Electric Wheelbarrow Industry Status Survey

The market for electric unicycles is very hot recently. Many manufacturers, including VCs, are very concerned about this product. However, this product is also faced with multiple questions of security, policy, etc. Some people think that this product can imagine a huge space in the future, and some people are not optimistic about the subsequent development of the product form.

Some time ago, the author conducted a preliminary investigation of the electric unicycle industry, visited several local unicycle manufacturers in Shenzhen, and simply put together some industry status for sharing. Because of the limited time, the investigation must have omissions. Welcome to correct me.

First, electric unicycle mainstream / well-known manufacturers introduced

Segway (the founder of the two-wheeler), SOLOWHEEL (the founder of the unicycle), Airway Airwheel, Shanghai New Century, IPS, New Orma, Lele, Shenzhen Denoth Electric (PBC ), Shenzhen skyline (Pinwheel windmill)......

The above mentioned are some of the relatively well-known brands in this industry. Of course, the industry has not really risen yet, and consumers have not yet become familiar with the brand. Shenzhen Taidou and Faraday are mainly public boards and do not own brands. From the perspective of shipments, the total monthly shipments in the Shenzhen area currently add up to about 5,000 units, of which the monthly shipments of relatively good brands are around 1,000 to 2,000 units. In 2013, the profit of a unicycle can reach more than 1,000 yuan each. But when many people flooded into the industry, profits fell sharply.

In the United States, Segway launched its first somatosensory concept product in 2003. Its product form is two-wheeled. At that time, Segway also faced many legal restrictions in the United States when it launched its products. This is similar to the current domestic environment. Segway later spent a lot of money to lobby the local government to cancel restrictions.

In late 2012, the United States SOLOWHEEL (Solowell) based on Segway developed a unicycle product form. However, this kind of unicycle has poor balance and experience, and it is very expensive.

From the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2013, many domestic companies started to buy SOLOWHEEL products and returned to do high copy. And some domestic manufacturers of brushless motor control products. This time a group of domestic brands began to emerge earlier, such as Airwell, IPS and so on. Wait until the electric unicycle started this product on a truly large scale in June 2014. As of December 2014, there were more than 100 companies engaged in unicycle-related business in China, and even had three business licenses and tax registration certificates.

According to reports, unicycles mainly have four major components: housings, control boards, motors, and batteries. Among them, the core component except the control board is the battery. In general, there are not many companies that have core technologies in the field of unicycles. In terms of control methods, the US Segway and Shanghai New Century have certain advantages. The core technology of Shenzhen Denoth Electronic is to manufacture the power controller for many years. It is the only company in the industry to introduce a built-in power charger, and the core technology of Shenzhen Horizon Technology Co., Ltd. is in the battery.

In terms of motor control, there are mainly brushed and brushless motors at present, and the control of brushless motors is divided into two types: sine wave and square wave. According to Ma Zhide, the brushed motor has higher safety due to its implementation principle; the brushless motor is faster and the brushless motor with sine wave is more efficient in terms of technology and more accurate in the control part. .

Second, the relevant supply chain

At present, the main control of the electric unicycle generally uses the STMicroelectronics chip STM32. The advantage of this particle is its high stability. The support for peripheral equipment is sufficient and stable.

The battery is usually 18650 battery, the difference lies mainly in the package. In terms of batteries, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, and LG are the major Japanese and Korean companies.

Motors are more complicated, and Zhejiang companies tend to work together to make motors. For example, “Your family is doing magnetic coils, my family is making magnetic cores, and then your family makes bearings. So their products are quite cheap, you want to find a high-standard motor factory. Basically, there is no.” At present, domestic motor manufacturers are more well-known Omar motors, quark motors, and ocean motors, in addition, larger electric vehicle manufacturers generally have their own motor processing plants.

Third, the industry is chaotic, facing multiple challenges such as policy and security

Since the industry barrier of unicycles is not high, many manufacturers who have been engaged in mobile power, Bluetooth speakers, and power adapters have joined in. Mixed with the dragon, many companies began to do high imitation products, or public board package about the label to sell. Slightly larger on the lease of a more beautiful marketing center, such as mainland television channel fraud agents to join at midnight. There have even been some mom and pop shops that buy parts for assembly. The biggest problem that this brings is that the quality of products in the industry is mixed. Many unicycle products sold on Taobao have had problems such as battery defects, product quality, and lack of after-sales services.

In addition to quality issues, the biggest challenge posed by the product form of unicycles is one of security and one of policy.

In terms of safety, the current maximum speed of a unicycle can reach 20 kilometers or more. This speed has certain potential risks. According to the current national laws and regulations: Products that are more than 40 kilograms and have a speed of over 20 kilometers per hour are motor vehicles. They must be reported to the national authorities before they can apply for licenses. Below 40 kg, products under 20 km can be driven in urban green areas and non-motorized vehicles. At present, there are no specific laws and regulations to restrict this kind of product for unicycles.

Based on this, recently Beijing and Shanghai have all issued bans, prohibiting travel on roads similar to electric unicycles and electric scooters. However, this ban actually faces a difficult law enforcement issue. However, according to the author’s understanding, industry sources disclosed that in June next year, the government will issue relevant policies for this “special electric vehicle” product form (including electric skateboards, seats and seats, including two-wheeled cars and unicycles). For example, the maximum speed is not allowed to exceed 15 km / h, the size below a certain range will be limited to 8 km / h, which is the normal human running speed. The relevant policies in Beijing, Shanghai and other places will also change. The author believes that after this policy comes out, it will truly determine the future direction of the electric unicycle industry.