The "Financial Investigation" program continuously receives consumer complaints that some merchants, seeking profits, have ignored national standards and regulatory bans after being exposed and rectified during the CCTV 315 Gala.

They continue to illegally modify e-bikes and rent or sell so-called "ultra-long range, powerful" over-standard lithium batteries, posing safety risks to life and property.

Danger zone!

Haluan and multiple swapping stations illegally rent over-standard batteries.

After this year's 315 Gala exposure, market supervision authorities seriously investigated implicated companies.

However, on live-streaming rooms of e-commerce platforms, hosts again promote over-spec, over-standard lithium batteries for e-bikes.

Wuhan Haluan Swapping Station, Tailong e-bike swapping station, Nanjing Yuanji swapping station, Nanning individual shops, and rider stations also illegally rent lithium batteries exceeding the 48V national standard limit for e-bikes.

Using mini-programs of these rental swapping brands, reporters checked battery specifications of these swapping cabinets.

Results showed that the lithium batteries rented out are basically 60V and 72V over-standard cells, with no compliant batteries (≤48V) available.

Using these over-standard batteries also requires modifying the e-bike.

But私自 modifying original wiring and installing illegal batteries can easily lead to e-bike fires in case of overcharging, overcurrent, or short circuits.

At the Nanning Haluan Swapping Service Center, the reporter paid a 20 RMB modification fee.

Within minutes, staff completed the e-bike modification and installed an over-standard 60V lithium battery.

In different cities but at the same Haluan swapping service centers, the reporter successfully modified e-bikes twice and rented over-standard lithium batteries from Haluan.

The reporter got in touch with several swapping brands including Nanning Wanluton Swapping, Wuhan Tuchi Swapping, and Nanning Jida Swapping.

During communications, it was discovered that almost all batteries these brands currently deploy are over-standard lithium cells.

Swapping rental companies told reporters that after the 315 expose, regulators strictly rectified the market, so they kept a low profile for a while.

Now it's peak season for e-bike rentals and battery leasing, which is a good time for these companies to make money.

Driven by profit temptation, these swapping companies have secretly placed over-standard, illegal lithium batteries back into cabinets to attract customers.

Moreover, to expand the market and promote illegal batteries, these companies actively assist owners in modifying e-bikes to fit over-standard cells.

To evade market supervision, these illegal swapping brands label their cabinets as providing swapping services for e-motorcycles, while in fact they illegally rent over-standard batteries for e-bikes.

Executives say "the 315 heat is over".

They secretly produce over-standard lithium batteries.

Some merchants produce and sell another type of over-standard e-bike lithium battery, known in the industry as "large cell", with voltage far exceeding the 48V national limit.

At Guangxi Hongsheng New Energy Co., Ltd., the person in charge told reporters that they purchase cells externally and assemble over-standard "large cell" lithium batteries.

These batteries can be adapted to all e-bike brands on the market; as long as customers request, they can produce them.

The executive said their company not only sells online and customizes over-standard "large cell" batteries for individual users but also supplies illegal over-standard battery products to some e-bike rental swapping brands.

Further investigation found that Wuhan Wanzhongle Power Co., Ltd. is also producing such "large cell" lithium batteries.

Staff told reporters that these batteries can be used in both e-bikes and e-motorcycles.

At another Qingmiao Battery Assembly Factory, the executive said the heat from this year's 315 expose has passed.

Production and sales of these over-standard "large cell" batteries are booming, with output increasing two or three times this year.

CCTV exposes illegal battery underground factories.

Part of retired NEV batteries illegally modified and flow into market.

Some practitioners revealed that retired power batteries from NEVs are also being dismantled, refurbished, and flowing into the e-bike market.

These are commonly known as "dismantled" or "cascade" batteries.

Data shows that among all e-bike fires, about 33% are caused by modified battery fires.

Among modified battery fires, about 80% of cells come from retired NEV power batteries.

China's "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles" Article 22 clearly prohibits this ↓.

Through leads from online live streams, reporters found a remote industrial park in Jiangnan District, Nanning.

Dozens of workers were assembling batteries inside the factory area.

A salesperson told reporters their company is Shanghai Huirong Renewable Energy Co., Ltd., with one main business being recycling and cascade utilization of retired NEV power batteries.

In conversations, the salesperson said that in January 2024, Shanghai Huirong Renewable Energy was recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as a fifth-batch enterprise meeting the "Specification Conditions for the Comprehensive Utilization Industry of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles".

But national regulations clearly prohibit using retired NEV power batteries for e-bikes.

The person in charge admitted that most of the retired cells they dismantle from NEVs are refurbished into e-bike batteries.

They are doing an illegal business.

There is also another type of enterprise that only sells cells dismantled from retired NEV power batteries to the market.

These companies know these cells are strictly forbidden to be used as e-bike battery materials, yet they still secretly produce and make huge profits.

Shenzhen Zhongtou New Energy Co., Ltd. dismantles cells from EVs for sale.

Manager Zhang told reporters that their dismantled cells can be used in two-wheel and three-wheel electric vehicles.

Manager Zhang admitted that evading supervision is the top priority in this business.

Therefore, their company's warehouse and dismantling factory are not in the same place; even different cell products are shipped from different warehouses.

Led by Manager Zhang, the reporter bypassed towns and took mountain roads, driving over 20 kilometers from the city to reach the dismantling factory hidden in a mountain hollow.

To dodge supervision, the dismantling plant was deliberately covered with tents outside.

Inside was a completely different scene: large quantities of retired NEV power batteries were neatly stacked on the ground, and workers were dismantling them layer by layer.

The factory area was filled with the sound of electric saws and milling machines.

Thus, retired NEV power batteries, after being dismantled, stripped, degummed, packed, and a series of processes, eventually become raw materials for over-standard e-bike lithium batteries and flow into the market.