Guide · 2026
Chinese e-bikes in Switzerland: the two categories, and what they change
An e-bike is not a single regulatory object: Switzerland has two kinds, and the line between them decides everything — age, licence, helmet, plate, and even the right to use a cycle path. On top of that comes a particularity few buyers know about: the European Union imposes anti-dumping duties on Chinese e-bikes, whereas Switzerland does not. Here is what the texts say, and what they do not say.
Two categories, and one question to ask: 25 or 45 km/h
The "slow e-bike" assists up to 25 km/h with a motor of at most 500 W. Under Swiss law, it is a light moped within the meaning of Art. 18 let. b no. 1 OETV. No plate, no registration certificate, and from age 16 no driving licence; between 14 and 16, a category M licence is required (Art. 5 para. 2 let. d and Art. 6 para. 1 let. f OAC).
The "fast e-bike" assists up to 45 km/h with a motor of at most 1 kW, and is a fast moped within the meaning of Art. 18 let. a OETV. Here, a category M licence is compulsory for everyone, from age 14, with no age exemption.
This line is not administrative, it is physical: it is the speed at which the assistance cuts out. A bike sold as "25 km/h" and reprogrammed to go faster does not become a fast e-bike, it becomes a non-compliant vehicle. Art. 177 para. 2 OETV in fact requires that maximum power and speed be protected against tampering.
The 25 km/h bike: few obligations, but they exist
A helmet is not compulsory on a slow e-bike (Art. 3b para. 2 let. g OCR). It is recommended, which is not the same thing, and nobody will fine you for not wearing one.
Lighting, on the other hand, is compulsory at all times, day and night: white light at the front, red light at the rear, switched on even in bright sunshine. This obligation came into force on 1 April 2022 and applies to all e-bikes.
For the rest, the rules of the road are those for bicycles: cycle path where there is one, roadway otherwise, never the pavement.
The 45 km/h bike: yellow plate, helmet, mirror, speedometer
The fast e-bike has to be registered. It needs a number plate and an annual sticker valid until 31 May, the sticker certifying the compulsory third-party liability insurance (Art. 90 OAC).
A helmet is compulsory (Art. 3b para. 1 and 3 OCR), at least one left-hand exterior mirror is required (Art. 179b para. 1 OETV), and a speedometer has been compulsory for new registrations since 1 April 2024. Vehicles already on the road have until 1 April 2027 to comply.
On motor power alone, without pedalling, speed remains limited to 30 km/h. And the fast e-bike, unlike the slow one, is subject to the traffic bans that apply to motor vehicles.
What Europe calls a bicycle, and what it calls a moped
In the European Union, an electrically assisted bicycle remains a bicycle as long as the motor does not exceed 250 W of continuous rated power and the assistance cuts out at 25 km/h: this is the EPAC definition, which excludes it from the type-approval scope of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013. Beyond that, the vehicle moves into category L1e-B, the same family as a moped.
Hence a discreet but real gap with Switzerland: our 500 W applies to a 25 km/h bike, whereas the European limit is 250 W. A model that is perfectly legal here may therefore not match the European definition of a bicycle.
Crossing the border with a 45 km/h e-bike registered in Switzerland raises questions of type approval, plates and insurance that the texts do not settle clearly. We would rather say so than invent an answer: before a trip on a fast e-bike to France, Germany, Italy or Austria, check with FEDRO or the authorities of the country you are visiting.
The price: Europe taxes Chinese e-bikes, Switzerland does not
Since 2019, the European Union has applied anti-dumping and countervailing duties to e-bikes originating in China. These measures were renewed for five years by two implementing regulations of 23 January 2025, applicable from 25 January 2025. Rates vary widely from one producer to another.
Switzerland, for its part, abolished its industrial customs duties on 1 January 2024 for chapters 25 to 97 of the tariff, and SECO states that Switzerland does not in general apply anti-dumping or countervailing measures, unlike most of its trading partners.
The practical consequence for the buyer: the reflex of ordering from within the EU because "it is cheaper" deserves to be checked model by model, all the more so because Swiss VAT of 8.1% is added on import and, since 1 January 2025, the duty-free allowance for travellers has been lowered to 150 francs per person per day. An e-bike always exceeds it.
What really decides it remains the warranty and servicing. A bike bought from a Swiss dealer is repaired by that dealer; a bike ordered from abroad goes back abroad.
What we do not publish
Fine amounts for a derestricted bike circulate all over the web, but we have found no official source that sets them. We therefore do not repeat them. What is certain, however, is that a derestricted bike loses its type approval and is ridden illegally, with the insurance consequences that implies.
Nor do we publish a numerical price comparison between Switzerland and the EU for the same model: no serious public data allows one to be established today. The day it exists, it will be here, with its source.