Buying batteries from China.

[onmebike]

This is an interesting read and clues as to the manufacturers discussed appear to be in their geographical location should you have knowledge of mainland China.
It's too big too attach as pdf so I've attached as a zip file for downloading, hopefully.

 

[Alex728]

A very good read particularly as I am of Oriental ancestry (my family originally come from Malaysia) and this culture, just like batteries, has many positive and negative points. I will send it to my relatives - not all of them are working in high tech businesses, but they will recognise the cultural issues

Some bits are undoubtedly linked to Chinese culture, but to be fair I've encountered (and unfortunately even worked in) in British companies which have been equally badly managed and dysfunctional with regard to product quality (perhaps another reason why so much manufacturing work has gone across to China...)

Plus one common thread seemed to be that some of these companies were funded by Universities with very young staff, and its often hard to instil a customer service ethos into younger people irrespective of their nationality as they unsurprisingly have other priorities in life than the "boring" bits of business like quality assurance, even if they have senior roles within the company! You often see that in bike shops and other small businesses in England owned by younger people...

Also it seemed obvious that the small businesses with low volume orders often get a raw deal, but isn't that the same the world over? business is ruthlessly competitive and money talks...

 

[flecc]

None of this surprises me, in batteries as well as many other things, the quality range of Chinese products is more extreme that anywhere else I know of, from the very best to worthless junk.

That's why I so often warn about the cheap e-bikes that crop up under many different names. The batteries are the most suspect part and expensive to replace, assuming one is lucky enough for them to still be available when replacement is needed.
.

 

[brucehawsker]

As an old China hand having bought stuff as varied as music stands to specially finished coloured paper, and having part owned an envelope making factory, I agree this is an excellent read. In my expereince, the good bike manufactuers have good relationships (often through family) with their sub suppliers including batteries. But I agree a visit to the battery plant is essential..... and fun..... hey, what is wrong with Karaoke - after work....