New energy vehicle companies and oil companies start a relay run
. Will swapping stations be a good way to solve charging anxiety for new energy vehicles?
Since the battery swapping station was first written into the government work report in 2020, the promotion of the pilot program of the battery swapping mode for new energy vehicles has also become an important part of unleashing the consumption potential in key areas.
As a representative of car companies that strongly promote the power-swap and vehicle-electricity separation model, NIO will have an average of more than 20,000 battery swap orders per day in 2021, and the cumulative battery swap service will exceed 5.9 million times.
Whether comparing sales data or analyzing the driving effect of the industry chain, "new energy vehicles" have undisputedly become the key word in China's auto market in 2021.
One of the most obvious evidence is that with the production and sales of new energy vehicles hitting new highs, the deployment of supporting facilities such as charging piles and swap stations has accelerated.
According to the public data of China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance (EVCIPA), as of November 2021, the number of charging piles that have been put online and operated by Xingxing Charge is 246,000 units, 235,000 units are operated by special calls, and 196,000 units are operated by State Grid.
The charging networks dominated by car companies such as NIO Power, Tesla, and Kaimeisi have also increased the speed and intensity of the layout of charging facilities in 2021. As of December 24, 2021, Tesla has accumulated a layout of 1000+ There are over 8,000 over-charging stations and 8,000+ over-charging piles; Xpeng Motors launched 111 over-charging stations in November 2021, bringing the cumulative number of over-charging stations to 661.
It is worth noting that since the power exchange station was first written into the government work report during the National Two Sessions in 2020, the promotion of the pilot program of the power exchange mode for new energy vehicles has also become an important part of unlocking the consumption potential in key areas.
As a representative of car companies that strongly promote the power-swap and vehicle-electricity separation model, NIO will have an average of more than 20,000 battery swap orders per day in 2021, and the cumulative battery swap service will exceed 5.9 million times.
The reporter learned that as of December 31, 2021, NIO has deployed 777 battery swap stations across the country, including 205 expressway battery swap stations; in addition, there are 605 overcharging stations and 626 destination charging stations, which are connected to More than 450,000 third-party charging piles have been installed.
An obvious reason is that as the new energy vehicle market has shifted from policy-driven to market-driven, more consumers will be willing to choose new energy vehicles only if new energy vehicles have a better use environment.
Therefore, how to use the battery swap mode to solve the problems of "difficulty charging" and "range anxiety" for new energy vehicles, and whether the battery swap mode can stand on the cusp of "new infrastructure" and "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", has become 2022. It is a compulsory question for China's new energy vehicle market in 2019.
Why can the battery swap mode stand on the "wind"
According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of new energy vehicles will reach 3.545 million and 3.521 million respectively in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times.
In addition, the market share of new energy vehicles increased to 13.4%, further indicating that the new energy vehicle market has shifted from policy-driven to market-driven.
There is no doubt that the rapidly growing sales of new energy vehicles have put forward higher requirements for the charging and swapping service network.
Especially in holidays such as National Day, the pressure of people to travel together amplifies the problem of "difficulty in charging".
"Compared with the traditional charging mode, the energy replenishment efficiency of the power exchange station is higher and the speed is faster. If the layout of the power exchange station is reasonable, it only takes about 5 minutes to replace the battery, which is much faster than charging." Yang Xiaolin, a senior auto media person, said, The charging and swapping service is also an important part of the experience of using new energy vehicles. Those car brands that provide users with quick charging and swapping services have a better chance of winning the favor of consumers.
"Many charging piles that have been in use for a long time have already experienced old facilities, lack of safety management and occupancy. Therefore, as a new species, replacement power stations should do well in facility maintenance and power replacement services."
In addition, because the power exchange speed is fast, the power exchange station can improve the service efficiency.
"According to our calculations, a power exchange station covers only 4 parking spaces, and can provide up to 312 power exchange services per day, which is more efficient than installing charging piles in parking spaces." Near the North Fifth Ring Road in Beijing The staff told reporters that the power exchange mode can use the urban peak and trough power supply to implement staged charging, and the power distribution has obvious advantages and can improve the efficiency of energy utilization.
"From a technical point of view, there is no obvious bottleneck in the promotion of the power exchange model. In the final analysis, it is necessary to consider whether it is economically cost-effective." said Pan Helin, executive dean of the Digital Economy Research Institute of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, only to replace the power of the power station. The "economic account" can be calculated clearly, and it can be promoted on a larger scale.
In fact, the promotion of swap stations is inseparable from the exploration of a new business model of "separation of vehicles and electricity".
"To do a good job in the energy supply method of new energy vehicles, we can respond to different travel needs through the combination of charging and replacement." A person in charge of a new energy investment company that has long been concerned about the battery replacement mode said that the realization of "vehicle and electricity separation" can not only make Consumers gain more benefits, and at the same time, car companies can get rid of their burdens and move forward lightly.
Taking NIO's BaaS model as an example, through the vehicle-electricity separation model, the battery is owned and managed by the asset company and leased to consumers, and the purchaser only needs to pay the vehicle purchase fee without the battery and the battery rental.
This reduces the purchase threshold of consumers by tens of thousands of yuan at one time, and at the same time does not have to bear the loss of battery depreciation, and upgrade the battery at a lower cost.
According to reports, as of November 30, 2021, NIO has provided battery upgrade services (including permanent and annual flexible upgrades) for 8,047 users; on December 5, 2021, NIO announced that the monthly flexible battery upgrade is fully open .
"As a consuming chemical, the battery should not be completely bound to the performance and service life of a car, which is very unscientific. For example, domestic battery technology is continuously upgraded and iterative, and the energy density of the battery may be greatly improved in a short period of time. , If the battery is bound when buying a car, those customers who buy it first will definitely complain." He told reporters for example that the ideal state of new energy vehicles is that customers can choose to rent different specifications according to different travel needs each time. Batteries, "so it's as convenient as refueling."
The battery swapping mode may become a "trump card" for China's new energy car companies
It is worth noting that, in addition to automobile companies such as Weilai Automobile and BAIC New Energy, more and more traditional energy giants have entered the market to participate in the promotion of the battery swap model.
Following Sinopec and PetroChina's deployment of electric vehicle energy supplementation facilities across the country, Shell Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with NIO at the end of November.
In the Chinese market, the two sides plan to build 100 swapping stations by 2025.
In Europe, the two parties plan to start pilot work on the construction and operation of swapping stations from 2022.
In terms of charging facilities, the Shell European charging network will be open to NIO users.
"Carbon neutrality is a common global challenge that requires a broad and multifaceted global solution. The cooperation between Shell and NIO in Europe and China, the breadth of the cooperation and the value that can be created for consumers together make the I am very excited." Ke Yifan, Executive Vice President of Shell Group's Global Retail Business, admitted that Shell is the world's largest oil retailer, but is also committed to becoming one of the world's leading charging service providers.
According to Pan Helin's analysis, in the context of the accelerated decarbonization process in the world and China's commitment to carbon neutrality, traditional energy companies such as Sinopec and Shell must also consider "don't put eggs in the same basket" and accelerate their entry into new energy sources. race track.
"By cooperating with new car-making forces like NIO, traditional energy companies hope to maintain their market position in the field of new energy." He said, on the one hand, traditional energy companies use their own network resources to deploy power stations, which conforms to the development. The era trend of new energy vehicles; on the other hand, the entry of the "national team" of the petroleum system also demonstrates China's determination to reduce carbon emissions.
"The cooperation between Weilai and Shell is not limited to the Chinese market, which means that the battery swap model may become part of the Chinese plan for the development of new energy vehicles, adding advantages for Chinese car companies to develop overseas markets." Yang Xiaolin believes that in order to maintain long-term competitiveness , Many electric vehicle companies choose to build their own energy-supplying networks, and Weilai and Xiaopeng are examples of them.
In his view, despite the differences in consumption habits and usage scenarios, the development of new energy vehicles has its objective laws, "regardless of charging mode or battery swap mode, infrastructure that meets user needs is the premise for large-scale promotion of new energy vehicles. Conditions.” Some analysts believe that thanks to the product’s technical route of separation of vehicle and electricity, a more comprehensive charging and replacement system, and a well-known service level, NIO Power is expected to become one of the “golden signs” of NIO’s brand to attract users.
It is worth noting that when NIO entered the Norwegian market, NIO deliberately announced that it would build 20 second-generation power stations in Norway, covering the top 5 cities and major highways in Norway, and "bring the full-scene charging and swap service to the Norwegian market". .
In China, NIO plans to build a high-speed power exchange network with "five verticals, three horizontals and four major metropolitan areas" before the Spring Festival in 2022.
By 2022, NIO plans to build more than 1,300 battery swap stations, more than 6,000 superchargers, and more than 10,000 destination charging points in China.
Some analysts believe that strong infrastructure capacity, denser population distribution, early pilot projects in the field of public travel, and other policy dividends make it possible for the large-scale commercialization of the battery swap model in China.
Once the construction and operation costs can be controlled within a reasonable range, there will be more room for imagination to replace the battery with faster and more efficient energy replenishment.
China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Xu Yajie Source: China Youth Daily