New Energy Vehicles Going to Countryside and Further Accelerating (New Economic Direction) Automobile | New Energy | Economy

Data mapping: Wang Zheping

Recently, the introduction of new energy vehicles to rural areas has repeatedly benefited from favorable policies. The Politburo meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized the need to boost bulk consumption of automobiles, electronic products, home furnishings, and other industries; The Measures for Restoring and Expanding Consumption propose to implement policies such as building a high-quality charging infrastructure system, supporting new energy vehicles to go to rural areas, and continuing and optimizing the reduction and exemption of new energy vehicle purchase tax; The National Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with the National Energy Administration, has issued opinions calling for accelerating the construction of charging infrastructure, better supporting the deployment of new energy vehicles to rural areas, and rural revitalization; The Ministry of Commerce has clarified that the "Consumption Boosting Year" will focus on key areas and organize activities for new energy vehicles to go to rural areas in thousands of counties and towns

How is the implementation of relevant policies? How to better meet the needs of the masses? How to build a supporting service system? The launch ceremony of this year's new energy vehicle campaign was recently held in Jingmen, Hubei, where journalists conducted research.

——Editor

"I deliberately woke up early on the weekend, but there were still quite a few people looking at the cars!" The 4S store was crowded with people, and Li Chengwu and his wife followed closely with the sales staff. This newlywed couple lives in Gaoyang Town, Shayang County, Jingmen City. They had been planning to buy a new energy vehicle since the beginning of the year, and this time they specifically went to the city to make a good selection.

In June of 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 vehicle campaign in Wuxi, Jiangsu, Qionghai, Hainan, and Jingmen, Hubei. The car model that Li Chengwu and his wife are interested in happens to be among them, with many discounts.

Charging pile construction takes the lead, and the demand for county and township markets continues to be released

Why do you prefer new energy vehicles? Li Chengwu and his wife have calculated that purchasing a car model with a range of 200 kilometers can meet daily travel needs by charging it once a week; Using public fast charging facilities can save three to four thousand yuan per year compared to gasoline powered cars.

Convenience and affordability have become the main considerations for many customers when purchasing cars. Haodi Company is the general agent of BYD in the Jingmen area, and sales manager Chen Quan told us why we need to promote new energy vehicles to rural areas? According to the research on electric vehicle transportation in rural areas of China, it is predicted that by 2030, the number of vehicles per thousand people in rural areas of China will be nearly 160, with a total number of vehicles exceeding 70 million, and the market size may reach 500 billion yuan. Peng Yong, Deputy Director of the Economic and Information Bureau of Jingmen City, introduced that in the county and rural areas of the city, the penetration rate of the pure electric vehicle market is 15.9%, and the penetration rate of the plug-in hybrid vehicle market is 10.4%. Compared with the central urban area, the county and rural markets still have significant growth potential.

What problems need to be solved first to stimulate growth potential? Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference, believes that in order for new energy vehicles to go to rural areas, it is necessary to lay out the construction of charging piles in advance.

The reporter came to Gaoyang Town and met a new energy vehicle owner, Dai Feilong, in a parking lot. "Two years ago, there was a slow charging station in the town, and I bought a pure electric car. Now, a new fast charging station has been built, and it can be fully charged in less than an hour, which is more convenient."

Starting from 2021, State Grid Jingmen Power Supply Company has synchronously built charging facilities in 52 townships throughout the city. This year, it has completed upgrading and expansion, and has built a total of 58 DC fast charging stations, equipped with 112 fast charging piles and 120 slow charging piles. It is the first in the province to achieve full coverage of fast charging piles in rural areas. From January to June this year, the charging volume of charging stations in Jingmen Township increased by 182.33% year-on-year, ranking among the top in the province.

"The charging stations at the entrances and exits of township highways and popular tourist villages are frequently used, so we have added fast charging stations." Huang Kai, the head of electric vehicle business at State Grid Jingmen Power Supply Company, believes that building charging infrastructure in the front can help consumers have no worries.

As new energy vehicles enter villages, there is a greater demand for personal charging stations. Not long ago, Yu Liangrui, a villager from Zengmiao Village, Zilingpu Town, Dongbao District, Jingmen City, applied for the installation of charging piles on his mobile phone. On that day, State Grid staff visited the site to complete the survey; Two days later, the charging station was powered on. "Many families in rural areas have their own homes and sufficient space to install personal charging stations. This advantage makes it difficult for towns to match," said Huang Kai.

Demand upgrade leads product iteration, and vehicle functionality continues to enhance

Setting up tents, displaying banners, and presenting gifts... At Macheng Town Square in Duodao District, Jingmen City, the offline exhibition of new energy vehicles attracts residents to come and experience.

In several years of work, Chen Quan drove a demonstration car to a location far away from the urban area for the first time. "In less than half a day, the contact information of several potential customers has been added." Chen Quan said that he will visit more towns for exhibitions in the future.

Xiao Liu, a staff member of Macheng Industrial Park, purchased a plug-in hybrid car two years ago and now feels a bit frustrated. "I should have bought a pure electric version back then." She found that the touring models not only have longer range and faster charging speed, but also add practical new features such as intelligent parking and digital keys.

Compared to the previous years when cars were mainly used to solve the problem of whether they were available in rural areas, now with the improvement of consumption levels, the issue of whether new energy vehicles are good or not still needs to be addressed. Chen Jintao, Deputy Director of the Economic and Information Bureau of Duodao District, gave an example to explain that some middle-aged consumers face the need for vehicle replacement, and whether the range is sufficient is the main consideration factor; For young people who purchase their first car, new "gameplay" related to assisted driving and intelligent connectivity are more attractive.

The reporter consulted the list of four new energy vehicle models going to rural areas and found that only 10 companies and less than 20 models initially participated in going to rural areas, with the vast majority being traditional car companies. This year, the number of rural vehicle models has increased to 69, distinguishing them in terms of price, functionality, and power. Some mid to high end models have also been included.

The product iterates continuously with the upgrading of demand, and this is also true for commercial vehicles. According to data from 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, micro enclosed box trucks, which are commonly referred to as "micro face" by the public, are the mainstream models and are commonly used for short distance logistics transportation.

Liu Jun is a user of a pure electric micro noodle under Dongfeng Motors, residing in Tuanlinpu Town, Duodao District. In the morning, he drives to deliver agricultural products to the city's vegetable market. In his leisure time, he takes orders and delivers food and department stores on group buying and shopping platforms, driving over 100 kilometers every day. However, occasionally receiving orders for decoration and building materials made him quite difficult: "It's not easy to put a three to five meter long water pipe into the car. It would be great if the cargo compartment were even larger."

For Liu Jun, cars need to be both efficient and reliable. Pan Chonggang, Deputy Director of the Commodity Planning Department of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., said that the pure electric micro noodles currently being sold by Dongfeng are based on the original passenger micro noodles "oil to electricity", and the loading capacity is limited. For this reason, they decided to upgrade their product line and design a brand new pure electric microvan model.

The R&D team stationed in rural areas of Zhejiang and Hubei to conduct research on usage scenarios such as express delivery entering villages. "We have found that when entering the village, the slopes are slippery, and the car needs to have good handling stability and sufficient power. To facilitate loading and unloading, the cargo compartment volume needs to be increased to at least 5 to 6 cubic meters, and spacious side and tailgate openings are also required." Pan Chonggang said, "The pure electric micro face new car has completed testing and is planned to be launched next year."

The supply of affordable vehicle models needs to be strengthened, and shortcomings such as after-sales maintenance need to be addressed

From the urban area to the county, township, and village, as the market gradually sinks, the characteristics of the car models required by consumers vary. The reporter found in the interview that the 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 doing small business, unwilling to pay for the unused mileage.

Zheng Peng, Secretary General of Hubei Electric Vehicle Circulation Association, introduced that the models purchased by county and township consumers are mainly A00 level micro new energy vehicles and A0 level small new energy vehicles, accounting for about 60-70%, with prices ranging from 50000 to 80000 yuan.

"For some consumers who only need to travel, electric three wheeled and four wheeled vehicles are more attractive; while for rural residents with production needs, the cargo capacity of new energy trucks is generally small, and there are not many brands of commercial vehicles such as pickup trucks, light trucks, and micro noodles to choose from." Zheng Peng suggests that relevant enterprises should reduce costs and increase efficiency from product design, supply chain, and other aspects, develop more "popular" products for the rural market, and continuously explore the "blue ocean" of the market.

What aspects of promoting new energy vehicles to rural areas still have room for improvement?

The charging facilities in rural areas are scattered, and the construction and management costs are high. Huang Kai opened the charging station monitoring page of the State Grid Vehicle Networking Platform Operation Center on his computer, and four colored circles indicated the usage rate, failure rate, offline rate, and charging success rate of the station. He admitted 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, during peak periods such as the Spring Festival when returning home, the supply of fast charging piles is in short supply.

According to calculations, based on the addition of 6000 new energy vehicles annually in Jingmen City, the city's centralized charging load will reach 250000 kilowatts by 2030. "More and more users are installing personal charging stations now. Adding one slow charging station is equivalent to adding four 1.5 horsepower air conditioners, which greatly increases the requirement for transformer capacity." Huang Kai is concerned that the relatively weak rural power grid will be difficult to load.

At the same time, the bottlenecks in after-sales maintenance also urgently need to be cleared. Some car owners have reported that many auto repair shops are unable to repair new energy vehicles. Zheng Peng introduced that mechanical maintenance is the main focus of fuel vehicles, while new energy vehicle maintenance mainly focuses on battery circuits, and having an electrician operation certificate is the basic threshold. At present, there is a market gap of over 40% for technical personnel proficient in battery, motor, and electronic control system maintenance.

Focusing on the bottleneck issues that constrain the development of new energy vehicles in rural areas, relevant measures are being improved from top-level design to local practice. The Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Charging Infrastructure and Better Supporting the Rural Revitalization of New Energy Vehicles propose 11 specific measures in 3 aspects, focusing on promoting the rural development of new energy vehicles by moderately advancing the construction of charging infrastructure and optimizing the environment for purchasing and using new energy vehicles. "Some vocational schools in Hubei Province have established new energy vehicle repair majors, and the Provincial Electric Vehicle Circulation Association is also conducting training for new energy vehicle repair technicians. They plan to collaborate with insurance companies to develop and launch new energy vehicle battery repair standards." Zheng Peng said that the journey of new energy vehicles to rural areas will become smoother.

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