Nearly 1,000 Electric Buses Grounded Due to Battery Degradation; Court Orders Manufacturer to Pay ¥64.44 Million in Compensation

Dongguan Bus, the largest public bus operator in Dongguan, and its subsidiaries have filed a lawsuit against vehicle supplier Dongguan Zhongqi Hongyuan Automobile Co., Ltd., seeking approximately RMB 550 million in compensation after nearly 1,000 electric buses were taken out of service due to severe battery degradation and drastically reduced range. In its first-instance ruling, the court ordered Zhongqi Hongyuan to pay RMB 64.4435 million in compensation for operational losses and to continue honoring its eight-year warranty obligation. Between 2018 and 2019, Zhongqi Hongyuan delivered 1,196 “Hongyuan” brand all-electric buses equipped with lithium manganese oxide batteries to multiple bus companies in Dongguan. Starting in 2021, these vehicles began experiencing battery failures. As of January 2025, 938 of them had been withdrawn from service. Drivers reported that while the buses were rated for a range of nearly 400 kilometers, their actual range was only about 140 kilometers—dropping even further when air conditioning was used, making it difficult to complete two round trips on routes exceeding 60 kilometers each way, severely disrupting operations.