Re-discussion on the battery changing mode of electric vehicles： which is better, battery changing or charging？
The long-silent battery replacement mode of pure electric vehicles has been put on the agenda again. In the past three months, many departments have mentioned supporting the "separation of vehicles and electricity" and the construction of charging and replacing facilities; On the last day of the end of July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology inspected the power exchange enterprises and convened relevant enterprises for discussion. Therefore, the market is on the move, and the "power exchange mode" has become the new favorite of capital enthusiasm. All-media reporters noticed that at present, Beiqi New Energy, Weilai, Chehejia, etc. all have the relevant layout of the "separation of vehicles and electricity" power exchange mode, but they have not formed a large-scale effect for the time being. Compared with charging, what are the advantages and development difficulties?
"Power change" mode becomes a new outlet?
The "electricity exchange mode" is now focused on by the capital market, which originated from the "roll call" of relevant policies many times. On July 31st, the Equipment Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology visited the flagship power station of Space-Time Electric in Hangzhou, and convened enterprises applying the power exchange mode such as BAIC, Space-Time Electric, Weilai and Botan Technology, relevant enterprises and industry organizations such as State Grid, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, and Chery and other car companies to participate in the discussion on substantive contents related to the future regulations on vehicle-electric separation and the unified trend of battery standards. Li Bin, CEO of Weilai Automobile, is very supportive of the power exchange mode. He said that neither renting a tram nor changing the electricity scheme will affect the subsidy. When selling products, the battery and the car are integrated. "Charging and changing electricity are not opposite, but they can give users more choices." All-media reporters noticed that Luo Junjie, deputy director of the Equipment Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the seminar that there are many advantages in power exchange at present, which is conducive to the utilization of battery steps and vehicle-side steps, and can effectively improve the comprehensive economic benefits of the whole society.
At the beginning of June this year, the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Upgrading of Key Consumer Goods and Smooth Resource Recycling (2019 -2020)" proposed to develop new energy automobile products with separate consumption patterns of vehicles and electricity, and continue to support the construction of "charging and replacing electricity" facilities. In China, Beijing and Hangzhou have taken the lead in "following the wind". For example, in July, Beijing issued one of the technical conditions for upgrading taxis to pure electric vehicles, that is, the driving range of vehicles should not be less than 300 kilometers in principle, and the technology of charging and replacing electricity should be compatible, and the battery should be replaced quickly. The combination of these policies has promoted the positive actions of related enterprises in the development of power exchange mode.
[Investigation] The battery changing mode was once defeated by the charging mode.
The mode of changing electricity is not a new thing, that is, let the car and electricity be separated, the car belongs to the car, and the electricity belongs to the electricity. When the electricity is used up, just change the power station and change a full battery. Even if the battery of a pure electric vehicle dies due to serious wear and tear, it will not affect the residual value estimation of the whole vehicle.
However, at present, the new energy vehicle market is mainly based on charging mode, and even Weilai and others only regard the power exchange mode as an "option". Although the mode of changing electricity is fast and convenient, and can be as efficient as going to a gas station to refuel, it has not yet become the mainstream after four or five years of development. Up to now, in the field of power exchange, there are Beiqi New Energy, Lifan, Chehejia, Weilai Automobile and other domestic enterprises, among which Beiqi New Energy is the most active one at present. The figures recently released by BAIC New Energy show that it has built 148 charging and replacing power stations nationwide, ranking first in the world. In addition, the first space-time electric power exchange station inspected by the research group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was built in 2014, and has accumulated hundreds of millions of kilometers of actual mileage of power exchange in the country. In general, there are still a few car companies that have successfully laid out the power exchange mode.
All-media reporters noticed that the power exchange station inspected by the Equipment Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology mainly serves the network car, which is also the operation direction of the current power exchange mode. For example, the exchangeable models rolled out by BAIC New Energy in China are mainly for the taxi market.
According to Chen Feng, the chairman of Space-Time Electric, the mode of power exchange first landed in the field of taxis and internet car-sharing, because it can provide an energy replenishment method similar to that of fuel vehicles, that is, changing and leaving, which directly points to the core pain point of operating vehicles waiting for charging and affecting operating time.
The reason why the power exchange mode can return to the line of sight is related to the market situation. In the second half of 2019, new energy vehicles bid farewell to huge subsidies, and the low-price advantage is no longer there. It also makes the new energy vehicle market in the "post-subsidy era" intensify the reshuffle. Reducing costs and increasing efficiency is a top priority for new energy vehicle companies. From the cost point of view, if the pure electric vehicle chooses "vehicle-electric separation", that is, it changes the battery use mode, and the power battery that accounts for nearly half of the vehicle cost can be removed from the car purchase cost, which means that consumers buy pure electric vehicles with replaceable electricity, which has higher cost performance ratio.
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As we all know, the most expensive part of a pure electric car is the battery. Li Yixiu, deputy general manager of Beijing New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. and general manager of the marketing company, said that about 50% of the cost of electric vehicles comes from batteries; After 3~5 years of use, the value space of electric vehicles is 20% ~ 30% with the loss of batteries. Even if the vehicle is finally sold, the repurchase value of this battery is only about 10%. That is to say, the value of the battery actually used by users is only about 30%, and 70% of the battery cost is wasted.
[Prospect] Cost, battery standard and safety should be considered.
When interviewed by an all-media reporter in a power station in Haizhu District, Guangzhou, there were some questions, such as whether the battery was firmly installed, whether the process of power replacement would affect the performance of vehicles, and how to calculate the cost of power replacement. However, with the interview, these concerns have been answered and will not affect the use of vehicles.
On the other hand, the three biggest problems facing the current promotion of power exchange mode are: the unified standard of batteries, the technical level of power exchange of car companies, and the most critical promotion and operating costs. If a power station wants to realize large-scale private car power exchange service, the unification of battery specifications is the key.
All-media reporters noticed that the battery specifications and standards of different pure electric vehicles are different due to different suppliers; Even within the manufacturer, the batteries of different models are different, and the battery specifications between car companies are far from each other. How to match the supply of different power batteries in a small-scale power station is a great challenge.
In this regard, the answer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at the seminar is: the process of promoting the power exchange mode needs to be cautious, and the unification of power battery standards should let the market make a decision.
Like gas stations, the construction of power stations needs to solve the problem of land. If power stations are to be built in cities with an inch of land, the land cost is high. In the special facilities cost investment, also need more than one million yuan; The most expensive thing is the battery cost. Generally, the power battery stored in the power station must reach more than 1.5 times that of the electric vehicle. If a power station receives 300 new energy vehicles a day, it needs to reserve 450 sets of power batteries, and the battery cost is 31.5 million yuan.
In addition, there are costs such as labor and maintenance. That is to say, the basic operating cost of a power station needs more than 10 million yuan.
For a car without a "heart", many private car owners may not accept it for the time being. Generally speaking, at present, vehicles are traveling in cities, and charging the charging pile once can meet the daily household needs for about a week. Therefore, the power exchange mode is currently suitable for public use.
Since the beginning of this year, a number of battery burning and explosion incidents have also made everyone pay attention to the safety of battery charging. In the power exchange mode, if the battery is on fire and the vehicle spontaneously ignites, how to determine the responsibility is also a hassle.
At the same time, for the power station, so many power batteries are charged in one place, which also has great management risks and strict technical requirements. (Text, photo: Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Deng Li)