The government wants the owners of small motorcycles (also known as scooters or mopeds) to replace them with new, electric-powered models, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) announced yesterday in a press conference.
The government is aiming to remove a high number of these motorcycles, mostly running on two-stroke engines, from the streets, because the DSPA claims they account for a significant share of air pollution in Macau.
The DSPA is therefore offering owners MOP3,500 compensation for each eligible motorcycle that is replaced by a new electric version.
The subsidy will be provided through the Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Fund, with the government forecasting that it expects to invest somewhere between 9 and 20 million patacas in this trial project.
At the press conference, the deputy director of DSPA, Ip Kuong Lam, said that with this measure the government aims to reduce up to 10% of hydrocarbon emissions and up to 7% of carbon monoxide emissions, improving the air quality in Macau.
In addition to the MOP3,500 subsidy that the government is providing, vehicle owners who apply for this project will also be exempt from the two registration fees for the new vehicles, namely the MOP900 fee to issue a provisional license plate, and the MOP3,600 or 4,400 fee for issuing a formal license plate (according to the vehicle category).
Asked about DSPA’s expectations for the project, director Raymond Tam said that the bureau aims to attract the participation of between 10% and 30% of owners of these vehicles, a rate which translates to between 2,550 and 7,650 motorcycles.
Tam explained that this trial project comes after a previous project, implemented by DSPA in 2017, that aimed to reduce the number of two-stroke engine vehicles.
“Back in 2017, we had the successful participation of 52% of the vehicle owners. These were good results. Now we are targeting the remaining ones that are still in use, as well as other old-age motorcycles that fall outside of the current emission standards,” Tam said.
All motorcycles that were first licensed on or before June 30, 2009, regardless of the type of engine (two- or four-stroke) are eligible for the program.
The program starts on March 1 and runs until December 31 this year, with Tam adding that this is a trial project aiming to ascertain the level of interest from owners in trading in their old motorcycles for new, more environmentally friendly vehicles.
“If this pilot project gathers interest and proves successful, we can consider extending it in time or to other types of vehicles,” he said, while also questioned on environmental solutions for heavy-duty diesel vehicles.
Plenty of options
Asked by the Times about the lack of options for motorcycle owners and difficulties related to the charging of electric scooters, Tam responded that “there are currently 22 models of electric motorcycles on sale in Macau. We believe that with the [more widespread] usage of this type of vehicle, more models from other manufacturers might also come. The goal [of the project] is precisely to make the use of these vehicles common.”
Regarding battery charging, Tam added that the DSPA has been working with the Transport Bureau (DSAT) to provide more charging stations, especially in public car parks.
“We have been working on this also together with manufacturers and importers who have placed also battery-swapping [stations] in at least nine locations to facilitate the battery charging,” Tam said.
According to the DSAT website, there are currently 10 different manufacturers offering a total of 18 e-scooter models in Macau.
Brands available include Blueshark, Doohan, Ecooter, Mega, Moden, Ninebot, Niu, Sunra, Sun-ron and Tromox.
All the brands feature products made in mainland China and which are barely known to the general public with the exception of Niu, Ninebot (formerly Segway), and Ecooter, which have gained high market share worldwide.
Shanghai-based Blueshark has also already seen some recognition beyond borders, but the others remain mostly unknown, which does not contribute to public trust in the products.
Worldwide, famous brands in addition to Niu include the UK’s Super Coco, the world-famous Italian Vespa in its “Elettrica” version, German BMW C-Evolution, Spanish Rieju and French Peugeot, as well as some big Chinese manufacturers like Lifan which have international recognition but are not yet available on the Macau market.
User experience not so pleasant
One of the bigger disadvantages of electric scooters lies in the need to charge the batteries. Unlike electric cars and bigger electric motorcycles (also not yet popular in Macau), scooters mostly use removable battery packs. This means that, to charge the batteries, users need to physically remove the battery packs from the vehicle and either take them home to charge or, if that is not possible, swap the batteries in the designated public car parks. Some scooters are sold with rented batteries that allow users to simply swap a discharged one for another fully changed battery and continue to ride.
Each battery pack (most scooters have two) generally weighs 10 to 12 kilograms, which leaves many users disappointed and reluctant to swap combustion engines for the electric system.
In Macau, only some public car parks are equipped with battery charging or swapping stations, and these are provided by only two of the brands (Blueshark and Ecooter).
Niu scooters allow both the removal of the battery pack to charge, or the motorcycle itself being plugged into a power socket, a feature which has helped make the scooters into market leaders.
According to figures provided to the Times by Niu’s local representative, the brand has already sold over 200 of Niu’s scooters, including the N1S, NGT, NQI Sport and U1 Pro models.
Another disadvantage that electric scooters face compared to gasoline-powered versions is that most of the storage space under the seat is lost, as the space is used for batteries and power cords.
