[photopress:Folding_E_Bicycle.jpg,full,alignright]This story involves electric bicycles. Honest. Japan’s NEC Electronics aims to double its sales in China to $845 million by fiscal 2010 by boosting its operations in the market, which is expected to grow more than 10% a year.
The chip maker plans to double its workforce in China. This includes doubling the number of design engineers from the current 400.
The report from Nikkei, the Japanese financial newspaper, is that chip sales are expected to expand in China on rapidly growing demand for semiconductors used for air conditioners and, it states, electric bicycles.
The company also aims to raise its sales to Chinese home electronics makers to nearly 50% of its total sales in China in the next four years. Currently it stands at 35%.
Getting back to the idea of electric bicycles. The place to get information on something like this is Alibaba and, sure enough, there is a wide range of electric bicycles. There are at least 300 different models — there may be more but you get tired of counting — and some of them look very snazzy. A favorite would be the folding E-Bicycle from Yonkang Juxiang Vehicle which is shown here. Ideal for nipping to the station or pub.
In the UK Electric bike prices range from $400 for a low-end lead acid model to over $4,000 for a luxury, top of the range, Lithium-Ion powered bike. A guess would be on steep hills you would have to pedal a bit.
The battery will take you about 15 miles on a single charge and the battery takes between four and six hours charging. Top speed is 15 mph. It has to be the way to go.
Source: Reuters