Nearly 18,000 unlicensed or illegal electric bikes and freight tricycles were confiscated in Shenzhen during a crackdown on the vehicles that ended on Tuesday. Only 60 belonged to delivery workers, police said at a news conference.

The vehicles impounded in the two-week operation were either breaking transportation laws or had been illegally modified, police said.

The action mainly targeted illegal electric bikes that ferried passengers, rather than the courier industry, and was needed to address the growing problem of illegal electronic trunks, said Liu Xiaoding, head of transport police command center.

The campaign identified registration problems for the courier industry. Shenzhen police said they will add 5,000 vehicles to the existing quota of 13,000 registered electric bikes and freight tricycles for courier industry.

The next step is to crack down on manufacturers, retailers and maintenance stores that deal in substandard electric bikes and freight tricycles, Shenzhen police said.

Authorities are also planning to promote new-energy freight vehicles for package delivery.