EZGO Technologies Ltd. (EZGO)

Company website 2020 Financial Report Stock Analysis

15000

Square Meters

lithium battery production facility

350000

Units of E-Bikes

sold by 2025 is EZGO’s goal

50000

Smart Charging Piles

are planned to be sold by 2025

View Our Analysis

The Path to Drawdown: E-bikes

Electric bicycles come with a motor powered by a small battery, making it easier to traverse steep hills or cover long distances than conventional bicycles. E-bikes are the most environmentally friendly means of motorized transportation in the world today.

Compared to combustion engine vehicles, e-bikes emit far fewer emissions. But they’re not emissions-free: the manufacturing process for their batteries lead to higher CO2 emissions than traditional bikes, and the battery gets its charge from the nearest outlet, regardless of whether that’s coal-based or solar-based.

Nevertheless, e-bikes are a low-emission solution to congested cities around the world. They’ve already been widely adopted in China since the 1990s, when that country’s booming cities implemented strict anti-pollution rules.

Project Drawdown envisions a significant increase in the use of e-bikes between now and 2050:

<::marker> In 2018, e-bike riders traveled ~586 billion km, mainly in China
<::marker> By 2050, this should increase to 3.4 trillion km per year
<::marker> That’s a 5.65% CAGR between 2018 - 2050

If this scenario is achieved, e-bikes can help reduce up to 4.1 gigatons of CO2 emissions.

About

EZGO Technologies Ltd. (stock ticker: EZGO) designs, manufactures, rents, and sells e-bicycles and e-tricycles through their subsidiaries in China. They also rent and sell lithium batteries, smart charging piles for e-bicycles and other electronic devices. In addition, the company engages in the development, operation, and maintenance of software related to e-bicycle and battery rental services. The company was founded in 2014, went public in the US in January 2021 and is headquartered in Changzhou, China.

EZGO's Role in Drawdown

On the product side, EZGO offers e-bikes, e-mopeds and e-tricycles manufactured by their subsidiaries Dilang and Cenbird. These vehicles are mainly sold in China, but are also exported to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and North America. E-bike sales accounted for about 66% of their revenue (p. 36) in 2020.

Beyond selling these products, EZGO also rents e-bikes, sells, rents out, and matches sellers and buyers of lithium battery cells, which accounted for the rest of their revenue in 2020. They also operate 1,200 smart charging stations in several Chinese provinces, but these haven’t contributed much to their overall revenue yet.

Eventually, EZGO is planning to build a short-distance Internet-of-Things (IoT) transportation network that integrates sales, rental, charging, battery exchanges and other maintenance services, providing short-distance commuters with a comprehensive package of products and services.

EZGO: What We Like

We are enthusiastic about EZGO’s ambition to be a meaningful player in China’s deep e-bike market. Between 2021 and 2025, they’re aiming to sell 350,000 units of e-bikes and deploy 10,000 smart charging piles during that period, which they estimate will lead them to occupy 1% of China’s market.

What We Want to See Improve

Develop a Circular Economy Business Model

We’re excited that EZGO is contributing to the expansion of China’s e-bike market. But manufacturing and selling electric alternatives to conventional fossil fuel-based transportation is only one side of the equation in a sustainable transition. The world also needs more companies that recycle lithium batteries and motors when they’re at the end of their life. We urge EZGO to develop these processes and incorporate them into their expansion plans for 2025.

Disclose Sustainability Information

As of now, EZGO lacks any sort of sustainability information. As investors become more concerned about the carbon footprint of their portfolio, they will demand greater transparency around companies’ emissions, energy use, and sustainability initiatives. We want EZGO to get on board with this trend.

Set Emissions Reduction Targets

Along with enhancing sustainability disclosures, EZGO should also set targets for reducing their GHG emissions. As they expand their e-bicycle production, there’s an opportunity to switch to China’s large renewable energy supply so as to lower EZGO’s direct emissions from their operations. Ultimately, we’d like to see EZGO work toward becoming zero emissions by the year 2050.

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Allocated		Company	Description
0.12%		Niu Technologies Inc. (NIU)	Niu Technologies makes bicycles, motorcycles and scooters that are all powered by electricity. A key solution for decarbonizing dense, urban areas
0.02%		EZGO Technologies Ltd. (EZGO)	EZGO designs and makes e-bikes and e-trikes in China. They also sell batteries and charging stations for e-bikes. They're helping electrify transportation