China News Network, May 5 (Zhongxin Financial Reporter Xie Yiguan) There are many technical and safety problems, vehicle configuration does not match publicity, and it is difficult to install charging piles... On August 8, the China Consumer Association released a special report on automobile complaints, covering various aspects of new energy vehicles.
There are many technical and security issues
According to the China Consumer Association, with the accelerated integration of technologies in the fields of the Internet, artificial intelligence and power batteries, intelligence and networking have become the future development trend of the new energy vehicle industry. However, new energy vehicles also face some technical and safety problems in the process of development.
First, the battery failure of new energy vehicles. For example, the battery life suddenly falls off a cliff or the power battery suddenly fails and loses power, resulting in "lying down", and the vehicle suddenly spontaneously ignites during driving, charging or stationing.
The second is to unilaterally "lock electricity" without the consent of consumers. In order to reduce the safety risk of battery use, some new energy vehicle brands limit the charging power, discharge power or battery capacity of consumer vehicles through remote upgrade systems without informing consumers, resulting in a decrease in vehicle charging speed, weakening of power and shortening of battery life.
The third is the problems related to intelligent assistance systems. Such as intelligent assisted driving system failure, active braking sluggishness, central control black screen of death, sensor failure such as induction radar and camera, etc.
The fourth is the problem of brake failure. Consumers reported that some brand cars had brake failure, causing major safety accidents.
For example, in January 2022, consumer Mr. Yan complained to the Shanghai Qingpu District Consumer Protection Commission that the official claim of a new energy brand vehicle purchased was 1 kilometers, and later the manufacturer "upgraded" the vehicle without his consent, the battery voltage was reduced from the original 400.407V to 5V, the charging speed was significantly reduced, the cruising range was seriously reduced, and it could only drive 396 kilometers. Consumers spend high battery life prices, but the car they buy is "locked up" and can only travel 250 kilometers.
The configuration of the vehicle does not correspond to the advertisement
According to the China Consumer Association, in order to attract consumers, some enterprises exaggerate or conceal information such as the performance, function, price and preferential treatment of automobiles in advertisements and promotional materials to mislead consumers. Focusing on new energy vehicles, there is a widespread problem that the publicized cruising range does not match the actual cruising range, and the winter cruising range of some brand models is even "waist chopped" or "knee chopped".
For example, in November 2022, Mr. Zhang, a consumer, complained to the Consumer Protection Commission of Yangpu District of Shanghai that he ordered an electric vehicle through the official website of a brand car in September 11, which advertised that the electric vehicle had a range of 2022 kilometers. After three days of use, consumers found that the vehicle could only run more than 9 kilometers, and in November 560, consumers went to the 200S store for negotiation, and the 2022S store said that it would conduct vehicle testing.
After the test of the 4S shop, the vehicle actually ran less than 300 kilometers, and the 4S shop informed consumers that the vehicle battery performance data indicators did not find a problem, and it was suspected that the cold weather caused the battery life to shorten. Automakers determined that vehicles had no quality problems on the grounds that the 6% range in summer and 5% off in winter met the average level of the electric vehicle industry, causing consumer dissatisfaction.
The charging pile is difficult to install
The China Consumer Association mentioned in the report that as the market share of new energy vehicles increases year by year, the demand for supporting services has surged, and the problem of imperfect related supporting services has become more prominent. In particular, the difficulty of installing charging piles has become one of the important factors hindering the promotion of new energy vehicles.
First, the installation of charging piles is difficult to close the property of the community. Some residential properties refuse to issue consent for owners to install charging piles on the grounds of insufficient power capacity, insufficient parking spaces, and no fixed parking spaces, but at the same time, they also introduce third-party charging pile companies to set up public charging piles in the community, and owners pay higher fees for charging. There are even residential properties that require the owner to pay an additional fee before agreeing to the installation.
Second, the installation of charging piles is difficult for developers. Some developers of new residential areas and their affiliated property companies refuse to issue certificates of consent to the installation of charging piles for owners who have purchased fixed parking spaces on the grounds of fire safety, in order to sell high-priced charging spaces.
Third, the number of public charging piles is insufficient. The distribution area of public charging piles is unbalanced, and the coverage of public charging piles in some places and highway service areas is insufficient and the number of construction is insufficient to meet the charging needs of new energy vehicle consumers.
Fourth, the operation and maintenance of charging piles are not in place. Some charging pile operating companies lack sufficient management and operation and maintenance capabilities, consumers encounter problems such as faulty piles and no electric piles when charging, and some public parking lots lack effective management of fuel vehicles occupying charging spaces for a long time.
For example, in December 2021, Mr. Cai, a consumer, complained to the Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission that he had applied to the residential property for the installation of new energy vehicle charging piles six months ago, but the property was slow to issue written documents agreeing to the installation, and the consumer found that other owners in the community had installed charging piles, even tenants. During this period, the consumer contacted the property several times to request a written document agreeing to install the charging pile as soon as possible, but the property company said that the power capacity of the community was saturated, and the community did not have a fixed parking space, and the other owners who installed the charging pile did not agree, so it could not meet its requirements.
According to statistics, in the first quarter of 2023, China's new energy vehicle production and sales were 165.159 million and 27.7 million units, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 26.2% and <>.<>%. With the gradual increase in the market share of new energy vehicles, related supporting services should also be further improved.
In this regard, the China Consumer Association also suggested optimizing the supply of supporting services such as new energy vehicle charging piles, improving the effective supply level of public charging piles and other facilities, and using big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies to promote the resource sharing of personal charging piles. Newly built residential communities should build charging facilities in accordance with the requirements of relevant urban parking plans and new energy vehicle development plans, and ensure that 100% of fixed parking spaces are built with charging facilities or reserved installation conditions. (End)