Just as the EU is considering tariffs on Chinese EVs imported into Europe, three US Democratic senators are urging that the Biden administration hike import tariffs on Chinese EVs to address national security risks.
In the US, American drivers have about 50 EVs to choose from, with Europe having about double that. But in China, it’s a pure embarrassment of riches, with 235 different models to choose from, filling every niche, whim, or price range. And of course, we’ve been covering the price war in China here at Electrek, with prices on BYD vehicles dropping to extremely low prices, even as low as $10,000, which can leave Americans feeling frustrated – when will we get truly low-cost EVs?
Answer: Probably not soon, at least if it comes from China.
As it stands, Chinese EV makers are bypassing the US due to trade barriers that already impose a 25% tariff on their cars, introduced by Donald Trump during his presidency. And now pressure is building to increase that even more, to completely block the possibility of a Chinese EV brand taking hold on US soil.
And Europe is serving as a warning sign, certainly for legacy automakers. “Allowing heavily subsidized Chinese vehicles to enter the U.S. marketplace would endanger American automotive manufacturing,” said a letter from Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, first reported by Reuters.
“Artificially low-priced Chinese EVs flooding the U.S. would cost thousands of American jobs and endanger the survival of the U.S. automotive industry as a whole.”
In Europe this week, the European Commission says it has found evidence that China has been “unfairly” subsidizing the EVs it exports to Europe. Possible “remedies” on the table include retroactive tariffs on Chinese EVs. Meanwhile, Chinese EVs are arriving by the shipload as European automakers are struggling to stay in the game.
The European Commission says China hasn’t been playing fair in that its government has been paying subsidies through direct transfer of funds, which the EC says tips the balance in China’s favor and leaves European automakers out to dry. Of course, China’s access to cheap labor and cheap batteries, where it dominates the supply chain, also increases its gains.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that electric and autonomous vehicles are “collecting a huge amount of information about the driver, the location of the vehicle, the surroundings of the vehicle,” reports Bloomberg. “Do we want all that data going to Beijing?”
Of course, the US has already been tightening up restrictions. Last December, the US Treasury Department released a new list of guidelines for federal subsidies that excluded vehicles containing battery components manufactured or assembled by a “foreign entity of concern” (aka China). As of 2025, vehicles whose batteries contain certain “critical minerals” extracted or processed in China will also be ineligible for the tax credit.
But some lawmakers say this isn’t enough, with Raimondo adding: “If China is subsidizing the vehicles in a way that puts American workers at a disadvantage we have to do something about that.
This isn’t unprecedented, of course. Back in 2022, the FCC cited national security as the reason for banning the sale of communications equipment from Huawei and ZTE and restricted the use of some China-made video surveillance systems. A number of European allies have banned the use of Huawei’s 5G equipment. Not to mention DJI being blacklisted for federal use in the US.
Biden lays low on EVs in State of the Union address
In last night’s State of the Union address, Biden’s last before the election in November, he sidestepped his EV policies and refrained from boasting about his achievements at accelerating EV adoption in the country and establishing a homegrown battery supply chain, which are major points of contention in a tense election year.
“I’m taking the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world. I’m cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030,” he said succinctly, only adding a quick mention of his goal of building a public EV infrastructure.
Biden’s $7.5 billion EV infrastructure plan has been a crucial part of his policies, which includes adding 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030 – and ensuring they are working properly. Meanwhile, EV sales have quadrupled in the US, with the number of publicly available charging ports rising by nearly 70%. Today, more than 4 million EVs are on US roadways, with the goal for half of the country’s car sales to be electric by 2030.
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Earlier this week, we covered Honda’s new patent images that revealed what looks to be a production-ready, ultra-low-cost electric motorcycle from the world’s most prolific motorcycle maker. While the company hasn’t officially announced plans to bring the bike to market, the level of detail in the patent suggests one thing loud and clear: Honda’s electric commuter is no longer just a concept – it’s waiting on a green light from the boardroom. And if they’re still debating giving it the thumbs up or down, then now would be the perfect time to make everyone’s day and release this thing to the world.
To be fair, we don’t really know what the bike would look like since we only have the technical drawings in the patent that showcase an electric motorcycle built on the frame of a Honda Shine 100, the company’s smash-hit 99cc commuter bike that has proven incredibly popular in India.
The images above and below show an AI interpretation of how the electric version could look, taking the technical drawings of the bike from the patent and applying styling similar to the Shine 100. But if this is any indication, it could slot nicely into Honda’s lineup.
Left: An actual Honda Shine 100 motorcycle; Right: AI-generated electric version for visualization purposes
A perfect storm of demand and opportunity
Right now, the market is crying out for a product like this. Two-wheel electric transport is booming globally, especially in regions where motorcycles are used not for weekend rides or fun, but as core transportation for everyday life. In developing countries like India, Indonesia, and throughout Southeast Asia and Africa, affordable motorcycles are the backbone of personal mobility. And as battery prices continue to fall and gas prices remain unpredictable, electric is becoming the obvious next step.
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Even in the US, which has been one of the slowest markets in the world to adopt electric two-wheelers, there are literal roving gangs of teenagers on light electric motorcycles. If that doesn’t underscore how far electric motorcycles have penetrated, nothing will. Even Americans are buying them.
But of course, the US isn’t the main market, and Honda seems to know that. The company’s yet-unnamed electric model from its patent appears to be designed as a direct electric counterpart to the Shine 100, that wildly popular gasoline-powered commuter bike that has dominated the budget end of the market in India. The Shine 100 is known for its simple, reliable design, ultra-low price, and frugal fuel economy. Now imagine replacing the gas tank with a battery pack, swapping out the engine for a hub motor, and cutting fuel and maintenance costs almost to zero. That’s exactly what this new bike looks poised to do.
Honda patent images show a fully-developed electric version of a Shine 100 motorcycle
The specs we don’t know… yet
We don’t have confirmed specs from Honda, but the design and architecture give us some important clues. The motor appears to be a small, centrally mounted unit similar in size to those seen on Sur Ron-style electric motorbikes, likely in the 5-6 kW range, which would likely put top speed somewhere in the ballpark of 50 to 55 mph (80–90 km/h). That’s fast enough for city and suburban riding, especially in developing nations where highway use is less common and speed limits are lower.
The battery appears to be designed as a pair of removable, under-seat packs that look quite similar to the Honda Mobile Power Pack standard. We can’t say for sure yet, but it would make sense for Honda to apply that standard to the new motorcycle, especially since the company has already invested in the early stages of building up a swapping network for these batteries in India.
A Honda Mobile Power Pack-powered electric Rickshaw in India
The battery packs’ removable nature is key for markets where most riders don’t have access to ground-level charging. Removable batteries mean that the bike can be left parked on the street, with only the batteries being carried into a home or apartment for charging.
Sure, removable batteries limit the range by necessitating something light enough to be feasibly carried by the average rider. But let’s be clear: this isn’t going to be a Zero or a LiveWire. It’s a small, simple, commuter-focused machine. And that’s exactly what makes it so exciting.
A massive opportunity in plain sight
While companies like Ola, Ather, and Hero Electric have already entered India’s electric two-wheeler market, Honda still has massive brand recognition and an extensive dealership and service network. If the company moves quickly, it can leverage that footprint to immediately scale electric sales where it matters most.
And this isn’t just about India.
With a few tweaks, like ensuring compliance with region-specific lighting rules and adding a few basic safety features, Honda could easily bring a version of this bike into Europe, where cities are increasingly banning internal combustion vehicles and where small-format urban mobility is booming. Even in North America, there’s a growing appetite for affordable electric motorcycles. Sure, a 50 mph top speed limits highway use, but for many urban commuters and students, that’s more than enough. It may have scooter performance, but it sure looks cooler than a scooter.
We’ve already seen Chinese brands dipping their toes into this space, offering ultra-low-cost commuter bikes and scooters with modest specs. The difference is that those bikes are often plagued by weak support networks, sketchy build quality, and limited availability of parts. Honda could change the game here, bringing name-brand reliability and global support to the affordable electric motorcycle segment.
What’s stopping them?
And yet, despite all of its promise, the bike in these drawings remains just a patent on paper, at least for now.
It’s pretty clear from the drawings that this is a production-ready design, especially compared to much more basic designs patented by Honda in years past. The detailed component layout, integrated electronics, and finalized styling suggest that Honda could start prepping an assembly line for this thing tomorrow. All it needs is a go-ahead from Honda’s executive team.
Of course, large companies move slowly. There are internal projections to review, factories to retool, and business cases to make. But given Honda’s prior commitments to electrify its motorcycle lineup and its stated goals to phase out ICE motorcycles by the 2040s, the company needs to start moving products like this from blueprint to showroom floor yesterday.
Honda has the global reputation, the dealer network, and the engineering muscle to absolutely dominate the entry-level electric motorcycle segment. But it has to want to.
This new low-cost e-moto is exactly the kind of product that could move the needle, not just in emissions reductions or electrification goals, but in making EVs more accessible to millions of riders who need practical, affordable transportation today.
The demand is real. The market is ready. The design is done.
Now all we need is for Honda to say: “Let’s build it.”
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The European Union has reached an agreement on a new sanctions package against Russia, which includes a lower price cap for Moscow’s crude oil barrels.
Within a year of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the G7 and EU restricted the price at which non-G7 countries could continue purchasing Moscow’s crude and oil products while using shipping and logistical services from G7 companies.
The measures aimed to limit Russia’s oil revenues — the backbone of its economy and war coffers — while retaining the country’s supplies in the market to avoid a major shortage.
The price cap agreed in December 2022 banned access to G7 transport, insurance and reinsurance services if non-G7 buyers paid more than $60 per barrel for crude. Formerly a staple of European refiners’ intake, Russian crude now primarily heads to buyers in China and India.
EU policymakers on Friday signaled the Russian oil price threshold would be lowered as part of a newly agreed sanctions package.
“I welcome the agreement on our 18th sanctions package against Russia. We are striking at the heart of Russia’s war machine. Targeting its banking, energy and military-industrial sectors and including a new dynamic oil price cap,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas concurred that a “lower oil price cap” was part of the freshly agreed measures, also noting that the bloc had, for the first time, sanctioned Russian oil producer Rosneft’s largest refinery in India.
Neither official explicitly named the level of the new price cap. CNBC has reached out to Canada, holder of the G7’s yearly rotating presidency in 2025, for comment on whether the group endorses the lowered threshold.
VIVI e-bikes, a budget-friendly brand commonly found on Amazon and Walmart, just got hit with a major recall affecting around 24,000 electric bicycles due to fire risks. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that the lithium-ion batteries included with VIVI e-bikes can overheat, catch fire, and potentially cause injury or death.
According to the recall notice, VIVI has received at least 14 reports of their e-bike batteries overheating, with at least three reports of the batteries catching fire, though fortunately no injuries were reported in the recall notice.
The faulty batteries were shipped with a range of VIVI electric bikes sold between December 2020 and November 2023, priced between $365 and $950.
That puts them among the cheapest full-size e-bikes on the market.
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The affected bikes include long list of VIVI models, with the complete found here and seen in the table below.
The e-bikes were most commonly available online through Walmart.com and Amazon.com, but were also sold on eBay.com, Wish.com, Sears.com, Wayfair.com, Aliexpress.com, and the company’s own site (viviebikes.com).
Riders who purchased a VIVI e-bike are encouraged to check their model immediately to see if it matches the list of recalled e-bikes or battery packs.
The problem stems from the lithium-ion battery packs, which were not certified to UL standards, which are the most common safety standards for e-bikes in the US.
Consumers are being told to stop using the bikes immediately and contact VIVI for a free replacement battery. According to the recall notice, “Consumers should immediately stop using e-bikes with the recalled lithium-ion batteries and contact VIVI to receive a free replacement battery and battery charger. Consumers must dispose of the recalled battery at a household hazardous waste (HHW) collection center or follow the instructions of their municipality and confirm that this was done by sending an email to vivirecall@163.com.”
This recall adds to growing concerns about the safety of low-cost e-bikes flooding online marketplaces. While affordability has helped e-bikes become more accessible, it’s also opened the door to corners being cut, particularly when it comes to the batteries, which are arguably the most dangerous component of any electric vehicle when poorly made.
On the other hand, the increase in UL certification in the US e-bike industry has led to higher consumer confidence among respected e-bike brands that prominently display their safety certifications. This practice has helped assuage consumers’ fears and serves as a reminder of why these safety certifications are so important.
Electrek’s Take
Here we go again – another Amazon e-bike brand that was selling what looks like a too-good-to-be-true electric bike with a questionable battery. And surprise: it catches fire.
Now I want to make sure we keep this in perspective here, because the story isn’t that e-bikes are dangerous. Even among these ultra-super-duper-extremely cheap e-bikes, there have been 14 overheating cases and three reported fires out of 24,000 e-bikes sold. So it’s not like batteries are cooking off left and right like meth labs in Arkansas here or something. But this is still a stark reminder of the risks of purchasing bargain-basement electric bikes. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about the hidden risks of the cheapest e-bikes, and this issue was front and center.
In this case, these VIVI e-bikes are just some of the many aggressively priced models on Amazon, and that’s always a red flag when it comes to lithium-ion safety. At Electrek, we’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it: cheap batteries are risky batteries. UL certification isn’t legally required in most places (yet), but if a company isn’t willing to invest in the most basic safety testing, it should raise alarm bells.
If you’re hunting for a budget e-bike, stick to brands that at least use name-brand cells (like Samsung, LG, or Panasonic) and ideally have UL certification. Otherwise, you’re not just gambling with performance, you’re gambling with your garage, your home, your apartment building, and potentially the lives of your family and neighbors.
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