FUNTI's daily electric motorcycle market brief for September 21, 2026: raw material prices, overseas market regulation and China export data, compiled from public sources for importers, distributors and fleet operators.
FUNTI MARKET INTELLIGENCE · September 21, 2026
① Today's Highlights
- The China–US Kuala Lumpur joint arrangement is now on a countdown: MOFCOM's Department of American and Oceanian Affairs confirmed that the joint arrangement reached in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025 suspends certain tariff and non-tariff measures until November 10, 2026, including the US 24% reciprocal tariff and China's corresponding countermeasures, as well as the US 50% affiliate rule on export controls. Takeaway: November 10 is currently the hardest calendar deadline for our US business — open US orders, quotations under negotiation and USD receivables should all be prepared for two scenarios: extension or reinstatement. (Source: MOFCOM Department of American and Oceanian Affairs, 2026-05-20)
- US trade tools are shifting from "higher tariffs" to "import bans": on September 8 the US President signed three proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, prohibiting imports of listed Canadian motor-vehicle-related products, alcoholic beverages and dairy products from September 29, 2026, where these goods previously faced a 50% additional ad valorem duty; goods imported before September 29 but not yet entered for consumption remain subject to the previous rate. Takeaway: policy risk in North America is turning from "expensive" to "not allowed in at all", so channel planning for the US–Canada–Mexico direction must write entry-qualification risk into contracts, not just calculate duty. (Source: White House proclamations / Tsinghua PBCSF China–US trade dispute timeline, 2026-09-14)
- The local-port channel for e-motorcycle exports has been opened: Nanjing Sanye Jinying Motorcycle, the official electric motorcycle supplier to the Ducati team and the MotoE series, ships to 64 countries and regions, but packaging and port handling requirements previously prevented it from shipping from Nanjing's own port — goods had to be routed via Shanghai, raising short-haul transport and warehousing costs and disrupting shipment schedules. Jinling Customs, under Nanjing Customs, worked out a company-specific ("one enterprise, one policy") solution to open a local-port export channel for normally packaged electric motorcycles, paired with a "booked inspection" service. Takeaway: shipping e-motorcycles from a local port is something to be negotiated, not something inherently restricted to dangerous-goods channels — it is worth asking the local customs office. (Source: Chongqing Customs / General Administration of Customs, 2026-09-03)
② Raw Materials & FX
- LME copper rose for a fourth straight session: on September 18 the three-month copper contract closed at USD 14,562/t, up 0.68% (opened at USD 14,445/t, intraday high USD 14,572.5/t), a fourth consecutive daily gain and a weekly gain of about 2%; meanwhile available LME-registered copper stocks fell to 139,650 t. Takeaway: stronger overseas copper plus falling LME inventories mean motor enamel wire and oxygen-free copper wire prices are more likely to rise than fall in the near term, so motor quotes must keep copper headroom. (Source: Zheshang Securities / Sina Finance, 2026-09-18 to 09-20)
- LME aluminium held above USD 3,300: on September 18 three-month aluminium closed at USD 3,300/t, up 0.30%; SHFE aluminium's nearby close was RMB 24,400/t, up 0.74%, supported by the traditional peak season and low inventories. Takeaway: aluminium is firm both overseas and at home, so quotes for frames, wheels and other aluminium parts should no longer follow the earlier downtrend. (Source: cngold / Shanghai Metals Market, 2026-09-18)
- Lithium carbonate spot remains above futures: Mysteel's MMLC index shows the battery-grade evening benchmark on September 20 at RMB 130,250/t (range RMB 128,000–132,500/t) and the industrial-grade benchmark at RMB 127,750/t (range RMB 125,500–130,000/t); for comparison, the GFEX lithium carbonate front contract closed September 18 at RMB 127,160/t. Takeaway: a spot-over-futures structure shows the market is not optimistic about deferred months, so settling battery purchases on current spot prices is more prudent than locking forward months against the screen price. (Source: Mysteel MMLC / East Money, 2026-09-18 to 09-20)
- Steel social inventories kept destocking: SteelBank e-commerce data for September 21 shows national city inventories at 9.7369 million t, down 128,400 t (-1.30%) week on week across 37 cities and 126 warehouses; construction steel inventories were 5.0873 million t (-3.40%), while hot-rolled coil was 2.5416 million t (+0.75%), medium plate 795,000 t (+0.89%) and cold-rolled/galvanised 1.313 million t (+1.90%). Takeaway: destocking is happening in construction steel while flats are still building up, so frame steel has no near-term upward driver and near-term volumes can be locked at current prices. (Source: SteelBank, 2026-09-21)
- FX: September 19–20 was a weekend, and the September 21 USD/CNY central parity will be published at 09:15, not yet available when this brief was produced. The directly usable bank quotes are Bank of China's September 20 cash-remittance selling rates: EUR 100 at RMB 772.55 and GBP 100 at RMB 901.08. Takeaway: renminbi strength persists, so conversion returns on USD-quoted orders keep being squeezed, while euro-area and UK buyers are relatively better off — quote models should hold FX headroom by currency. (Source: Bank of China / Tencent News, 2026-09-20)
③ Overseas Markets
- Indonesia's CBU window is narrowing and CKD is being staked out early: VinFast plans to start electric motorcycle assembly at its completely-knocked-down (CKD) plant in Subang, West Java from 2027; its Indonesian e-motorcycle business head stated that every electric motorcycle currently on sale in Indonesia is a fully built unit (CBU) import. VinFast also opened 20 new official e-motorcycle dealerships in Indonesia on July 19–25, extending its retail network to Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Medan, Palembang and Makassar. Takeaway: the shift from CBU imports to local assembly in Indonesia has already been started by others, and the pure-CBU channel will not stay open for long. (Source: MarkLines, 2026-07-22)
- Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia show sharply different export curves: GACC statistics show China's Q1 2026 electric two-wheeler export values to Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia at RMB 64.6974 million (+617.50% year on year), RMB 43.5308 million (+25.70%) and RMB 38.1637 million (+34.16%) respectively. Takeaway: Myanmar is by far the steepest of the three — in markets highly dependent on imported refined fuel, high pump prices release replacement demand fastest. (Source: GACC / Caixin, 2026-04-20)
- The Philippines is a high-growth market starting from the demand side: industry estimates put its EV market at about USD 3.4 billion in 2025, rising to about USD 20.57 billion by 2034, a CAGR of about 19%–20% in 2026–2034; with a weak domestic vehicle and battery manufacturing base, imports dominate in the short term, and Chinese brands (BYD, Wuling, MG and others) accounted for more than 45% of 2025 volumes. Takeaway: the Philippines' growth comes from import substitution rather than local manufacturing, so the window for CBU and key components remains open. (Source: industry market analysis / Sohu Finance, 2026-03)
FUNTI · Taizhou Fangxiang Technology Co., Ltd.
Daily electric motorcycle market brief for importers, distributors and fleet operators. Figures are compiled from public market sources and industry associations; verify before commercial use.
