FUNTI's daily electric motorcycle market brief for September 23, 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 23, 2026
① Today's Highlights
- Thailand plans to tie auto excise-tax incentives to localisation: the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) indicated on 10 September that it intends to restructure the automobile excise tax so that excise duty on fully imported EVs rises, while models using locally produced parts enjoy more favourable rates; the final uplift and other details are still under study and the policy has not been formally issued. Takeaway: Thailand is shifting from "subsidising imports" to "rewarding localisation" — the window for pure CBU exports to Thailand is narrowing, raising the value of CKD/SKD kits and local assembly (Caixin, 2026-09-11).
- Africa's e-mobility operator is localising ahead of Chinese suppliers: Dubai-based Spiro, which runs electric two-wheelers and battery-swap services in Africa, has partnered with Yadea Group to source electric two-wheelers for its African markets; Spiro's founder explicitly wants Chinese partners to move beyond exporting whole vehicles and parts and to invest locally, and has set a 90% local-content target for parts by 2027. Spiro currently operates in 7 African countries, with more than 130,000 electric motorcycles on the road and over 2,500 battery-swap stations. Takeaway: competition in Africa is moving from "selling vehicles" to "local manufacturing plus fleet operations" — following leading operators on the ground is faster to scale than building dealers alone (Caixin, 2026-09-20).
② Raw Materials & FX
- Lithium carbonate (spot): on 22 September, the SCI99 reference price for battery-grade lithium carbonate was RMB 134,000/t and industrial-grade RMB 130,000/t; CBC Metal's national average for industrial grade was RMB 130,900/t (down RMB 100 day on day). Against RMB 156,000/t on 1 September, spot has retreated about 14% from its high; however, futures rose for two consecutive sessions on 21—22 September, with spot flattening while the futures curve leads — the "wait for a further drop" window is closing. Takeaway: battery procurement should lock volumes in tranches at prevailing spot prices rather than betting on a one-way decline (SCI99 / CBC Metal, 2026-09-22).
- Copper: on 22 September the Yangtze River spot 1# copper average was RMB 112,560/t, up RMB 1,660 on the day, with the copper premium widening to b1330—b1370; the SHFE copper 2610 contract closed at RMB 111,620/t, up RMB 400, as tight deliverable supply drove spot premiums sharply higher; SHFE copper inventories had risen to 56,073 t by 18 September (+1,293 t). Takeaway: there is almost no room to negotiate on enamel-coated wire and oxygen-free copper wire — motor quotations must build in headroom for higher copper prices (SMM / Shilv Wang / China Cable Net, 2026-09-22).
- Aluminium: on 22 September the Yousebao Yangtze aluminium average was RMB 24,260/t, down RMB 60, and the SHFE aluminium 2611 contract closed at RMB 24,240/t, down RMB 65 (-0.27%); LME aluminium stood at USD 3,263/t, down USD 27. Inventories, however, kept tightening: SHFE aluminium warrants fell 8,732 t in a single day to 169,395 t on 22 September. Takeaway: copper is strong while aluminium is weak — aluminium parts should not be repriced linearly off a single day's decline (Shilv Wang / SMM, 2026-09-22).
- Steel: on 22 September Mysteel's indices showed MySpic Composite at 123.01 (+0.11%), rebar at 131.53 (+0.27%) and hot-rolled coil at 118.02 (-0.06%); the rebar futures contract closed at RMB 3,123/t (+0.06%); in the spot market, Shanghai Yonggang HRB400E Φ25 was quoted at RMB 3,270/t and Beijing Hegang Φ18 at RMB 3,110/t. Takeaway: plate products are still building inventory while construction steel is firm — lock frame steel volumes at prevailing prices for near-term needs (Mysteel / SCI99, 2026-09-22).
- FX: the RMB central parity against the USD was fixed at 6.7459 on 22 September, 28 basis points stronger than 6.7487 on 21 September; same-day euro/RMB was 7.7059, 100 yen/RMB 4.2794 and HKD 0.85974. Bank of China's forward FX rates for 22 September put the one-year USD mid-rate at 649.100, continuing to fall from 649.595 on 19 September. The 23 September fixing is due at 09:15 and had not been published when this report was issued. Takeaway: the RMB remains strong and settlement proceeds on USD-quoted orders keep being squeezed; euro-area and Japanese buyers are relatively advantaged, so quotation models should hold currency-specific buffers (CFETS / Bank of China, 2026-09-22).
③ Overseas Markets
- Thailand's two-wheeler market is accelerating on policy support: MarkLines data show EV registrations up 55.6% year on year in June and up 73.8% in H1 2026; the Federation of Thai Industries has raised its 2026 motorcycle output forecast to 2.05 million units. Takeaway: subsidies and localisation requirements are being tightened at the same time — Thailand is one of the few Southeast Asian markets with both volume and price growth, but reliance on local content will only grow (MarkLines, 2026-07/08).
- India's electric two-wheeler policy window is now formally longer: the Indian government has extended its PM E-DRIVE e-mobility scheme to March 2028, with two-wheelers among its core supported categories. Takeaway: policy certainty for India's electric two-wheeler market has been extended by nearly two years — upgrade India from "watch list" to "evaluate list" and start with access and certification groundwork (MarkLines, 2026-08-14).
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.
