I’m sure that if you see the fine print, this means that pedal-assist ebikes that have 250W motor and are limited to 25kph (15mph) are considered bicycles. Something like a Surron is still considered a motorbike and needs to be registerated, insured, needs a licence and is only allowed to be driven on the roads among cars - as they should.
That’s not a fine print, that’s a definition for ebikes. Surron is 100% a motorbike. They don’t even look like bicycles and never targeted the bicycle market.
It’s a spectrum and the limits are quite arbitrary. Plenty of people would agree that Surron is a motorbike, but some of those same people want to be able to drive without pedaling, have more powerful motor than 250W, go faster than 25kph or all of the above.
Sounds exactly how it was regulated in Germany, except for the license I think. It’s pretty much handled the same as a moped, which I think is totally fair.
Don’t you need a licence for moped in Germany? In Finland you need one unless you’re born before 1980 I think. Same with motorcycles.
According to the article, those limits are regulated on EU level. Which also makes perfect sense, since that allows for a single market of e-bikes.