Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)
The author | James
Edit the | Xiao Han
This Spring Festival, have you gone home?
As in previous years, this Spring Festival car returned to the southern Sichuan city of Panzhihua to spend the Spring Festival with the family. In addition to accompanying his family, Che Dong also focused on observing the popularity of electric vehicles in his hometown and summarized the changing trend over the past three years.
To say that the popularity of electric vehicles in the hometown has changed in recent years, the most intuitive feeling is that the number of pure electric vehicles has been significantly improved, and there is no longer a need to "take a magnifying glass" to find electric vehicles. At the same time, the entry-level A0-class models and high-end models of more than 300,000 yuan are the more favored models of Panzhihua consumers. The mid-range household electric vehicles do not seem to have entered more households, and even the purchase of electric vehicles is mainly based on plug-in and mixed models.
During the Spring Festival, it is the peak winter tourism season of Panzhihua, and many Chengdu citizens choose Panzhihua as a tourist destination. More than 600 kilometers of highways have "dissuaded" many pure electric vehicles, and the plug-in hybrid model can play its endurance advantage. Among the electric vehicles that hang the Chengdu number plate, the proportion of the ideal ONE is particularly high.
After three consecutive Spring Festival observations, the naked eye can see the rapid popularization of electric vehicles in the hometown. Perhaps, this is also the epitome of the electrification transformation of small cities in China.
First, high-end electric vehicles are the mainstream Tesla Model Y is more favored
Since the Spring Festival three years ago, Chedong has continued to pay attention to the popularity of electric vehicles in its hometown, and has come to a very interesting conclusion: Panzhihua's electric vehicles start from top products and continue to penetrate downwards.
Before the Spring Festival in 2020, there were still very few electric vehicles on the streets of Panzhihua, and the number of electric vehicles in the city was hundreds. Several electric cars that often "haunt" the streets are the BMW i8, which costs nearly 2 million yuan, and the Tesla Model S, which costs nearly one million yuan. For a small city where the highest housing price has just exceeded 10,000, this type of electric car is definitely a toy for the rich.
▲ BMW i8 on the street of Panzhihua
By 2021, electric vehicles will grow explosively, and there will be several tesla Model 3s with prices down to 240,000 on the streets of Panzhihua. This also marks that electric vehicles have entered the homes of ordinary people in Panzhihua.
For Tesla owners in Panzhihua, there is another big event in the Spring Festival of 2021: Tesla has established a V3 supercharger station in Panzhihua, with a maximum charging power of 250kW, allowing Tesla owners to get rid of the history of only slow charging.
▲ Panzhihua's Tesla V3 supercharger pile
In the Spring Festival of 2022, Che Dongxi found that the Panzhihua pure electricity market has more differences.
First of all, the car thing can finally find an electric car without a "magnifying glass". In 2020 and 2021, the popularity of Panzhihua electric vehicles is not high, and sometimes it is difficult to find an electric vehicle while standing on the street for half an hour. In the Spring Festival of 2022, a glance at the main road of the city will most likely see an electric vehicle. This shows that the penetration rate of electric vehicles in Panzhihua has really increased a lot.
▲ Tesla Model Y high-performance version on panzhihua street
Secondly, high-end electric vehicles are still the mainstream, but not million-level models, but more electric vehicles above 300,000 yuan. On the streets of Panzhihua, the most common electric car is the Tesla Model Y, and there is no shortage of high-performance models that cost nearly 400,000 yuan.
Compared with the previous two million-level BMW i8 and Tesla Model S, the Tesla Model Y, which is priced at around 300,000 yuan, is becoming a new choice for some families. It is worth noting that tesla model 3, which sells very well in many eastern cities, is still rare in Panzhihua, and the Model Y model is better than the Model 3.
▲ Tesla Model Y on the street of Panzhihua
In addition to Tesla, the most common high-end electric vehicle of more than 300,000 yuan in Panzhihua is the ideal ONE. With no anxiety about charging and battery life, and perfect for home use, this car is indeed loved by many Chinese families.
As a high-end electric vehicle with the highest sales volume of its own brand, the number of Weilai electric vehicles hanging panzhihua number plates is significantly less, and there may be three major reasons for the analysis of car things. First, the price of Weilai is higher, some models easily exceed 400,000, and the user group itself can be bought is less; second, some of Weilai's power exchange system has not yet been rolled out in Panzhihua, and the nearest replacement power station is in Miyi County, dozens of kilometers away; third, Panzhihua has a Tesla V3 supercharging station, and the construction of public fast charging stations in the main urban area is still not perfect, and Weilai users may only be able to use AC slow charging at home, and the experience is not good enough.
Obviously, car companies want to sell cars, and it is very important to establish a sound energy replenishment system. Especially in small cities, public charging stations are often built in highway service areas, airport stations and other transportation hubs, and the construction of charging stations in cities is often not in place, and car companies' self-built charging stations and replacement power stations may be very good solutions.
Second, pure electric scooter sales are good, and most of the mid-range models are mixed
In Panzhihua's ordinary family car market, the proportion of A0 or even A00-class pure electric vehicles is relatively high, but the proportion of mainstream household electric vehicles between 100,000 and 250,000 yuan is relatively low.
From 2020 to 2021, Wuling Hongguang Mini EV entered the Panzhihua electric vehicle market, and the price starting from 29,800 yuan can attract many low-speed electric vehicle users.
▲Wuling Hongguang mini EV on Panzhihua Street
By 2022, the variety and number of entry-level electric vehicles have improved. In addition to the Wuling Hongguang mini EV, the car also saw small cars such as the Collaway Clever and the Euler Black Cat on the streets of Panzhihua.
▲ Euler black cat on the street of Panzhihua
In the field of 100,000 to 250,000 yuan of family cars, the popularity of electric vehicles is not high, and there are more plug-in hybrid models.
The market share of the BYD brand in this price range is quite high, mainly BASED's plug-in hybrids of Song PLUS, Qin PLUS, Han and other series. Due to the more complicated road conditions in Panzhihua, users are more inclined to choose SUV models with better passability.
▲ BYD Song PLUS DM-i on the street of Panzhihua
In addition, the plug-and-mix models of other traditional car companies are also within the range of consumer choice, such as passat PHEV, BMW 5 Series PHEV, etc., but the ownership is very low.
In the field of 100,000 to 250,000 yuan of family cars, the number of pure electric models is less than that of plug-and-mix models, except for byBYD's several pure electric models, other brands are almost invisible.
Xiaopeng Automobile, which has good sales in the field of electric vehicles, the main sales models are also in the range of 100,000 to 250,000, why not spread out in Panzhihua?
According to the analysis of car things, the distribution network of Xiaopeng Automobile has not yet spread in Panzhihua is an important reason.
As can be seen from the official website of Xiaopeng Automobile, the nearest Xiaopeng Automobile store in Kunming is far away in Kunming, and it needs to pass through a 300-kilometer highway to reach it, approaching the limit of high-speed endurance of this price model.
In contrast, at the same price, whether it is an independent brand or a joint venture brand, there are 4S stores in Panzhihua, and some brands even have more than one, and the dealer is too far away from the user to become one of the shortcomings of Xiaopeng.
▲The distribution of Xiaopeng Automobile's stores in Sichuan and Yunnan
Tesla, Ideal, and Weilai also have no stores in Panzhihua, so why is the ownership of these cars high? The analysis of vehicles and things has a strong connection with the charging and replacing infrastructure and the travel habits of car owners.
Owners who buy several SUV models such as Tesla Model Y, Weilai, and Ideal are relatively less sensitive to price, and many owners have more than one car in their homes.
At the same time, some luxury brand traditional car companies have not deployed stores in Panzhihua, and the owners of these brands have been accustomed to driving 100 kilometers to Kunming and Chengdu for maintenance. Moreover, the maintenance of electric vehicles such as Weilai and Tesla is relatively simpler, and after buying a tram, you can run several long distances a year, which is a plus for users.
For Xiaopeng Motors, its users are more sensitive to price, and the owner may only have one car in his home. From the perspective of maintenance after buying a car, the degree of convenience is indeed inferior to that of traditional car companies, which eventually leads to few consumers really choosing Xiaopeng Automobile.
One point worth praising is that Xiaopeng's charging infrastructure construction is relatively advanced, and it has overtaken Tesla, and the two are almost the same. In a shopping mall on the third line avenue in the main urban area of Panzhihua, there is a Xiaopeng supercharging station, and the distance between this supercharging station and the Panzhihua Tesla V3 supercharging station is about 1km.
▲Xiaopeng Automobile supercharging station layout
While continuously improving the charging layout, Xiaopeng may be able to make a significant progress in sales if it can introduce dealers.
From the popularity of electric vehicles in Panzhihua, hometown, it can be seen that car companies want to sell cars, charging and replacing facilities and dealers are indispensable factors. Especially for the new power car companies, the lack of any one of these factors is difficult to ensure that sales will rise.
Third, the ideal in the tourist crowd dominates Weilai called Tesla
During the Spring Festival holiday, panzhihua is also the winter tourism season, and many vehicles with Chengdu number plates go to Panzhihua, and most of them are traveled by families.
▲The ideal ONE for hanging Chengdu number plates
Car things pay attention to observe, hanging Chengdu number plate of electric vehicles, the proportion of ideal ONE is very high. This is related to the positioning of the ideal ONE, which can carry the whole family and refuel without endurance anxiety. Huawei's Smart Select Cyrus SF5, which also belongs to the range extended electric vehicle, has also been seen in the streets of Panzhihua, but the number of this car in the country is not high, and the probability of appearance is relatively low.
▲Huawei Smart Select Salis SF5 hanging chengdu number plate
Among the pure electric vehicles hanging the Chengdu number plate, the number of Weilai and Tesla is basically equal, and these two brands have built relatively complete charging and replacing facilities.
NIO has deployed a large number of substations on the G5 Beijing-Kunming Expressway. From Panzhihua to Chengdu, Weilai has deployed highway replacement power stations in Miyi County, Xichang City, Asbestos County, Ya'an City and other locations, which can almost drive from Panzhihua to Chengdu like a fuel truck.
After calculations, it was found that the distance between the two Weilai substations in the direction of Panzhihua to Chengdu was as far as 176km (Xichang to Asbestos County) and the nearest was 115km (Ya'an to Chengdu). Under ideal conditions, Weilai car owners can change the power all the way from Chengdu to Panzhihua, and their use experience is almost the same as that of the oil car.
Panzhihua to Kunming direction, Weilai also deployed yuanmou county, Chuxiong prefecture two locations of the highway along the change of power stations, even the worst endurance of the model, can also achieve long-distance travel.
▲Weilai's substation layout in Sichuan and Yunnan
Tesla is building supercharging stations nationwide, and deployed supercharging stations in four cities: Chengdu, Ya'an, Xichang and Panzhihua on the G5 Beijing-Kunming Expressway from Chengdu to Panzhihua. With the exception of Ya'an, several other cities have the latest V3 supercharging stations.
Coupled with the fact that there are also State Grid charging stations in the highway service area, Tesla's travel experience is also relatively good.
In addition to Tesla and Nio, Volkswagen has a relatively large number of ID.pure electric models, and they are all ID.4 and ID.6 models.
In the G5 Beijing-Kunming Expressway From Chengdu to Panzhihua Road, in addition to public charging stations such as the State Grid, The Kaimeisi Charging Station also has a layout. Volkswagen, as one of the funders of the Qemis charging station, id. Pure electric vehicle owners also have a better experience when using the Chemes charging station.
Obviously, if an electric car wants to run far, it is not enough to have a large battery, and a better energy system can be established to allow the car to drive to a farther destination.
Conclusion: The electric vehicle market in small and medium-sized cities cannot be ignored
In the process of the continuous popularization of new energy vehicles, in addition to first-tier cities, the importance of the central and western regions, small and medium-sized cities can not be ignored, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in many small cities affects the development of the entire industry.
In fact, there are hundreds of small cities like Panzhihua in the country, and the rapid growth of new energy vehicle sales in this two-year period has supported the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the country.