2 billion.
This expansion is expected to create 300 to 500 jobs over the next few years, adding to the 1,500 jobs it already announced.
Dr. Amit Paithankar, whole-time director and CEO of Waaree Energies, said that “our decision to invest was primarily driven by the significant market potential in the energy sector.”
Despite tariff headwinds, Waaree is doubling down on its US expansion, drawn by the country’s massive energy demand and the surge in AI and data center development, both of which require steady, large-scale power. The company points out that solar is the “cheapest source of power and the fastest to commission,” making it a smart choice for scaling quickly.
April 16, 2025: It’s adding another 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar module manufacturing capacity at its Brookshire factory, bringing the site’s total to 3.2 GW. The company didn’t indicate a timescale for when the capacity increase would be complete. The move is part of its strategy to reinforce its “larger strategy of de-risking its global footprint.”
The company first announced it would open the Texas factory in December 2023, its first footprint in the US. Its original plan was to have an initial capacity to manufacture 3 GW of solar modules annually by the end of 2024.
Waaree plans to invest up to $1 billion to scale its annual solar panel production to 5 GW in Texas by 2027, which would make it one of the largest solar panel factories in the US.
Previous to manufacturing in Texas, the Mumbai-headquartered company, which is India’s largest solar module manufacturer, already supplied Indian-made solar panels to the US. But the US’s new reciprocal tariff on solar modules imported from India is 26%, adding to the existing 14.5% Section 201 tariff, bringing the total to around 40%.
“At a time when the world is redefining the rules of global trade, we’re not waiting for the dust to settle – we’re building through it. … The strength of our US order book is a testament to the trust we’ve built, and this expansion is a signal – we’re here, we’re growing, and we’re deeply invested in powering America’s energy future,” said Dr. Amit Paithankar, whole-time director and CEO of Waaree Energies.
Read more: Texas just shot its wind + solar boom in the foot on purpose
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BYD is about to launch another low-cost electric car, but this one’s a little different. It’s BYD’s first kei car. You know, those tiny vehicles that dominate Japan’s city streets? BYD’s mini EV was just spotted out in public, giving us our first real look at the upcoming kei car.
BYD’s first mini EV was spotted in public
Last week, rumors surfaced that BYD was developing its first kei car, which would compete with top-selling models from Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, and other Japanese brands.
Kei cars, or “K-Car,” as they are sometimes called, are a class of ultra-compact vehicles that cannot be longer than 3.4 meters (134″). To put that into perspective, BYD’s smallest EV currently, the Seagull (called the Dolphin Mini overseas), is 3,780 mm (148.8″) long.
The mini vehicles are ideal in Japan because they are so small, making it easy to get around tight city streets. They are also more affordable and efficient than larger vehicles.
BYD’s mini EV was spotted for the first time during a road test this week by IT Home (via CarNewsChina), revealing a familiar look. You can see it has that boxy, compact look of a typical kei car with sliding side doors.
According to reports, BYD is developing a new platform for the model. It will reportedly include a 20 kWh battery, good for 180 km (112 miles) WLTC range. By using its in-house Blade LFP batteries, BYD is expected to have a cost advantage.
BYD’s upcoming mini EV is expected to start at around 2.5 million yen, or about $18,000. That’s about the same as the Nissan Sakura (2.59 million yen), Japan’s best-selling EV last year.
Last year, around 1.55 million kei cars were sold in Japan, accounting for roughly 40% of new vehicle sales. Honda’s N-Box was the top-selling kei car (EV or gas) for the third straight year.
As Nikkei reported, some are already calling BYD’s electric kei car “a huge threat.” A Suzuki dealer said, “Young people do not have a negative view of BYD. It would be a huge threat if the company launches cheap models in Japan.”
BYD already sells several electric cars in Japan, including the Atto 3 SUV, Dolphin, and Seal. Last month, the company launched the new Sealion 7 midsize electric SUV, starting at 4.95 million yen ($34,500).
Source: Sina, CarNewsChina
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TORONTO — Canada has quietly become a global leader in digital assets.
Canada was among the first countries to enact rules for crypto, starting with anti-money laundering guidelines in 2014. The country has repeatedly evolved its regulatory guidance in recent years, while U.S. lawmakers remain stuck in gridlock — even with a pro-crypto White House and a Republican-controlled Congress.
That regulatory clarity has made Toronto a launchpad for blockchain growth, and Wall Street is taking notice.
Robinhood‘s recent acquisition of Canadian crypto firm WonderFi, owner of Bitbuy and Coinsquare, plugs it into Canada’s established user base.
“Canada is a very attractive market for us,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s crypto chief. “It’s projected to be more than 30 million users using crypto here in Canada, with revenue projections of about $900 million in 2025.”
The company’s decision to spend just under $180 million to buy WonderFi, which has one of the longest-standing crypto licenses in the country, is a direct bet on that growth.
Galaxy Digital, the digital asset investing giant founded by Mike Novogratz, is headquartered in New York but listed in Canada because it couldn’t go public in the United States. After being among the first to launch spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., Galaxy will finally debut on the Nasdaq on Friday.
DeFi Technologies, a Canadian player focused on being the Strategy of Solana, is also planning a U.S. listing.
“A lot of companies have started on the Toronto Stock Exchange and are trying to uplist into the Nasdaq,” said Ondo Finance CEO Nathan Allman. “I think we’re going to see more of that.”
At Consensus 2025 in Toronto, one of the world’s largest crypto conferences, JPMorgan, Ondo, and Chainlink announced a $100 billion bet on blockchain with a new platform to tokenize real-world assets.
The two firms say the new offering allows treasuries to be tokenized and settled using blockchain, combining JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments network with Ondo’s blockchain infrastructure.
“It’s really the first time that there’s been this interoperability between a bank’s permissioned blockchain environment and a public blockchain,” Allman said.
Crypto dealmaking has shown signs of life in recent months, as the United States has shifted its regulatory approach under President Donald Trump.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve have eased restrictions on banks handling crypto, rolling back prior guidance that required pre-approval for digital asset activities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has also taken a significant step by rescinding its restrictive accounting bulletin, which had forced companies holding crypto assets for clients to record them as liabilities. The new approach aligns crypto custody with traditional financial instruments.
At the same time, the SEC has launched a new Crypto Task Force, inviting public input on how to better regulate digital assets.
“They want large enterprises like Citi to have a seat at the table,” said Ryan Rugg, global head of digital assets for Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions division. “They’re asking for our opinion, where I think in the past, it was not quite the case.”
The booking of Eric Trump, the president’s son and a leader of the newly-formed American Bitcoin, as a headline speaker, highlighted the growing presence of the U.S. in the crypto arena. The firm made waves when it launched in March, and already intends to go public through a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.
“It’s important to remember: Most countries are totally neutral on blockchain,” said Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera Capital. “The U.S. had a fairly antagonistic stance on blockchain which made it difficult for companies to get bank accounts, made it difficult for companies to go public.”
He said he believes many companies that would have gone public a few years ago will hit U.S. markets in the next six months.
“There’s obviously tremendous appetite in the public markets,” he said.
Israel-based crypto and stock trading platform eToro went public on Wednesday after pricing above its expected range. Shares soared nearly 29% on its first trading day.
The advancements in the U.S. aren’t without setbacks. A first-of-its-kind stablecoin regulation bill failed to advance in the Senate after Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about national security, while others expressed concerns about the president’s ties to crypto.
Still, the payment giants are charging ahead.
Mastercard announced Thursday that it’s partnering with Moonpay to let customers use debit cards to transact using their stablecoin balances.
PayPal announced Wednesday that it’s partnering with artificial intelligence platform Perplexity to enable chat-powered shopping. PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies told CNBC at Consensus 2025 that he sees a future where customers could transact in AI chats with their PayPal stablecoins or other crypto holdings.
“We are trying to make sure that PayPal and Venmo are the gateway product to get more people into crypto,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies. “A lot of people get into crypto through us, and that leads us to continue to add tokens.”
While PayPal leans on accessibility and payments, Robinhood is doubling down on tokenization and staking to capture both retail and institutional users.
“This debate here in the U.S. is really important — it shows that we want to embrace the technology instead of just regulating it and turning it off like it was before,” Kerbrat said, describing his appearance at an SEC roundtable under new chair Paul Atkins.
The company sees blockchain technology as a way to transform everything from stocks to private equity markets and real estate into digital tokens that can be traded instantly.
“We think at Robinhood that it is actually the future, and we can bring a lot more traditional assets on-chain using tokenization,” Kerbrat added.
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