I went back to Bafang’s factory in China five years later. The difference is mindblowing
If you’ve been hanging around in the world of electric bikes for any decent amount of time, you’ve probably come across Bafang. They don’t make electric bikes, but they’ve long made many of the components used by them. I visited the factory back in 2019, and recently returned for a second visit to see what had changed. Boy, was I unprepared for what awaited me…
When I say that Bafang makes many of the components found in the e-bike you probably have at home, that now seems like an understatement. With all of the new tech and developments the company has made, they now produce just about every part used in electric bike drive systems.
And not only that, but their production processes have changed significantly over the last few years.
To see behind the scenes yourself, check out my video from the visit below.
Even from the first moment I walked through the gates, the updates were apparent. Since my last visit, Bafang has moved into a massive new complex, which is important since some of their new production now includes the addition of full e-bike battery design and manufacturing. That obviously requires significantly more of a footprint than just a motor and drive system maker.
But before I get to the new battery work, let’s start at the beginning. I began my visit in the R&D department, where a dedicated team of engineers and designers work together on drawing up the next generation of e-bike components. When I visited in 2019, there were hints in the air that Bafang was working on a solution to the common issue of e-bike motors having an unfortunate tendency to wreak havoc on traditional bicycle transmissions. There’s just a limited amount of power that most bicycle shifters and derailleurs are designed for, and that amount usually falls above leg power but below motor power.
Now I was pleased to see that Bafang has several options for their own in-house developed transmissions built around internally geared hubs (IGHs). IGHs are prized in the bicycle world for their clean, low-maintenance design that completely replaces a hanging derailleur. However, the use of an internally geared hub generally means you can’t use a hub motor (or have to put it in the front wheel, which is less desirable). But not only has Bafang developed their own IGHs, but they’ve even incorporated hub motors into the design, creating multi-speed transmissions that share the same wheel hub as an electric motor. That innovation, known as the Bafang GVT line (Gear Variable Transmission), opens a whole new world of e-bike possibilities by putting an internally geared hub and a hub motor in the same product. And on top of that, the shifting occurs entirely automatically and without external cables or wires. Clever use of mechanical components keeps the entire thing sealed and without additional external components that can wear out or fail.
I was able to check out a few of these designs in Bafang’s showroom, and even tested them out later in the day on a few different e-bikes sporting Bafang’s components. But alas, I’m getting ahead of myself.
A big part of R&D goes beyond just imagining new components. Bafang has to rigorously test their designs to ensure they can handle the harsh world in which e-bikes live. From pressure tanks of water that expose any air gaps in motors to brutal drop tests and shaker tables, the company’s engineers absolutely torture these poor devices while looking for how and where they can fail.
That testing not only leads to design improvements, but sometimes even to the development of new materials. Bafang uses their own proprietary material for the gears used in their motors, offering more strength and ruggedness than typical nylon gears, but less noise than steel gears.
There are soundproof rooms for making the most minute measurements of the sounds produced by various components, and even an EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) chamber for electrical safety testing and compliance certification, where e-bikes and components can be tested to ensure that all of the various pieces are working together properly without creating any unnecessary or potentially problematic electromagnetic radiation. This is also critical to ensuring compatability of various electrical components so that they don’t interfere with one another.
With a better understanding of the process that goes into R&D, I moved on to the factory where production occurs. Here it all begins in with quality inspections that ensure that the components that go into Bafang’s products are within manufacturing tolerances. Components like motor shells and bearings are critical to the performance of an e-bike’s drive system, and so components are scrutinized in fine detail with micron-level measurements before they make it to the factory floor where they will be incorporated into assemblies.
After passing their checks, components head into a largely automated process. For example, the motor shells are handled by robots that move them through several stages on an assembly line, adding gears, spreading grease, and receiving their motor cores.
Those motor cores pass through their own robotic lines, with the copper wire spun by precision machines. This type of work was often done by hand years ago, but has now been supplanted by automated machines that are faster and more accurate.
At this point, the sub-assemblies move to a final assembly line, one of the few places you still see a large number of human workers. Here, mid-drive motors receive their final assembly by hand. There are still several differences I noticed though, such as the lack of laser-engraved serial numbers, which have now been replaced by special stickers that retain the motor shell’s corrosion-resistant finish instead of engraving it away. The single sticker also replaces the several stickers of various sizes and shapes that use to offer a hodgepodge of information, and have now been streamlined into a single unobstrusive marker that also leaves the protective coating of the motor’s shell unaffected.
Motors are tested one final time on a bench apparatus, ensuring they meet all the correct specifications, before reaching their final stop on the conveyor belt: packaging.
Nearby, another machine sorts small parts such as nuts and washers that are included with products like hub motors, automatically bagging them to be included in the motor boxes.
It’s a similar story for several other components I saw, from handlebar displays to wiring harnesses. Much of the process has now been automated with special machines that automatically strip wires, mount connectors, glue display covers, and other steps that are highly manual and repetitive. Not everything has been replaced by robots, and you certainly still see many line workers, but a significant number of the tasks have been automated, and that seems like a trend that will continue.
One other intersting update I saw was a change to the way the soldering stations are set up. Previously, fumehoods were mounted above soldering stations that would suck out the fumes from the soldering operations.
That helps prevent those fumes from building up in the room, but the individual workers at each booth aren’t as protected since the fumes still pass by their faces.
The new setup has vacuum holes in the actual workstation surface that suck the fumes down and out through the table, preventing even the initial worker from being exposed to soldering fumes.
It’s a nicer setup that protects everyone, and I was glad to see the upgrades.
Bafang Battery Factory
The next part of the tour took me into the battery factory, which was like entering a brave new world for an e-bike parts supplier. Generally, battery factories are standalone operations run purely by battery makers. But Bafang has grown so large that at this point, it makes sense for them to invest in building their own high quality battery packs. It’s something they’ve been studying for nearly a decade, mostly staying in the R&D phase. But in the last few years, they’ve brought those designs to life and entered full battery production.
Again though, I’m getting ahead of myself. Becuase it’s that design stage that is critical to the quality and safety of batteries. Similarly to the e-bike drive system side of things, the battery factory has its own R&D section that scrutinizes different cells and batteries while preparing and testing new designs to ensure they can meet the proper safety and performance requirements set by Bafang. Assuming they do, they may end up slated for production and become one of the company’s new battery pack offerings.
Production on the factory floor starts with the individual battery cells that will eventually make up the larger battery packs. They are tested to ensure they pass quality checks before being automatically sorted by robots into the most appropriate combinations of cells based on similar internal resistances.
Computer-controlled ultrasonic welding machines then combine those battery cells into larger packs, which are encased in various enclosures depending on the specific model of battery. Before the battery cases are even sealed, each battery is put through a series of bench tests to ensure it meets the proper parameters. After the batteries pass those checks, they get sealed and sent to perform a complete testing cycle, where rows of shelves house hundreds – maybe thousands – of actively charging and discharging battery packs. After getting the green light following a successful charge and discharge cycle test, the battery is finally packaged and prepared to be sent on its way to an e-bike factory.
The scale of Bafang’s operations is nothing short of impressive. I’ve visited dozens of Chinese factories at this point but I’ve never seen such an all-encompassing operation from an e-bike component maker. With the addition of battery packs, not to mention all the other drivetrain components made by Bafang, the company truly is a one-stop shop now for e-bike OEMs.
It has been an incredible experience to see not just the components and designs, but the way that production has fundamentally changed inside of Bafang’s walls over the last several years. And at this rate, I’m fascinated to see what new innovations the next few years may bring.
Don’t forget to check out the video of this behind-the-scenes tour, below!
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![Daimler CEO just dropped some pretty WILD pro-hydrogen claims [update]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/hydrogen_semi.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Daimler Truck AG CEO Karin Rådström hopped on LinkedIn today and dropped some absolutely wild pro-hydrogen talking points, using words like “emotional” and “inspiring” while making some pretty heady claims about the viability and economics of hydrogen. The rant is doubly embarrassing for another reason: the company’s hydrogen trucks are more than 100 million miles behind Volvo’s electric semis.
UPDATE 22NOV2025: Daimler just delivered five new hydrogen semis for trials.
While it might be hard to imagine why a company as seemingly smart as Daimler Truck AG continues to invest in hydrogen when study after study has shut down its viability as a transport fuel, it makes sense when you consider that the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) holds approximately 5% of Daimler and parent company Mercedes’ shares.
That’s not a trivial stake. Indeed, 5% is enough to make KIA one of the few actors with both the access and the motivation to shape conversations about Daimler’s long-term technology bets, and as a major oil-producing country whose economy would undoubtedly take a hit if oil demand plummeted, any future fuel that’s measured molecules instead of electrons isn’t just a concept for the Kuwaiti economy: it’s a lifeline.
What’s more, Kuwait’s “Oil Strategy 2040” includes plans to nearly double crude oil production and invest billions of dollars in new oil extraction projects and downstream refining facilities, even as the rest of the world rushes to decarbonize.
In that context, the push to make hydrogen seem like an attractive decarbonization option makes more sense. So, instead of giving Daimler’s hydrogen propaganda team yet another platform to try and convince people that hydrogen might make for a viable transport fuel eventually by giving five Mercedes-Benz GenH2 semi trucks to its customers at Hornbach, Reber Logistik, Teva Germany with its brand ratiopharm, Rhenus, and DHL Supply Chain, I’m just going to re-post Daimler CEO Karin Rådström’s comments from Hydrogen Week.
Earlier this month, Daimler Truck AG issued a press release entitled, “Five and a Half Times Around the World: Daimler Truck Fuel Cell Trucks Successfully Complete More Than 225,000 km (~139,000 miles) in Real-World Customer Operations.” Don’t bother looking for it on Electrek, though. I didn’t run it. And I didn’t run it because, frankly, a fleet of over-the-road semi trucks managing to cover a little over half the number of miles that David Blenkle put on his single Ford Mustang Mach-E isn’t particularly impressive.
In the meantime, Daimler competitors like Volvo, Renault, and even tiny Motiv are racking up millions and millions of all-electric miles and MAN Truck CEO Alexander Vlaskamp is saying that it’s impossible for hydrogen to compete with batteries. Heck, even Daimler’s own eActros BEV semi trucks are putting up better numbers than those hydrogen deals.
So, why then is Rådström pouring on the hydrogen love over at LinkedIn?
For some reason – posts about hydrogen always stir up emotions. I think hydrogen (not “instead of” but “in parallel to” electric) plays a role in the decarbonization of heavy duty transport in Europe for three reasons:
- If we would go “electric only” we need to get the electric grid to a level where we can build enough charging stations for the 6 million trucks in Europe. It will take many years and be incredibly expensive. A hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will be less expensive and you don’t need a grid connection to build it, putting 2000 H2 stations in Europe is relatively easy.
- Europe will rely on import of energy, and it could be transported into Europe from North Africa and Middle East as liquid hydrogen. Better to use that directly as fuel than to make electricity out of it.
- Some use cases of our customers are better suited for fuel cells than electric trucks – the fuel cell truck will allow higher payload and longer ranges.
At European Hydrogen Week, I saw firsthand the energy and ambition behind Europe’s net-zero goals. It’s inspiring—but also a wake-up call. We’re not moving fast enough.
What we need:
- Large-scale hydrogen production and transport to Europe
- A robust refueling network that goes beyond AFIR
- And real political support to make it happen – we need smart, efficient regulation that clears the path instead of adding hurdles.
To show what’s possible, we brought our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 to Brussels. From the end of 2026, we’ll deploy a small series of 100 fuel cell trucks to customers.
Let’s build the infrastructure, the momentum, and the partnerships to make zero-emission transport a reality. 🚛 and let’s try to avoid some of the mistakes that we see now while scaling up electric. And let’s stop the debate about “either or”. We need both.
Commenters were quick to point out that Daimler recently received €226M in grants from German federal and state governments to build 100 fuel cell trucks – but, while Daimler for sure doesn’t want to give back the money, it’s also pretty difficult to believe that Rådström’s pro-hydrogen posturing is sincere.
Especially since most of it seems like nonsense.
We’re not doing any of that
At the risk of sounding “emotional,” Rådström’s claims that building a hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will be less expensive than building an electrical infrastructure, and that “you don’t need a grid connection to build it,” are objectively false.
Further, if her claim that “putting 2,000 H2 stations in Europe is relatively easy” isn’t outright laughable, it’s worth noting that Europe had just 265 hydrogen filling stations in operation in 2024 (and only 40% of those, or about 100, were capable of serving HD trucks). At the same time, the IEA reported that there are nearly five million public charging ports already in service on the continent.
Next, the claim that, “Europe will rely on import of energy, and it could be transported into Europe from North Africa and Middle East as liquid hydrogen” (emphasis mine), is similarly dubious – especially when faced with the fact that, in 2023, wind and solar already supplied about 27–30% of EU electricity.
I will agree, however, with one of Rådström’s claims. She notes that, “some use cases of our customers are better suited for fuel cells than electric trucks – the fuel cell truck will allow higher payload and longer ranges.” That’s debatable, but widely accepted as true … for now. Daimler’s own research into lighter, more energy-dense, and lower-cost solid-state battery technology, however, may mean that it won’t be true for long, however.
Unless, of course, Mercedes’ solid-state batteries don’t work (and she would know more about that than I would, as a mere blogger).
Electrek’s Take
As you can imagine, the Karin Rådström post generated quite a few comments at the Electrek watercooler. “Insane to claim that building hydrogen stations would be cheaper than building chargers,” said one fellow writer. “I’m fine with hydrogen for long haul heavy duty, but lying to get us there is idiotic.”
Another comment I liked said, “(Rådström) says that chargers need to be on the grid – you already have a grid, and it’s everywhere!”
At the end of the day, I have to echo the words of one of Mercedes’ storied engineering partners and OEM suppliers, Mahle, whose Chairman, Arnd Franz, who that building out a hydrogen infrastructure won’t be possible without “blue” H made from fossil fuels as recently as last April, and maybe that’s what this is all about: fossil fuel vehicles are where Daimler makes its biggest profits (for now), and muddying the waters and playing up this idea that we’re in some sort of “messy middle” transition makes it just easy enough for a reluctant fleet manager to say, “maybe next time” when it comes to EVs.
We, and the planet, will suffer for such cowardice – but maybe that’s too much malicious intent to ascribe to Ms. Rådström. Maybe this is just a simple “Hanlon’s razor” scenario and there’s nothing much else to read into it.
Let us know what you think of Rådström’s pro-hydrogen comments, and whether or not Daimler’s shareholders should be concerned about the quality of the research behind their CEO’s public posts, in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Karin Rådström, via LinkedIn.
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Audi embraced its future in China with the launch of a new Chinese market electric sub-brand called AUDI that ditched the iconic “four rings” logo in favor of four capital letters – but one thing this latest concept hasn’t ditched is the brand’s traditionally teutonic long-roof design language.
Co-developed with Audi’s Chinese production partner, SAIC, the all-new AUDI E SUV concept is based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) skateboard, and is only the second model introduced by the company’s domestic sub-brand — which was all-new itself just one year ago.
“The AUDI E SUV concept celebrates the new AUDI brand’s first anniversary following the E concept’s debut in Guangzhou (2024),” said Fermín Soneira, CEO of the Audi and SAIC cooperation, at the E SUV’s unveiling. “It showcases an unmistakable AUDI design language that gives the SUV a prestigious, progressive stance — with no compromise between sporty aesthetics and interior roominess or versatility. This concept embodies our vision for premium electric mobility by fusing Audi’s engineering heritage with digital innovation to fulfill our commitment in China.”
As a vehicle, the AUDI E SUV concept promises to handle “like an Audi,” and is powered by a pair of electric motors good for a combined 500 kW (~670 hp), good enough to get the big crossover from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in about five seconds. Those efficient motors are fed electrons by a 109 kWh battery riding on AUDI’s 800V Advanced Digital Platform system architecture, and can allegedly add 320 km (~200 miles) of range in under 10 minutes at a high-powered DC fast charging station.
If you’re a fan of self-driving tech, the AUDI 360 Driving Assist System is the AUDI E SUV concept is for you, with features that, “enable a relaxed and safe driving experience – on highways, in dense city traffic, and during assisted parking.”
No word yet on pricing, but it likely won’t matter. As successful as the AUDI sub-brand has been, it’s still a long shot that we’ll ever get these Stateside, no matter what Canada does.
AUDI E SUV concept
SOURCE | IMAGES: Audi.
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Unless they have vivid memories of guys like Nigel Mansell, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel driving the wheels off a screaming, Renault-powered Formula 1 car, it’s tough to get an American to care about a new Renault — but Nissan’s renewed willingness to work with its old partners means we may yet get the new Trafic E-Tech here. (!)
First shown as thinly-veiled concepts co-developed with Volvo back in February, the Renault Trafic E-Tech shown here made its official debut in full production spec and trim at this week’s Solutrans 2025 logistics show. The best part: it arrived looking nearly identical to the radical and well-received concept.
And, in case you’re thinking Renault just got lucky with the styling, you can stop thinking that. The official press release rambles on and on (and on) about the Trafic E-Tech’s styling, going in depth into such apparently mundane topics as the quality of the grain on the new Trafic E-Tech van’s black plastic bumpers:
The front bumper comprises a large section with a black grained finish. Each constituent part was the focus of extensive design work, in order to showcase the overall appearance while avoiding a bulky look. The black grained plastic of the lower bumper section features a laser pattern, similar to Scenic E-Tech electric. This attention to finish is a signature of the new Renault design language.
RENAULT
Nearly every paragraph of the release is like this. Here’s a section about the shape of the van’s windshield that reads, “the futuristic style of Trafic can also be seen in its visor-like windscreen, made up of the windscreen itself and the two side windows.”
The van’s designers care, in other words — they care so freakin’ much about this niche product that they probably doodle it, idly, in the margins of their notebooks when they’re supposed to be listening in whatever staff meeting they just got dragged into. And that level of caring made me think of a once-and-future Renault partner who could use that level of caring in its North American product line.
Enter: Nissan
Back in March, I wrote that the key thing that Nissan had to do in order to stage a successful comeback was care about its products — and, in that article, I used the lowly Nissan Cube to highlight just how much Nissan used to care about its products.
Nissan used to care so much about its product, in fact, that it once did something that seems unthinkable in today’s modular-construction, Ultium electric-skateboard-platform EV age. And what made that “something” all the more astonishing was that they didn’t do this for the six-figure GT-R or some 370Z halo car – they did it for the Cube.
That decision speaks to an absolutely massive commitment. A commitment to build two sets of stampings, two sets of expensive window shapes, two sets of stuff I probably haven’t even considered, and it was all done for what? To eliminate a blind spot?
Can you imagine the amount of sheer, epic, truckloads of f*cks you would have to give in order to sit in a boardroom and argue that your company should spend millions of dollars in tooling and certification and assembly line re-jiggering because someone, somewhere else, might have a bit of a blind spot when they look over their right shoulder? (!)
The mere suggestion of such a thing would be a career-ender at most brands, and Nissan didn’t just listen to that unnamed engineer, they did it. They built an entire mirror-image of their home market Cube, and they did it so quietly that I bet more than a few of you reading these words never even realized they’d done it at all.
Today, Nissan’s best-effort at caring is launching an “all-new Rogue PHEV” that’s actually a rebadged Mitsibishi Outlander PHEV that was all-new itself way back in 2013. And that decade-plus-old car? It’s a significant upgrade to the last heap that wore the Rogue badge … largely because Mitsubishi, you know, still cares about the quality of its new products.
Renault cares enough for everyone
Renault gives truckloads of f*cks. Van-loads, anyway, and now that Nissan seems more open to enter into JVs with its partners in China and Japan, it seems entirely possible that they’ll come crawling back to their old Renault alliance partner. And, when they do, Renault’s level of caring could do wonders for a next-generation, all-electric Nissan Quest based on the Trafic E-Tech.
Heck, they wouldn’t have to do much more than change the logo on the front and make the infotainment graphics red and white instead of gray and yellow and they’d be there.
And that new-age Nissan Quest based on the Renault Trafic? It would offer up to 280 miles of European cycle range and motivate itself around US roads with a ~200 hp (150 kW) electric motor pushing out 345 Nm (~255 lb-ft) of off-the line grunt — which isn’t too far off Nissan’s last V8-powered van offering!
Great styling, plenty of room, peppy performance, and zero emissions? I’d take a look at it, for sure — and, since there aren’t any other electric van options in the US*, I think a lot of other people would, too.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Renault.
NOTE: I know the Tesla Model X is basically an electric minivan, but a) the bros hate it when you call their Model X a minivan, and b) the doors are stupid.
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