Shentucar original
Author | dawn
Edit | Ai Xiaojia
After private cars, taxis, and big trucks, automakers have set their sights on courier cars.
Express electric three-wheeler is a magical existence in China. Strictly speaking, it does not belong to cars, but it does not belong to tricycles, but it is in a vague area in the middle.
The courier brother has one hand, uses it to walk the streets and alleys, receive and deliver goods. As long as it is a place covered by express delivery, it will definitely have its presence.
People have become accustomed to the default delivery car should be like this. However, with the tightening of relevant policies, more and more cities have begun to ban the three-wheeled electricity from entering the city. This means that the courier brother may have to change the car.
Some companies have sniffed the business opportunities and began to lay out related models. Courier cars appeared.
Among them are Wuling Motors, which has built a lot of god cars, Chery Automobile, which has laid out a very early layout in the new energy track, and some ambitious new energy vehicle manufacturers. They are betting on a future: the three rounds of express electricity will gradually withdraw from the express logistics market, and new cars will take their place.
This story sounds beautiful. But on the other side of the story, the courier brother who really uses the car may not need a regular car to deliver the courier, and the courier company that pays for these vehicles also lacks enough motivation to make changes.
The policy of restricting the three rounds of electricity is being intensively promoted, but "killing" the three rounds of express delivery electricity is not as simple as imagined.
Express electric three-wheeler, was targeted by car companies
In the automobile circle, the electric tricycle has always been an unflower.
Compared with cars, the technical difficulty and production threshold of electric three-wheelers are very low. Any factory, pull up an assembly line, you can build a decent car. Some of the players in this market are low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers, some are two-wheeled motorcycle manufacturers, and some small workshop factories.
The electric three-wheel is mainly practical, the leather is durable, the price is not high, of course, the grade is not high.
This is a market that seems to have a clear demand for consumption upgrading. Just like the transformation of passenger cars from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, the transformation of electric three wheels from three wheels to four wheels is an obvious industry trend, which is especially obvious in the express delivery industry.
Wuling Automobile, which "what the people need, Wuling will build", has declared to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology a pure electric vehicle tailored for the courier brother. Extremely narrow body, double door single seat, equipped with cargo box, and optional air conditioning.
Wuling E10 / Image from the network
The car is called the Wuling E10. The length of the car is 3.31 meters, the rear cargo box occupies 1.62 meters, the height of the car is 1.69 meters, and the width of the car is only 1.08 meters, which is very slender overall. The purpose of this design is to be able to walk through the streets and alleys and load as many goods as possible.
One of the most obvious changes is in the cockpit. The handlebars of a two-wheeled motorcycle have been replaced with a steering wheel, and an LCD screen has been added, and there are doors on the left and right of the cockpit, which is considered to have the prototype of a car.
According to public data, the Wuling E10 is equipped with a 9 kWh battery pack with a maximum speed of 71 km/h.
In addition to Wuling Motors, Chery Automobile, which got up early in the electric vehicle track and caught up with a late set, also launched a special express delivery car.
The shape of this car is somewhat similar to the Wuling E10, both are slender shapes, and the rear cargo box is large. In order to facilitate the collection of goods, the cargo box is designed to open the door. A special point is that the cockpit is a single door single seat, and only the left side can open the door to get off.
Chery and SF's cooperation on the express car / picture from the Internet
The car also supports a power swap function, using a manual pull-out power swap design, just like the pull drawer, the top speed is 40km/h. Since it is a cooperation with SF, there is a "SF" LOGO on the lower and middle sides of the front face of the vehicle.
However, the car has not yet appeared in the announcement directory of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The mass production of express delivery cars has been delivered by Haochi Intelligence, a less well-known automobile manufacturer in Shandong. As early as the second half of 2020, the company released a new energy four-wheeled express delivery car Orange Shi 01.
Orange 01 / Image from Autohome
The Orange 01 looks like an extended version of the Macro MINI. Its length, width and height are 3.49 meters, 1.47 meters, 1.69 meters, the roof is also equipped with a folding soft roof, with the opening and closing, convenient for the transportation of refrigerators, air conditioning and other high-altitude goods.
The vehicle is positioned as a new energy four-wheeled express vehicle and has been delivered. At the beginning of April this year, Haochi Intelligent sent the first batch of "Postal Version Orange 01" to Yantai, Shandong Province, and planned to put it into operation in Shandong Post.
Orange Car told Shentu, "Three-wheeled express delivery cars are only products of the current era, and it is the trend of the times for four-wheelers to replace tricycles." In terms of safety, comfort, legality and distribution efficiency, the advantages of new energy four-wheelers are more obvious than tricycles. From the state to the local level, various policies will continue to be introduced to restrict the right of way of tricycles and increase support for new energy four-wheeled distribution vehicles. ”
An industry insider told Shentu that express logistics vehicles are one of the few car-making tracks that still have huge room for development. "In the field of passenger cars, you go to Tesla and Wei Xiaoli, and now you can't beat it at all; in the field of commercial vehicles, there is really demand and space, and it is a courier car."
In October last year, Chery Commercial Vehicle's Karry New Energy held the first batch of SF intelligent vehicle delivery ceremony, SF project leader said that the two- and three-wheeled vehicles will gradually withdraw from the express logistics market, the alternative means of transport market is still blank, which is the original intention of SF and Karry New Energy to cooperate in the development of this car.
Sounds like a win-win thing for all parties. The person in charge said at the scene: "The little brother has changed the environment of receiving and dispatching, who has a strong express delivery vehicle, our little brother is happy to work, and the company's business reputation has grown." ”
The courier guy doesn't need an electric car
The market is good, but the question is, does the courier guy really need a car?
"It's not practical, it feels wasteful." Liu Fei, a Zhongtong courier in Beijing, told Shentu.
In his view, the most important function of the express car is that it can load more things, and the other is that it is convenient to drive and park. And these two, the electric three wheels can be achieved.
Although the internal space of the electric three-wheel is not large, there are not many things that can be loaded. "There are brackets around the roof of the car, which can hold a lot of things, and a marijuana bag can be hung on the rear of the car, and the trolley can also be hung on the rear of the car." Liu Fei said.
In addition, in the community of some of the corners of the open, some cars can not pass the narrow section, the electric three wheels can usually pass, and the electric three wheels do not need parking spaces, do not have to pay parking fees, as long as you find a gap can be parked in, moving the car is also very convenient.
Such a car is not afraid of bumps. The daily use frequency of express electric three-wheelers is very high, and the risk of bumping is also very high, because the car itself is not delicate, "bumping is not painful, and it is almost time to scrap it for three years." ”
As for the functional configuration of air conditioning and cockpit display, it seems that it is not just needed. A Jingdong courier said: "Air conditioning is not needed at all, how long can it be sitting in the car?" ”
Many couriers who came into contact with The Deep Road all expressed similar views. In their view, practicality is the first, and in the current working environment, electric three-wheelers are more practical than cars.
"Driving in a car to deliver a courier, I think it's a bit of a fuss." Liu Fei concluded.
Source / unsplash
The cost of violations is another key issue.
According to industry insiders, the electric three wheels that the courier now drives do not have a car license plate, and there is only a vehicle code printed on the body, which is equivalent to the license plate. Driving on the road usually does not require a driver's license. Therefore, there are occasional violations, as long as they are not caught by the traffic police, usually no one cares. It is precisely because of this that some places have introduced a three-wheel restriction policy to strengthen management.
Wang Dali, a senior person in the express delivery industry, introduced to shentu that because of historical reasons, the electric tricycle product does not have a clear and formal "identity", which leads to "since the express delivery industry used electric tricycles, there has been a lack of management subjects, ununified rules, irregular implementation and other issues." ”
Liu Fei shared his experience with the deep way, once he was caught by the traffic police in retrograde, to check his driver's license, he said no, the traffic police asked him to show his ID card, he also said that he did not bring, and then said that the ID number could not be remembered. In the end, the traffic police issued a ticket and fined him 30 yuan.
"If you want to drive a car, you will be asked to show your driver's license, so you will deduct 200 yuan and deduct 2 points at the same time." He thinks the illegal cost of cars is too high.
Of course, in most cases, the courier does not deliberately violate the rules, but in some cases it is inevitable that there will be a fluke mentality. Once the violation is involved, the space for the electric three-wheeler will be greater.
A Jingdong courier gave an example to the deep way: "Illegal traffic police caught, sometimes will detain the car, electric three-wheeler I can not want the car, but if you change to a car, the car is so expensive, can not say no." ”
"If the car were to drive, it would be a lot of management." A SF courier in Beijing said that couriers who do not have a driver's license will not be eligible to go on the road.
From the point of view of the courier, they care about how to send more goods faster, so they can sacrifice comfort, safety, and take a certain risk of violation. According to Liu Fei, "Tens of thousands of cars are taken to deliver express delivery, which seems to be very good, but it is not right." ”
Wang Dali told Shentu that he prefers that express delivery cars have formal and legal road procedures, and adopt a management method that is both formal and meets the actual needs of the industry. "The courier brother is worried about the inconvenience of passage and the impact on the efficiency of the delivery, but compared to sending more or less than sending a few pieces, I am more concerned about the safety of the brother, even if it is necessary to sacrifice the convenience brought by illegal driving." Efficiency at the expense of safety, efficiency in exchange for illegal driving, is not worth advocating. ”
He said, "From the perspective of the industry, we hope that the production tools and working conditions of couriers can be gradually improved, so that our little bees can no longer bear the wind and food and discrimination and criticism, so that they can work safer, more comfortable, more decent, more dignified." ”
But the question is, from tricycles to quads, who pays for the increased costs?
Who will pay for new energy express vehicles?
Unlike private cars, courier cars are commercial vehicles, and people who drive cars do not need to buy a car.
Liu Wenzhou, investment director of Hegao Capital, told Shentu that the problem of express vehicle use should not be considered from the needs of the courier brother, but should be considered from the perspective of the vehicle owner, that is, the logistics company.
A Jingdong logistics insider told Shentu that SF's express delivery car is centrally tendered and purchased by the headquarters, and then distributed to the courier; JD.com is purchased by the company and leased to the courier; and the Tongda department is provided by the contractor.
Yu Dongxiang, a station manager of Yuantong Express in Beijing, revealed to Shentu that one-third of the vehicles at the station are from the mandatory apportionment of yuantong company, and the remaining two-thirds are purchased independently. Couriers do not have to purchase their own vehicles.
So from a business point of view, this is a typical to B market.
Cost is a big issue.
The production cost of the three-wheeler of express electricity is very low, and the price is also cheap. A number of couriers told Shentu that the price of the three-wheeled electric wheel of the courier company is between 3,000 yuan and 6,000 yuan.
Yu Dongxiang said that he directly found a manufacturer to order, within 3,000 yuan can get a high-quality express delivery three wheels. The price of the 1.5-meter model is 2100 yuan, and the price of 1.8 meters is 2800 yuan.
For a few thousand dollars, it is impossible to buy a regular car. When the Orange 01 went public in October 2020, it started at less than $40,000, which is already very cheap in the industry. At that time, the gimmick played by manufacturers was "the only new energy four-wheeled express delivery car on the market priced below 40,000 yuan".
But even at such a price, there is no advantage over the three rounds of express electricity.
"The cost of the car is too high, and if it is apportioned to the courier, the courier will earn less." Yu Dongxiang said.
Source / pexels
Zhao Zheng, an insider of a courier car OEMs, believes that considering the cost problem, the express delivery company must be able to use two wheels without three wheels, and if it can use three wheels, it does not use four wheels, and it can save money. "Now that the electric tricycles of the courier companies are still on the road, they cannot purchase four-wheelers, unless they have to change them for compliance."
Policy is the most direct driving force for this market. The speed at which express four-wheelers can replace tricycles depends largely on the progress of the state's restrictions on electric tricycles.
There are already many cities that ban electric tricycles from entering the city. For example, Shenzhen began to implement the most severe "ban on motorcycles and power rations" rectification action in History in March this year, and the three rounds of irregular express delivery electricity are also on the rectification list. Luoyang, Henan Province, announced that from April, it will implement the management of electric tricycles and pursue legal responsibility for disobedients according to law.
However, these policies are local, only locally effective, and are not strictly enforced in many places. More importantly, policies at the national level have not yet been introduced, and the industry lacks unified norms.
Zhao Zheng told Shentu that their initial positioning was a special express delivery car, but in the process of actually pushing the market, it was difficult to replace the three-wheel express delivery in the short term. They can only continue to do three rounds of business while developing other markets.
"Four-wheeled electric vehicles in express delivery companies, except for JD.com and SF, there is no market, and the market share is too small. At present, only in remote suburbs and rural areas, as well as individual sections of the city, four-wheeled new energy express trucks will be used, and the rest are all electric three-wheeled. Yu Dongxiang told ShenTu.
Wang Dali analyzed that at present, some car companies are developing four-wheel express vehicles, which are tried in a small range in some areas, but the next step is facing various problems such as qualifications, right of way, and standardized management, which need to be solved by industry research. At present, electric three-wheeled and express four-wheeled vehicles, it is difficult to say who replaces whom. What car companies can do at present is to do long-term layout first and cultivate the market.
"The policy will not be one-size-fits-all, electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles will coexist in a certain period of time, in the environment of serving the double cycle of the national economy, as long as it is a product or service that is conducive to the high-quality development of the express delivery industry, there will be room for survival and development." Wang Dali said.
On the surface, it seems that there is not much time left for the three rounds of express electricity, but before the large-scale substitution occurs, the bullets will have to fly for a while.
*The caption image is from Visual China. At the request of the interviewees, Liu Fei, Yu Dongxiang and Zhao Zheng were pseudonyms.