In a confusing announcement, eBay has introduced new plans to block the sale of e-bikes by certain users on its UK site. However, the eligibility criteria and details of the program both remain unclear.
The ban will come into effect at the end of this month.
According to the BBCThe new eBay system is designed to prevent the sale of electric bicycles by private sellers as opposed to businesses and commercial users. Certain “eligible business sellers” will still be allowed to offer e-bikes on the platform, though the company did not share details about how companies would meet that requirement.
The motivation for the ban appears to stem from concerns about fire safety, although it is not clear how the new rules will affect fire concerns.
There were 155 reported e-bike fires in the UK last year. Estimates put the total number of electric bikes in the UK at between 500,000 to 1,000,000. In the same year, 19,256 vehicle fires were reported out of 33.5 million vehicles in the country, resulting in more vehicle fires (0.05%) compared to electric bicycle fires (0.01-0.02%).
eBay's move appears to be voluntary, with no current regulation in the UK relating to companies running private sales of electric bikes on their platforms.
EBay has not announced any similar ban in its other markets, including the US.
Electric bike fires have become a growing concern over the past few years, often grabbing the headlines despite the low number of fires compared to the vast number of bikes on the road.
However, the e-bike industry has been seeking increased voluntary measures to improve the quality of battery manufacturing methods and to increase the practice of obtaining internationally recognized safety certifications. Many e-bike battery fires can be traced back to low-cost models that cut back on production to keep prices down. It's very rare for properly designed e-bike batteries to catch fire, and these days most e-bikes come with batteries that are certified to be safe and even fully submersible.
US cities like NYC and many college campuses and other organizations have created their own local regulations regarding e-bike battery safety. National laws have been proposed but held back by political competition.
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