Are Chinese scooters worth buying?

This might be one of the many questions you have as you plan to get a new scooter and it is understandable. Is it cheaper, will it last long, what is the battery life, what kind of material is it made of, is there any warranty on them? While all these are reasonable questions when it comes to buying a product, they tend to amplify when it comes to Chinese products, and this might not be unrelated to the recent trade war between the United States and China. To answer your questions, here is a brief insight into Chinese scooters.

Manufacturing in china

China is the largest manufacturer and exporter of electric scooters and bikes. Added to this, they have the largest population of people who use an electric scooter as a means of transport. Furthermore, there are many manufacturers of electric scooters in the country. Even some companies based in the United States send their product designs to china where they are then manufactured. These have created an environment for competition and production of scooters with different range of quality.

Quality of Chinese scooters

As stated earlier, intense competition as a result of many manufacturers being in the scooter business in china has resulted in the production of simple, low-cost models designed for the populace. Quality scooters with some level of advancements have been produced recently, and an example that fits this category is Niu, a Chinese company that is already penetrating the American market. Although, it is important to note that amid these qualities, substandard scooters are also produced.

Price

If you are thinking about the cost of scooters, the Chinese scooters got you covered as they turn out to be relatively cheap when compared to scooters produced in other countries. Even more, they are less expensive in China than when they are exported. This is as a result of shipping and import tariffs in other countries. Some selected Chinese scooters will be discussed along with their price range.

Shipping

If you want to get scooters from China, you can import them directly from the manufacturers or online wholesale platforms which comes along with import duties, or you get them on online retail stores such as Amazon, Walmart, AliExpress, etc. the shipping cost is usually added to the total price of the scooter. Although, it is worthy of mention to note that you can also get free shipping on some electric scooters from china to destinations such as Europe or the United States.

Warranty

A large proportion of Chinese scooters only have warranties for scooters that are present in China not outside the country. However, there is a few that have warranties on scooters outside the country, and one of them is Xiaomi M365 which would be further reviewed later. They usually come with a limited warranty of one year. Also, the Ninebot Segway electric scooter comes with a limited warranty of 6 months to 1 year, and you don’t have ship it back to China to get the warranty as they have a base in the US where they attend to such needs.

Examples of quality scooters made in china

Funny as it may sound, you might have used a Chinese scooter without knowing as they happen to be in abundance. Some have been confused with being US products while others are known publicly for their quality and are frequently used by rentals in the US. Here are examples of quality Chinese e-scooters that are popular in the market. First on the list is the Xiaomi M365.

Xiaomi M365

Xiaomi, a known brand the world of smartphones and devices, is also a maker of electric scooters with its most popular brand being the Xiaomi M365 which is used by many rentals in the US. This scooter is foldable and has a dual brake system which has an adjustable braking distance. You can activate different modes on it when it comes to speed. There is the eco mode which has a maximum speed of about 11.2 mph, and the common-mode which runs at a maximum speed of 15.5mph. It runs on a 18650mAh lithium battery, and its power rating is 250W which can be upgraded to 500W. made from aluminum alloy, the M365 weighs 27.6lbs (12.5kg), which makes it quite a task when carrying and it only supports a maximum weight of 220lbs (100kg).

The maximum range of this Chinese scooter is approximately 18.6 miles. Also, the scooter has software that can be linked to your smartphone using the Xiaomi home app. You can use this to lock the scooter digitally amongst other things.

On the downside, this scooter takes 5-6 hours to fully charge. Click here to check the current price on Amazon.

Ninebot Segway ES2

Segway used to be an American company until it was acquired by Chinese company Ninebot in 2015, and it has two major releases, which are the ES1 and ES2. The ES2 is the successor of the ES1.

Compared to ES1, ES2 is more powerful, although both are portable. Furthermore, it has many similarities to the Xiaomi M365 but beats the M365 in terms of power as it has a 300W motor which reaches a peak close to 800W when it gets a battery upgrade.

It has three speed modes, and you can reach attain a maximum speed of about 15.6mph. With a battery upgrade, you can cover a maximum range of 28miles. The average weight of the scooter is 28lbs (13kg) which makes it pretty heavy to carry and it can comfortably carry any weight(load) that does not exceed 220lbs (100kg). The Segway ES2 is also a smart electric scooter meaning you can connect via Bluetooth to your smartphones using the Ninebot app.

The ES2 has a shorter charging time when compared to the Xiaomi and many other scooters but this short time increases when you upgrade the battery. Another major perk the Segway brand may have over most scooters coming from china is its American origin which might appeal to a larger audience with some still believing it is still an American manufacturer. Click here to check the current price on Amazon.

Conclusion

Chinese scooters are plenty in the global market, given the fact that they have many manufacturers and distributors. They show much promise in terms of quality, price although their warranty package might not be good enough despite these, do you think they have penetrated the American market well enough? Also, can you settle for one?