Enterprising China exporter sells car-replacing rural electric pedicabs to US, bemoans profit levels same as selling clothes
- Small China counytryside vehicle can carry a tonne of cargoes
- Become a sensation in US towns, convenient to use, easy to park
A 25-year-old man from China has trended on mainland social media for selling electric pedicabs – which are popular in rural parts of the country – to customers in the United States where they are rare.
Called san beng zi in Mandarin, the small vehicle can carry cargoes weighing a tonne or several people on an uncovered trailer.
The vehicles can travel tens of kilometres on a full charge.
Luo Hao graduated from a Shanghai university in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and gained a master’s degree in finance from a university in Britain in the summer of 2023.
While he was researching business opportunities last year, Luo saw videos filmed by a Chinese woman living in the US who had bought a san beng zi for her American father-in-law as a Christmas gift.
The father-in-law was amazed by the electric pedicab which was bought for US$600 but cost much more to be shipped from China and transported to their home.