I recently received an email from the PRC EV Scooter manufacturer, Mountain Chen.
Mountain Chen, unlike his more conservative family (also EV makers) has a history of controversy with one or two forum members.
The interesting thing about MC, is he typifies a certain type of self-made PRC business/manufacturer. To those bargain hunting Westerners with completely unrealistic expectations, doing business with unsophisticated PRC traders like Mountain Chen can be a frustrating experience. MC is also not the most tactful when dealing with complaints.the concept 'the customer is always right' hasn't yet reached the PRC, especially when it's obvious the customer is wrong!
Be that as it may, I have developed a soft spot for Mountain Chen. He reminds me of the self-made Western traders of yesteryear, before we all fell victim to the over-regulated cocoon of the nanny state. It's the self-made eccentric MC's who are creating the enormously expanding PRC middle class of consumers. It's people like MC whose drive and innovative ambition will propel the PRC into becoming a powerful economic rival, not polite government sponsored bureaucrats and imitation western technocrats!
But I digress, enough soap box!
Mountain Chen has revealed his latest product developments. On paper they look innovative, well designed and a significant advance in quality. The new range is as follows:-
The latest model features; 3kw removable battery, speed 45-65km/h, range(max) 70kms. The 15kg removable battery (32AH60V lithium system with BMS) is desined for those owners who live in high rise apartments, and find recharging difficult. Also very useful to plug in at work or any available outlet, without the restriction of bring the entire bike. In addition the removal of the battery is an excellent security deterrent.
The next model 8kw high speed electric scooter with PDT technology features:
Plug in Drive Tech drive train is designed by our engineers with components designed and built in the UK and in the United States. Supported by its advanced power management and protection systems, the Sprint is reliable and comes with a two- year warranty.
All Plug in Drive Tech models has five regenerative modes to select from as well as reverse.
2) What is unique about the Plug in Drive Tech software technology?
Plug in Drive Tech software optimises the performance of the motorbike by both customising and managing the battery capacity and motor power. Bike performance can be modified based on customer demand without expensive hardware. This feature is particularly attractive for example to fleet operators who may wish to set speed or acceleration limits for safety.
Also Plug in Drive Tech optimises power control to obtain 92% efficiency from the battery. Compare this to other electric motorbikes which typically derive 80 to 85% efficiency.
3) Why are Plug in Drive Tech bikes the most reliable electric vehicles?
Our drive train system typically utilises 50% of the capacity of its advanced components which means that even with high intensity use, the bike is safeguarded against heat damage.
4) How is the Sprint model different?
We started with the premise of no emissions and no gasoline and added the most advanced technology to create Sprint by Plug in Drive Tech. The result is a bike that is highway legal, climbs hills easily and accelerates smoothly – all while saving energy and money.
Easy to ride Sprint by Plug in Drive Tech can perform your everyday needs- to work and back, running errands around town, or just riding around. With a km/64 mile per hour top speed, the Sprint knows no limitations to utility and speed.
5) What are some unique features of the Sprint by Plug in Drive Tech?
The Sprint comes with a battery management system to protect the batteries, premium shock absorbers for a smooth ride, 5 regenerative braking modes to select from and reverse gear, a connection box making it very easy to change the rear tyre even with the hub wheel. It also has LED lights for energy efficiency and safety features such as a GO indicator and a kill switch.
It is also practical with its internal charger leaving plenty of storage space in the trunk and finally a 3 meter spiral charging cord you can plug in anywhere!
6) Why is Sprint by Plug in Drive Tech ideal for fleet operators?
The Sprint is versatile: It will ride silently both outdoors and indoors at airports, stadiums- anywhere work demands. It accommodates two riders and has great low speed handing to use at walking speed.
The Sprint’s step through design means an entire fleet staff can easily ride it. Its easy to learn because the throttle controls all acceleration and braking so no clutch is required
It can be charged from any outlet in 3-5 hours and fast chargers are available.
Its connection box means that in case of a flat, tyres can easily be changed by fleet users easily even with the hub motor.
Like Hyundai, and most early Asian manufacturers it would seem Mountain Chen's dedication, persistence, and passionate enthusiasm is paying off. He seems to have incorporated more Western sourced component which should lift quality, and provide a more reliable spare parts supply. From the photo's and technical specifications, Mountain Chen's new range appears to be well finished and of a comparable quality with his more established rivals.
I have no idea if these products live up to the optimism of their claims. Therefore it would be really valuable if someone more knowledgeable, like John of CoMoCo was able to assess the products development and improvement.
I have not included pricing, as the real point of my post is an observation on the development of PRC traders, not extolling one product over another.
Any product links?
On paper - most things look good... The devil as always will be in the details - not in the marketing copy.
As a business venture until MC can figure out how to do business in a way that's acceptable to a US distributor that is prepared to properly support his products it's all just noise. In my opinion, it's not a clash of cultures but a basic decision of business model. With MC and XTreme the business model is basically "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap". That works well for commodities. Unfortunately it doesn't work as well for non-commodity items.
Of course, MC may have figured all that out and this may be the time he takes the world by storm. But I doubt it.
Assuming you get something that can be legally registered (not always the case - depends how you buy it) and are prepared to support it yourself then MC's bikes are certainly a way to go. But what you save in up front cost you will spend in time and possibly parts. You'll need to be a self-starter with a basic understanding of how EV's work. That's a perfectly acceptable trade-off for a lot of folks on this forum.
I wouldn't try selling them for a profit though...
John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.
Maybe if you are wondering how good these PlugIn Drive Tech electric scooters are, you should ask PlugIn Drive Tech!
http://www.plugindrivetech.com/index2.html
LeanMachines
I'm not sure that you're totally correct. The 'pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap'is very much a part of the PRC domestic trading culture. I agree that is an unacceptable business model for heavily regulated Western nations, but MC is not a sophisticated trader. We tend to judge PRC products largely by the exports of Western (or ROC) businesses operating in the PRC to exploit cheap labour and volume manufacture without all the capital intensive infrastructure of western production. These products benefit from western design and technology, supported by conventional western supply chain infrastructure.
Local manufacture sells primarily to the PRC market. This market has very different expectations. Price, not quality is the main driving force. To the PRC consumer, after years of prohibitively expensive communist crap, anything looks good, and with rapidly expanding wealth more buyers are rushing to producers like MC. Since the regulations are far more lax, quality is not an issue, but afford-ability is all.
This is the culture of this segment of PRC business model. This does not translate well to export. However, PRC products improve every year as the manufacturers become more familiar with Western expectations.
Absolutely! I absolutely agree! In fact as I have said elsewhere, to do business with a maker like Mountain Chen you must be ready to act as your own quality control, or employ an agent to supervise that he produces to your expectations, not his! This may cost more and no longer be the 'bargain' you thought.The western distributor must be experienced enough to be far more than just a distributor. If you imagine that a producer like MC will deliver the same standard of product and support as Honda, for 1/3 rd the price, then it you who are ridiculous, not him!
But those who do understand MC's foibles, have written saying his knowledge, standards, and understanding is growing every year.
As Leanm points out, the new vehicles MC is producing are,(presumably)in partnership with Israel's Tzahi Ziv of DZ Systems and IFI Motors, Yesim Erez, Plugin EV Technologies. (Former Global Director of Marketing for Vectrix) and David Dugas, Engineer.
The technology and marketing transfer from these guys may be what Mountain Chen requires to gain greater access and understanding of world markets.
Personally, I regard any vehicle that can't keep up with modern traffic as a road hazard, but these small EV's are no more dangerous than bicycles, and so I suppose we must learn to live with 'em and their self-righteous operators.
marcopolo
Sure - they may very well be great. The picture on that page is the bike that MC was pushing as the new model about 12 months ago. I've not seen one of them.
The top speed looks believable but I'd question the range estimates. Although kudos to them for taking a step in the right direction and quoting at speed. But we (as an industry) need to get away from quoting ranges at a constant speed - most power is consumed during acceleration so you need to take that into account. At Current Motor we're not quite there yet either in terms of how we transparently indicate expected real world ranges - but our real world range number does take a range of speeds and a range of different driving styles into account. This year we hope to have an independent 3rd party test our bike side-by-side with others in real world riding conditions.
BTW here's another vendor with that frame: http://www.xgpinc.com/consumer.html but with some HIGHLY optimistic claims (100 miles at 35mph - although there pack is 33% bigger 60Ah vs. 40Ah).
John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.