Produced | Sohu Auto · Sohu Commercial Vehicle
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The following is the details of the 33rd issue of Commercial Vehicle News (3.11-3.14):
01 Chamber of Commerce: February sales of new energy commercial vehicles reached 24,000 units
On March 13, 2023, the New Energy Commercial Vehicle Market Information Joint Conference officially released the 80th issue of the New Energy Commercial Vehicle Market Information Weekly. According to the information, the automobile market sold 1.976 million units in February, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%; Among them, commercial vehicle sales were 324,000 units, up 29.1% y/y and 79.4% m/m. 525,000 new energy vehicles were sold, with a penetration rate of 26.6%; New energy commercial vehicle sales reached 24,000 units, with a penetration rate of 7.4%.
In terms of export markets, vehicle exports in February were 329,000 units, up 82.2% y/y and 9.4% m/m. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 87,000 units, up 79.5% y/y and 5.3% m/m, with a penetration rate of 26.4%; Cumulative vehicle exports were 630,000 units, up 52.9% y/y. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 170,000 units, up 62.8% y/y.
In terms of industry dynamics, the installed volume of domestic power batteries in February was 21.9Wh, a year-on-year increase of 60.4%, and the cumulative installed volume was 38.1GWh, a cumulative increase of 27.5% year-on-year; Electric vehicle demand recovery is slow, it is expected that the price of power batteries in March will further decline, on March 10, lithium carbonate quotation of 343,600 yuan / ton; In January, the global battery installed volume of electric vehicles increased by 18.1% year-on-year, the concentration of TOP10 increased from 90.4% to 94%, and the proportion of Chinese battery brands fell below 60% to 59.7%.
In terms of enterprise dynamics, Yutong Heavy Truck signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Construction Science and Industry Group Smart Parking Technology Co., Ltd. According to the agreement, the two parties will jointly explore cooperation in the promotion and application of new energy heavy trucks, the construction and operation of charging and swapping stations, green transportation development, new energy development, and comprehensive smart energy development.
In addition, Funeng Technology started the mass production of sodium-ion batteries in the first half of the year; Geely Group plans to launch an automotive industry fund with an initial phase of 1 billion yuan; 80 sets of Orange Smart Pure Electric Logistics Vehicles were exported to Dominica; Liuzhou Wuling New Energy pure electric logistics vehicle delivered to Japanese customers
In terms of policies: On February 24, the Office of Hefei Municipal People's Government issued the Implementation Plan of Hefei Urban Green Freight Distribution Demonstration Project, which will improve the overall level of Hefei urban freight distribution organization; On March 2, Beijing issued a notice on the 2023 Action Plan for Deepening the Battle against Pollution, which sets clear targets for the new energy of vehicles in the public sector
On March 6, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Announcement on Carrying out the Certification of Echelon Utilization Products for New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries", encouraging the use of new energy vehicle power battery products that have been certified for echelon utilization; On March 7, the General Office of the People's Government of Fujian Province issued a package of policies and measures to consolidate and expand the momentum of economic improvement, giving real estate vehicle production subsidies of 1,000-2,000 yuan per vehicle. On March 8, Guangzhou issued the "Guangzhou Urban Development Plan for Building an International Consumer Center (2022-2025)" to promote the incremental expansion of new energy vehicles and promote the full electrification of the public sector.
02 Yin Tongyue proposed: accelerate the promotion and application of commercial vehicle battery swapping mode
Recently, Sohu Commercial Vehicle officially learned from Chery Automobile that Yin Tongyue, deputy to the National People's Congress, secretary of the party committee and chairman of Chery Holding Group, put forward suggestions on accelerating the promotion and application of commercial vehicles (heavy trucks and buses) battery swap mode and comprehensively promoting the electrification of commercial vehicles at the 2023 National Two Sessions:
1. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other ministries and commissions have accelerated the construction of infrastructure such as special power exchange stations for commercial vehicles to meet the application needs of power exchange mode.
2. Relevant ministries and commissions of the state will promote the electrification transformation of heavy goods vehicles, trucks and buses in the fields of heavy goods vehicles and trucks and buses in ports, focusing on application scenarios such as mines, ports, and urban transshipment, and form a clear switching plan.
For the pain points of the current promotion of new energy vehicles, Yin Tongyue believes that the anxiety of energy replenishment such as low power of charging piles and long charging time is the biggest pain point of the current promotion of new energy vehicles, which has a constraint on the expansion of the scale of new energy vehicles. At the same time, China's public charging infrastructure construction is mainly distributed in the economically developed Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and other regions.
Yin Tongyue pointed out that the high-voltage super fast charging model has been partially launched in 2022, and will be launched on a large scale in 2023, and its short-term charging power has reached 360~480kW. At present, the charging standard used in domestic electric vehicles is the standard GB/T 18487.1-2015 led by the National Automotive Standardization Technical Committee, whose maximum voltage and current are 950V, 250A, and the highest charging power is only less than 240kW, only supporting backward CAN communication, and there is no interface reserved to expand functions.
"And because the 2015 version of the national standard has potential safety hazards in anti-finger contact, it is excluded by international charging standards, affecting the export of the whole vehicle; Existing issues have not been systematically addressed in the draft of the new standard. Yin Tongyue said.
"For car companies, charging equipment companies, and third parties engaged in the construction and operation of charging facilities, facing different standards and schemes is bound to bring huge waste of social resources." Yin Tongyue suggested that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology should take the lead in unifying and upgrading the next-generation electric vehicle charging standards as soon as possible, and communicate with international standards, so that domestic car companies, charging facilities and third-party operating enterprises can upgrade vehicle technology under the escort of unified standards, provide vehicle owners with a better charging experience, achieve a breakthrough in the scale of new energy vehicles, and accelerate the process of national electrification and clean energy.
In addition to focusing on the charging standards of electric vehicles, Yin Tongyue also focuses on the development of electrification of commercial vehicles. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sales of commercial vehicles have been declining since 2020, with sales of 3.3 million units in 2022, down 31.2% y/y, and overall sales are under pressure. Stimulated by policies such as the new energy purchase tax, new energy commercial vehicles showed a contrarian growth, with annual sales of 338,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 72.1%, and the penetration rate continued to rise, reaching 10.2% for the whole year.
Yin Tongyue believes that although new energy commercial vehicles maintain growth potential, there are still constraints that restrict the development of the industry. New energy heavy trucks mainly choose the power exchange mode, but at present, the pure electric heavy trucks in the industry mainly use the oil-to-electricity platform, and the degree of specialization is low, and the industry battery standards have not yet reached a unified level, and the number of power exchange station construction still fails to meet the needs of the industry. "New energy buses are mainly used in urban buses, and still do not have advantages in highway passenger transport and other businesses, and short driving mileage and long charging time have become bottlenecks restricting development, weakening the competitive advantage of new energy buses." Therefore, it is imperative to accelerate the promotion and application of commercial vehicles, especially heavy-duty trucks and bus battery swap modes, and comprehensively promote the electrification of commercial vehicles. ”
In Yin Tongyue's view, the power exchange mode has brought huge market space to the industrial chain. Power exchange brings about vehicle electricity separation mode, which means that one vehicle and one battery will become one vehicle with multiple batteries, so that the power battery will usher in new incremental demand in the industrial chain on top of the original demand. "Taking the construction of substations as an example, it is estimated that 22,100 substations are expected to be built by the end of 2025, forming an equipment market space of 38.3 billion yuan; it is expected that 88,300 substations will be completed by the end of 2030, forming an equipment market space of 109.1 billion yuan."
To this end, Yin Tongyue suggested that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other ministries and commissions should accelerate the construction of infrastructure such as special substations for commercial vehicles to meet the application needs of the power exchange mode. "It is recommended that relevant ministries and commissions of the state promote the electrification transformation of heavy goods vehicles, trucks and buses in the fields of heavy goods vehicles and trucks and buses in ports around application scenarios such as mines, ports, and urban transshipment, and form a clear switching plan."
03 Daimler Trucks' revenue in 2022 increased by 28% year-on-year
Recently, Sohu Commercial Vehicles learned from Daimler Trucks that in the first fiscal year after listing, Daimler Trucks achieved its financial goals for 2022 and has a positive attitude towards the development prospects in 2023. In 2022, Daimler Trucks achieved growth in volume, revenue, EBIT, free cash flow and earnings per share in the commercial vehicle market.
It is understood that the global sales volume of Daimler's truck and bus segment in 2022 will be 520,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 14%; Group revenue increased by 28% year-on-year to EUR 50.9 billion. Adjusted EBIT rose by 55 percent to EUR 3,959 million (2021: EUR 2,552 million), and the adjusted return on sales of the physical business in 2022 was 7.7 percent (2021: 6.1%).
Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Daimler Trucks, said: "2022 has been a very special year for us and a challenging year in many ways. Most importantly, as an independently operated listed company, Daimler Trucks achieved great results in its first fiscal year. The strong performance underscores our success in navigating the challenges of the external environment, whether geopolitical influences, ongoing supply chain tensions or high inflation. Not only have we achieved good results in improving our profitability, but we have also made important progress in leading sustainable transportation and combating climate change. ”
Regarding the outlook for 2023, Daimler Trucks said that the group's sales in the two major heavy-duty truck markets of North America and Europe are expected to be between 280,000 and 320,000 units. Daimler Trucks expects to achieve overall sales of 510,000 to 530,000 units in 2023.
In 2023, the Group expects to increase its revenue significantly, with revenues from physical operations ranging from €53 billion to €55 billion and Group revenues between €55 billion and €57 billion. Daimler Trucks also expects its adjusted EBIT to improve significantly. Adjusted return on sales for physical businesses is expected to be in the range of 7.5% to 9%, and free cash flow for physical businesses in 2023 will also be higher than in the previous year.
04 Volvo Trucks Construction Electric Heavy Truck released
Recently, Sohu Commercial Vehicles learned from the official that Volvo Trucks released a series of electric heavy trucks customized for the construction industry. With electric heavy trucks, construction companies can meet the needs of low noise and zero emissions in and around construction areas in and around cities.
It is understood that the urban zero-emission area continues to expand, and the construction industry needs to accelerate the realization of the "dual carbon" goal, under the influence of these two driving factors, the demand for electrified transportation in the construction industry is showing an upward trend. That's why Volvo Trucks has developed a range of electric heavy-duty trucks to help customers in the construction industry transition to sustainable transport. At present, traditional chassis heavy trucks, as well as supporting construction equipment such as dump trucks, mixers, and truck-mounted cranes, have been electrified.
"Electrification has become a bellwether for the development of heavy-duty trucks. Volvo Trucks has further strengthened its position as a leader in electric vehicles with the launch of electric heavy-duty trucks for construction. This will also contribute to the achievement of global environmental goals. Dong Chenrui, President of Volvo Trucks China, said.
"Construction heavy trucks usually travel short distances and repeat the operation process. For example, electrification is more suitable for the transportation of materials on construction sites. Volvo Trucks can customize electric heavy-duty trucks to complete construction work. This means that customers in the construction industry can convert their current heavy-duty trucks to the same electric heavy-duty truck. Jessica Sandström, Global Product Manager at Volvo Trucks, said.
High flexibility, designed for increased load and productivity
With a wide range of cabs, battery pack options and a wide range of axle configurations, the new electric heavy-duty truck offers greater flexibility, resulting in a wider chassis and a shorter wheelbase down to 3,900 mm. This also increases the flexibility of customizing heavy trucks to complete a wider range of construction operations.
Customers can choose between two and six battery packs to meet specific mileage and load requirements. The new electric heavy-duty truck has a battery capacity of 180-540 kWh.
"When it comes to battery capacity, Volvo electric heavy-duty trucks can be configured according to actual operation and range needs. Reducing the number of unnecessary batteries can effectively increase the load and further improve productivity. Jessica Sandström said.
Three power take-off options
Volvo Electric Heavy Duty trucks have three power delivery solutions that facilitate electric or mechanical installation: electric ePTO, transmission PTO and electromechanical PTO. Officials said that electromechanical and transmission solutions will better optimize energy consumption and reduce noise.
According to public information, Volvo Trucks is currently the only truck manufacturer in the world with a full range of electric heavy trucks. Volvo Trucks aims to sell half of global sales of new electric heavy-duty trucks by 2030 at the latest.