Helmets, a seemingly small business, are gradually becoming a hot spot in the market.
"Parabola" of helmet market
The policy orientation has led to a sharp rise in demand for helmets and a shortage of short-term production supply in the market, which naturally led to hoarding. When consumer sentiment is transmitted to the industrial chain, raw material suppliers, helmet manufacturers, and dealers in the second, third, and fourth tier markets will all raise prices.
Liang Zebiao, the head of DYN helmet production brand, said that after the introduction of the "One Helmet One Belt" policy, the demand for helmets increased by 30% - 50% than usual. The price of upstream raw materials rose rapidly. The price of ABS materials needed for helmet production rose from 13000 yuan/ton to 15000 yuan/ton, and the corresponding price also increased.
Poor quality helmets emerge after the market cools down
After the market cools down, the price of helmets gradually returns to normal. In the three wholesale markets in South China, the price of helmets sold for 70 or 80 yuan before the new regulations were introduced has now dropped to 30 or 40 yuan. This makes people ask, can the quality of the helmet, which sells for 30 to 40 yuan, reach the standard?
According to the national motorcycle production standards, a helmet usually consists of a shell, a buffer layer, comfort pads, wearing devices, goggles and other parts. The shell and buffer layer are the key parts of the helmet to absorb collision energy and protect the head from injury, while other configurations will have a direct impact on the protective effect of the helmet.
At present, most large enterprises in China produce helmets and safety helmets with ABS materials with good impact resistance as raw materials, and the price per ton is more than 10000 yuan. However, many factories choose to use 3000 yuan a ton of "recycled materials", that is, waste plastic waste to produce helmets. The single cost of this kind of helmet blank does not exceed 1 yuan, and the price of the finished helmet can naturally be as low as 20 or 30 yuan. The Weekly Quality Report of CCTV once exposed that some manufacturers in Zhejiang used "recycled materials" to produce low-quality helmets. After being tested by professional institutions, the helmets produced in this way have no safety at all, the qualification rate is almost zero, and can not play any protective role at critical moments.
It is understood that at present, strict production standards have been formulated for motorcycles and bicycle helmets in China. Domestic motorcycle helmets need to pass the national mandatory 3C certification. Taking Motorcycle Passenger Helmets GB811-2010 as an example, it has made relevant provisions in terms of structure, size, protection range, quality, vision, goggles, penetration resistance, etc. The bicycle helmet is produced according to the national standard of Safety Requirements and Test Methods for Sports Helmets Bicycle, Skateboard and Roller Skating Helmets (GB 24429-2009). Only for Electric vehicle helmet Relevant national departments have not issued corresponding production standards.
In addition, consumers are generally lack of helmet quality and safety awareness. Mr. Jin from Shijiazhuang said that he did not have high requirements for purchasing helmets, Ms. Li said that "the price of helmets is too expensive now, and we will buy them when it drops to 40 or 50 yuan".
