From talking about the "discoloration" of new energy vehicles, to the continuous outbreak of new energy vehicle ownership, but in just a few years. Among them, in addition to the rise in sales, there is also a 180-degree reversal of consumers' reputation and attitude towards new energy vehicles. Take the relatives and friends around Brother Reel as an example, when they buy the family's second car, they all set their sights on pure electric vehicles, ready to use for commuting to work.
However, does this mean that the development of new energy vehicles in China has been quite smooth? Have the previous concerns about battery safety, shrinking mileage, and imperfect charging facilities all been solved? What are the new problems that arise now? Brother Yuan noted that "locking electricity" has recently become the most concerned issue for consumers.
It turned out that many Weima car owners recently reflected on the Internet that the staff of the Weima 4S store secretly "locked the electricity" on the vehicle in the name of free inspection of vehicles and sending 200 red envelopes, resulting in a significant shortening of the vehicle life of some car owners, which greatly affected the use experience and the convenience of daily use of cars. In addition, WM is not the first brand to be complained about "locking electricity", and owners of other brands of new energy vehicles have complained about this problem. Why do automakers secretly "lock the electricity"? Today, Brother Reel and everyone dig deeper into the purpose behind this.
"Locking electricity" is a public outrage, why should automakers do this?
There may be many owners who are ready to buy electric vehicles or some electric vehicles, they have never understood what "locking electricity" is all about. This is not surprising, after all, more consumers who value electric vehicles, their biggest concern has always been how long the mileage is, the degree of "shrinkage" of the mileage, the spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles, etc., and the "riot operation" of "locking the electricity" is not only rarely reported, many car owners may be "recruited" and unaware.
In fact, "locking power" refers to the fact that some car manufacturers, in order to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion of the battery, have upgraded and rewritten the battery management system to re-set the voltage range of the battery, limiting the upper charging limit and power consumption of the battery. For example, some car owners will find that the charging speed of the car is reduced, the motor power is reduced, or the original five-day charge has become a three-day charge, and the same is charged from 30% to 80%, but the degree of charging is less... All kinds of signs point to the car manufacturers hiding from the owners and "locking the electricity" through upgrades.
So why do automakers risk public outrage and "lock the electricity" in such a sneaky way? According to Brother Ruan, the purpose of "locking electricity" in automobile manufacturers is to reduce the probability of spontaneous combustion caused by thermal runaway of electric vehicle batteries. Once the spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles occurs, it will inevitably have a great negative impact on the brand image and sales performance. Therefore, privately "locking the electricity" after the vehicle is sold has become the "unspoken rule" of the new energy automobile industry.
"Locking electricity" does not cure the symptoms, and the interests of consumers are damaged in the dark
On the surface, after the car manufacturer "locks the electricity", the risk of spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles can be reduced, and the safety of users and vehicles is more secure. But the problem is that this not only has a negative impact on the user's daily car experience, but also damages the owner's right to know.
For example, when the owner of the car chooses an electric vehicle with a NEDC mileage of 500 kilometers when buying a car, after the actual experience, it is found that the mileage is only 400 kilometers in the summer, and the mileage of the vehicle after the car manufacturer "locks the power" is reduced to 300-350 kilometers, then the overall mileage is greatly reduced, and the number of charging needs to be increased. In addition, WM and some brands are secretly "locked" when the owner is unaware, which undoubtedly deceives users and betrays the trust of users. In other words, since the technology of the car manufacturer is not mature enough, why let the user bear the loss? Car manufacturers change the battery level, so that the mileage is reduced, reducing the performance of the vehicle, which is not the normal decay of the battery, and it is not the responsibility of the user.
What's more, the "lock electricity" for the problem of spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles is only a symptom and a cure, the most important thing is to achieve "0 spontaneous combustion" from the technical level.
To improve battery safety, automakers are in a duty
When battery safety becomes an important reference factor for consumers to buy electric vehicles, automakers must cut off the risk of spontaneous combustion from the source. For example, in battery manufacturing, materials, thermal management and other aspects to improve the level of research and development, so as to improve the quality of the battery. Once the car manufacturer does not choose a good quality battery in order to reduce costs, reducing the safety of the battery, then the probability of spontaneous combustion of electric vehicles will increase.
It is worth noting that when an electric vehicle leaves the factory, considering that the battery SOC (state of charge) is too high or too low, the usable capacity of the battery is generally calibrated to about 90% of the actual installed capacity. In other words, car manufacturers should not have "locked the electricity" on this basis. It is conceivable that car manufacturers who carry out "power-locking" behavior are not confident in their own products?
On the other hand, users have the right to know, and car manufacturers should clearly inform users before "locking the electricity". If battery safety is taken into account, the decision can be left to the user, and the user can decide whether to "lock the power" and what the proportion of "lock the power" is. After all, considering battery safety and battery life, in the case of not affecting the convenience of daily use of cars, perhaps some users will actively choose to "lock the power".
According to the relevant notice previously issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, automotive OEMs must file a record before upgrading their products to OTA. In order to prevent the misuse of OTA technology, cover up vehicle defects, and avoid recall liability, automakers need to be more strictly regulated, which is beneficial to consumers.
If you "lock the power" without informing consumers, this is a manifestation of disrespect for consumers and will also make consumers feel distrustful of the brand. Consumers expect to buy an electric vehicle with long range and safe battery before buying a car, which depends on the improvement of the R & D level of the car manufacturer and the provision of sufficiently safe and reliable batteries. It is undeniable that with the advancement of technology, consumers' favorability for new energy vehicles has been significantly improved, and the prospects for new energy vehicles have become more and more optimistic.
However, once the battery life performance and power output are exaggerated because of vicious competition, this "inner volume" damages the interests of consumers and will also greatly reduce the credibility of car companies. In recent years, there have been more and more new cars with a range of 1,000 kilometers+, and high performance has become the main advantage of each new car, but whether the technology matches the corresponding publicity is still unknown.