Cycling Electric investigation on how misinformation on ‘electric bike’ fires is increasing the danger to consumers
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
Cycling Electric has published an investigation into how misinformation on ‘electric bike’ fires imay be increasing the danger to consumers and affecting sales of e-bikes across the UK.
The article, which you can read here, says that a lot of the confusion is centred around the topic of e-bike conversions, “which is less than ideal given that so many of the incidents that have garnered negative press attention have involved conversions that haven’t been carried out safely or professionally.
The investigation reports ambiguity in fire brigades’ recording relating to legal vs illegal bikes, which in turn is exacerbating poor reporting in the media. This is being fed by a growth in illegal aftermarket modifications and poor-quality imports.
For example, the article cites most recent London Fire Brigade data for this year, showing 46% or 74 of 161 fires labelled ‘e-bike’ were, in fact, post-market conversions and nearly 30% of an unknown origin. 14% (29) were believed to have been manufactured goods, a lower proportion than the 36 e-scooter incidents.
The article goes on to say that, as two specialist e-bike insurers have now established, e-bike fires are no more likely than car fires. The CEO of ACT partner Bikmo, one of those insurers, is quoted as saying electric bike fire headlines ‘create more panic than the data backs up’.
In terms of media coverage the piece says that, “intentional or not, the misrepresentation of electric bikes in the media has consequences. A survey of UK bike shop staff discovered that 95% have dealt with customer concerns about e-bike battery fires. As such 25% of bike retail businesses believe these concerns have negatively impacted their ability to trade.
On the consumer side around 23% of UK adults are said to be reluctant to buy an electric bike after hearing about battery fires, while 25% worry about the safety of charging e-bike batteries at home.”
To read the whole article, click here.
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