New energy vehicles go to the countryside to speed up again
Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Cartography: Wang Zheping
Recently, new energy vehicles have repeatedly received favorable policies for going to the countryside. The the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee meeting stressed that it is necessary to boost large-scale consumption such as automobiles, electronic products and homes; The "Measures on Restoring and Expanding Consumption" proposes to implement policies such as building a high-quality charging infrastructure system, supporting new energy vehicles to go to the countryside, and continuing and optimizing vehicle purchase tax reduction and exemption for new energy vehicles; The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued opinions, calling for accelerating the construction of charging infrastructure and better supporting new energy vehicles to go to the countryside and rural revitalization; The Ministry of Commerce made it clear that the "Consumption Boosting Year" would focus on key areas, and organized the activity of new energy vehicles going to the countryside in thousands of counties and towns … …
What is the implementation of relevant policies? How to better meet the needs of the masses? How to build a supporting service system? The launching ceremony of this year’s new energy vehicles going to the countryside was held in Jingmen, Hubei Province a few days ago. The reporter conducted an investigation here.
— — Editor
"I deliberately got up early on weekends, and there are still many people watching cars!" The 4S shop was crowded, and Li Chengwu and his wife followed the salespeople closely. The newlyweds, who live in Levin Town, Shayang County, Jingmen City, planned to buy a new energy car at the beginning of the year, so they have to make a good choice when they go to town this time.
In June this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the National Energy Administration simultaneously launched the 2023 new energy vehicles going to the countryside in Wuxi, Jiangsu, Qionghai, Hainan, and Jingmen, Hubei. The model that Mr. and Mrs. Li Chengwu are interested in happens to be among them, and there are many discounts.
The construction of charging piles goes ahead, and the market demand in counties and townships continues to be released.
Why is China-Italy new energy vehicle? Li Chengwu and his wife calculated the account: buy a model with a battery life of 200 kilometers and charge it once a week to meet the daily travel needs; Using public fast charging facilities can save three or four thousand yuan a year compared with fuel vehicles.
Convenient and affordable, it has become the main consideration for many customers to buy cars. Haodi Company is BYD’s general agent in Jingmen area. Chen Quan, sales manager, told reporters: "Recently, the company’s monthly turnover has stabilized at more than 200 vehicles, and many more customers have bought cars from counties and villages." It is understood that BYD originally had only two 4S stores in Jingmen, and now it is planning to open new stores in county-level cities such as Jingshan and Zhongxiang.
Why should we promote new energy vehicles to the countryside? According to the study of electric vehicle travel in rural areas of China, by 2030, there will be nearly 160 vehicles with 1,000 people in rural areas of China, with a total of over 70 million vehicles, and the market scale may reach 500 billion yuan. Peng Yong, deputy director of Jingmen Economic and Information Bureau, said that the market penetration rate of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles is 15.9% and 10.4% in counties and villages of the city, which still has great growth potential compared with the central city.
What is the first problem to be solved to stimulate growth potential? Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, believes that the construction of charging piles must be laid out in advance for new energy vehicles going to the countryside.
When the reporter came to Levin Town, he met Dai Feilong, a new energy owner, in a parking lot: "Two years ago, there was a slow-filling pile in the town, and I bought a pure electric car. Now a new fast-filling pile has been built, which can be fully charged in less than an hour, which is more convenient. "
Since 2021, State Grid Jingmen Power Supply Company has built charging facilities in 52 towns and villages in the city. This year, it has completed upgrading and expansion, and built 58 DC fast charging stations, equipped with 112 fast charging piles and 120 slow charging piles, which is the first in the province to achieve full coverage of fast charging piles in towns and villages. From January to June this year, the charging capacity of charging piles in Jingmen township increased by 182.33% year-on-year, ranking first in the province.
"The charging piles at the entrances and exits of township expressways and popular tourist villages are used frequently, and we have added fast-filling piles." Huang Kai, head of the electric vehicle business of State Grid Jingmen Power Supply Company, believes that the charging infrastructure should be built in front, so that consumers can have no worries.
When new energy vehicles enter the village, the demand for personal charging piles is greater. Not long ago, Yu Liangrui, a villager from Zengmiao Village, Zilingpu Town, Dongbao District, Jingmen City, applied for charging pile installation business on his mobile phone. On the same day, the staff of State Grid visited the site to complete the on-site investigation; Two days later, the charging pile was electrified. "Many families in rural areas have single-family houses and have enough space to install personal charging piles. This advantage makes it difficult for towns to compete. " Huang Kai said.
Demand upgrade leads product iteration, and vehicle functionality is continuously enhanced.
Set up tents, put up banners and put gifts … … In Macheng Town Square, Duodao District, Jingmen City, the off-line tour of new energy vehicles attracts residents to experience.
For several years, Chen Quan first drove the demo car to the boundary far away from the city. "In less than half a day, the contact information of several interested customers has been added." Chen Quan said that there will be more exhibitions in towns and villages.
Xiao Liu, a staff member of Macheng Industrial Park, bought a plug-in hybrid car two years ago. Now he is a little annoyed. "I should have bought pure electricity at the beginning." She found that the touring models not only have longer cruising range and faster charging speed, but also add practical new functions such as smart parking and digital keys.
Compared with the early years when cars went to the countryside to mainly solve the problem of "whether there is", now with the improvement of consumption level, new energy vehicles have to solve the problem of "whether it is good or not". Chen Jintao, deputy director of the Economic and Information Bureau of Duodao District, exemplified that some middle-aged consumers are facing the demand for vehicle redemption, and whether the cruising range is sufficient is the main consideration; For young people who buy the first car, the new "gameplay" related to assisted driving and intelligent network connection is more attractive.
The reporter consulted the catalogue of four rounds of new energy vehicles going to the countryside and found that only 10 companies and less than 20 models initially participated in the countryside, most of which were traditional car companies. This year, the number of models going to the countryside has increased to 69, which has opened up the distinction in terms of price, function and power, and some mid-to high-end models have also been included.
Products are iterative with the upgrading of demand, and so are commercial vehicles. According to the data of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 2022, the sales of new energy commercial vehicles in China accounted for about 1/10 of the total sales of commercial vehicles. The reporter learned that among commercial trucks, the micro-closed van that the masses call "micro-surface" is the mainstream model and is often used for short-distance logistics transportation.
Liu Jun is a pure electric micro-surface user of Dongfeng Motor, who lives in Tuanlinpu Town, Duodao District. In the early morning, he drove agricultural products to the vegetable market in the city. In his spare time, he took orders to distribute food and department stores on the group buying and pulling platform, and traveled more than 100 kilometers every day. However, occasionally receiving a list of decoration building materials made him quite puzzled: "It is not easy to put a water pipe three or five meters long in the car. If only the cargo compartment were bigger. "
For Liu Jun, the car should not only run fast but also save money and be reliable. Pan Chonggang, deputy director of the commodity planning department of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. said that the pure electric micro-surface currently sold by Dongfeng is based on the original passenger micro-surface "oil to electricity", and the loading capacity is limited. To this end, they decided to upgrade the product line and design a brand-new pure electric micro-surface model.
The R&D team was stationed in rural areas of Zhejiang and Hubei to investigate the use scenarios such as express delivery into the village. "We found that the hillside into the village is slippery, and the car should have good handling stability and sufficient power; In order to facilitate loading and unloading, the volume of the cargo compartment should be increased to at least 5 to 6 cubic meters, and spacious side doors and tailgates are needed. " Pan Chonggang said, "The new pure electric micro-surface car has been tested and is planned to go on the market next year."
The supply of affordable vehicles needs to be strengthened, and shortcomings such as after-sales maintenance need to be filled.
From urban areas to counties, towns and villages, with the gradual sinking of the market, consumers need different models. The reporter found in the interview that the cruising range of 300 kilometers is too short for some urban consumers, but it may be too long in the village — — Many villagers make a living by farming or small businesses, and are unwilling to pay for miles they don’t need.
Zheng Peng, secretary-general of Hubei Electric Vehicle Circulation Association, said that the models purchased by county and township consumers are mainly A00-class mini new energy vehicles and A0-class small new energy vehicles, accounting for about 60% to 70%, and the price ranges from 50,000 to 80,000 yuan.
"For some consumers who only need to travel instead of walking, electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles are more attractive; For fellow villagers with production needs, the cargo capacity of new energy trucks is generally small, and there are not many optional brands of commercial vehicles such as pickup trucks, light trucks and micro-noodles. " Zheng Peng suggested that relevant enterprises should reduce costs and increase efficiency from product design, supply chain and other aspects, develop more "explosive" products for the rural market, and constantly explore the market "blue ocean".
What aspects can be improved to promote new energy vehicles to the countryside?
The charging facilities in township areas are scattered, and the construction and management costs are high. Huang Kai opens the monitoring page of the charging station in the operation center of State Grid Vehicle Networking Platform on the computer, and four colored circles indicate the utilization rate, failure rate, offline rate and charging success rate of the station. He admits that in the past year, the supply of slow filling piles in towns and villages in the city has exceeded demand, and the utilization rate is generally not high; However, in the peak period of returning home such as the Spring Festival, the demand for fast filling piles is in short supply.
According to estimates, according to the calculation of adding 6,000 new energy vehicles every year in Jingmen City, the centralized charging load in the city will reach 250,000 kilowatts in 2030. "There are more and more users installing personal charging piles now. Adding a slow-filling pile is equivalent to adding four 1.5-horse air conditioners, which greatly improves the requirements for transformer capacity. " Huang Kai is worried that the relatively weak rural power grid is difficult to load.
At the same time, the blocking point of after-sales maintenance also needs to be cleared. Some car owners report that many auto repair shops can’t repair new energy vehicles. Zheng Peng introduced that the maintenance of fuel vehicles is mainly mechanical maintenance, while the maintenance of new energy vehicles is mainly in battery circuits, and having an electrician’s operation certificate is the basic threshold. At present, there is a market gap of more than 40% for technicians who are proficient in "three electricity" maintenance such as batteries, motors and electronic control systems.
Focusing on the bottleneck problem that restricts new energy vehicles from going to the countryside, relevant measures are being improved from top-level design to local practice. The "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Charging Infrastructure to Better Support New Energy Vehicles to the Countryside and Rural Revitalization" puts forward 11 specific measures in three aspects, and strives to promote new energy vehicles to the countryside by moderately advancing the construction of charging infrastructure and optimizing the purchase and use environment of new energy vehicles. "Some vocational schools in Hubei Province have set up new energy auto repair majors, and the Provincial Electric Vehicle Circulation Association is also carrying out new energy auto repair technician training business, and plans to jointly develop and launch new energy vehicle battery maintenance standards with insurance companies." Zheng Peng said that the road will be smoother when new energy vehicles go to the countryside.