Sturmey Archer RX-RK5 IGH update:
I had a short email exchange with Kyle at Bolton ebikes and he indicated that Bikonit (I assume that includes Leili) are working on an alternative IGH option. He has had discussions with China about the SA IGH and has seen photos but nothing is being offered at this time. It seems that neither Leili or Bikonit are offering the MD 1000 with IGH at the moment so they are taking this seriously. Again, I suggest MD 1000 owners contact their seller agent and register a complaint about the SA IGH. If it isn't a current problem and/or your not riding much it will become an issue when you put some miles on the bike. I received a message from my agent at Leili indicating that they are currently testing a 14 speed inner hub drive and will have the test results in a month or so. Although I received no indication of brand, the 14 speed might indicate it is the Rohloff E14 or a variant of that IGH. That would be very interesting ...
Mine SA IGH was fine for the first few hundred miles and I believe that was due to my riding it using mostly pedal assist (level 3 or 4) and, I seldom used the throttle. I recently started using both throttle and pedaling and although that is a really fun way to ride, it will cause the IGH to wear quickly and once it starts slipping gears, that damage can't be undone.
I do believe that IGH and belt drives are the future of ebikes but until there is a reliable cost effective solution designed specifically for ebikes, it is a bad idea.