Daimler to target China's electric bike market

Daimler AG’s (DAI.ETR) Smart division plans to begin selling an electric bicycle next year, entering a growing Chinese market in which international competitors like BMW AG (BMW.ETR), Toyota Motor Corp’s (TM.NYSE) Lexus and Volkswagen AG (VOW.ETR) are also showing interest, the Wall Street Journal reported. All three of those firms have displayed electric bikes and motorcycles at recent auto shows but have yet to disclose plans for volume production or sales. Chinese consumers have embraced electric bicycles in recent years as a cheap, convenient alternative to cars, and the country is now home to as many as 120 million, by some estimates. Daimler’s Smart division, which is best known for its matchbox-sized cars, displayed a concept version of its electric bicycle, created by a Beijing-based designer, at the Paris auto show last year.