Peninsula All Media Reporter Wang Beibei
Recently, "the owner of the car was fined 500 yuan for occupying the overcharging pile space and spit on Tesla" has attracted attention. Tesla customer service responded that if Tesla Supercharger does not leave in time after completing charging, overtime occupancy fees will be charged, "The original intention of charging is to provide Tesla owners with a perfect and pleasant long-distance travel experience and improve the utilization rate of charging piles." ”
Tesla's explanation has also led to discussion: Since it is for reminder and warning purposes, why is the charge so high?
>>> visits
Charging 6.4 yuan per minute is the "upper limit"
Tesla's overtime occupancy fee has been controversial. Previously, some netizens posted, "I was scared by the overtime occupancy fee of Tesla Supercharger, 6.4 yuan a minute, then 384 yuan an hour." ”
The netizen said that he parked his car in the Tesla Supercharger parking space in the B1 parking lot of a plaza to charge, and ended up spending 540 yuan. According to the screenshots provided by netizens, its charging fee cost 118.4 yuan, a total of 74kWh of charging, and a total of 422.4 yuan for overtime occupancy, with an excess time of 1 hour and 37 minutes. Netizens believe that the overtime occupancy fee of 384 yuan / hour is sky-high.
In this regard, Tesla related business personnel said that the formulation of occupancy fee rules is mainly set up to improve the utilization rate of the site and ensure the charging experience of the owner. As early as 2016, Tesla introduced parking space occupancy rules, if the parking space is not vacated 5 minutes after a full charge, it will be charged a resource occupancy fee, which was previously 2.6 yuan / minute. In 2019, Tesla revised its rules and the charging standard was raised to the current 3.2 yuan / minute for idle hours and 6.4 yuan / minute for busy hours. It is worth mentioning that Tesla's parking space occupancy standards are basically consistent around the world.
According to the rules published on Tesla's official website, the charge of overtime occupancy fee also depends on the situation, and not all cases of not driving away in time will incur costs. Only when the vacant parking space in the Supercharger station is less than or equal to 50%, the overtime occupancy fee will be incurred, that is, 3.2 yuan / minute; When there is no free parking space in the Supercharger station, a double overtime occupancy fee of 6.4 yuan per minute will be charged.
This means that an occupancy fee will only be charged if half or more of the Superchargers in the charging station are occupied. If there is only one car in the supercharging station, there will be no charge for how long to stay, and if the utilization rate of the overcharging station reaches 100%, an overtime occupancy fee of 6.4 yuan per minute will be charged. Industry insiders introduced.
In addition, the announcement issued by Tesla also shows that the owner immediately drives away from the charging space after the vehicle is fully charged. If you drive away within five minutes, you will be exempted from the overtime occupancy fee, and if you do not drive away within five minutes after the completion of charging, you will be charged an overtime occupancy fee per minute from the completion of charging.
>>> hotly debated
The charges are necessary, but the pricing is excessive
A number of Tesla owners told reporters that they knew about overtime occupancy charges.
"There are obvious service charges posted on the supercharging piles. The overtime occupancy fee can reach up to 6.4 yuan per minute. Through the mobile app, it is also possible to remotely monitor the charging status of the vehicle, and alert the owner when the charging is about to be completed and when the battery is full. Mr. Che believes that these measures can allow the owner to move the vehicle as timely as possible, which has a certain reminder effect.
Mr. Zhang introduced that Tesla owners can also find third-party charging piles to charge, and some third-party parties may not charge overtime occupancy fees.
For overtime occupancy fees, several Tesla owners said that it is necessary to set overtime occupancy fees. Compared with oil trucks that can be filled up in 3 minutes, the charging time of trams generally takes more than 1 hour, and looking for charging piles outside or waiting in line for charging is a common thing that makes tram owners feel painful.
"I think it's reasonable to charge a seat fee, but whether it should be priced so high, I think it can be discussed again." After all, the purpose of charging overtime fees is not to make money, but as a means to let everyone consciously drive the car away in time after charging, so as not to affect other car owners to charge. A Tesla owner said.
Some owners also said that Tesla's overtime occupancy fee lacks care for owners.
It is reported that Tesla's third-generation supercharger has a maximum power of 250kw, and the Model 3 long-range version can supplement the cruising range of about 120 kilometers in about 5 minutes, and some models can get a cruising range of about 250 kilometers in 15 minutes in the state of peak power. "The 5-minute reserve time after a full charge means that it is best for the owner to stay by the side when charging, and if it is far away from the vehicle, it is necessary to consider whether it can rush back and drive away within 5 minutes." Especially in bustling shopping malls, it may be that just a little late for the elevator will face overtime fees. One car owner said.
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Domestic car companies are more "tolerant" of overtime fees
The reporter's investigation found that more than Tesla is the new energy vehicle brand that charges overtime occupancy fees. From February 20, 2021, Xpeng Motors' self-operated charging stations began to charge overtime occupancy fees (1 yuan per minute).
In this regard, Xpeng Motors said, "Considering that the owner cannot pull the gun in time, we have reserved 30 minutes for the owner, and only charge after 30 minutes of charging." At the same time, before the occupancy fee is about to be incurred, we match the App push, SMS notification and phone notification to remind users to move the car as soon as possible to avoid the parking fee. ”
He Jijiang, executive deputy director of the Energy Transition and Social Development Research Center of Tsinghua University, said that charging pile parking fees is a market behavior, and the collection of overtime occupancy fees is also a market choice. Consumers can choose to pay or choose a third-party charging station with a lower fee. It is also an effective management method to let new energy vehicle owners develop the habit of driving away in time after charging, realize the standardized management of charging pile operation, and implement economic measures.
Huajin Securities Research Report shows that the construction of charging piles in mainland China has accelerated in recent years, and by the end of 2022, the number of charging piles has exceeded 5.2 million, and the vehicle pile ratio is about 2.5:1. According to the planning of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the mainland will achieve a vehicle pile ratio of 2:1 by 2025 and a vehicle pile ratio of 1:1 in 2030. With the popularity of electric vehicles, how to manage the pile occupancy has become an increasing concern.
As early as July 1, 2021, Beijing began to implement the "Parking Lot (Library) Operation Service Specification", which proposed for the first time that "fuel vehicles occupying electric vehicle berths and electric vehicles that have not left after charging for more than one timed unit can be charged by a tiered price standard, and the maximum charge per unit time shall not exceed 150% of the current charging standard of ordinary parking spaces".
Zhang Yi, chief analyst of iMedia Consulting, publicly said that the measures for car companies to charge occupancy fees should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, "From the car company itself, each charging pile has invested a certain cost, and the owner's occupancy means reducing its charging efficiency, from this point of view, it is understandable to charge a certain reasonable occupancy fee." On the other hand, if it is simply to earn more hidden consumption from the owner, then I think this is debatable. Enterprises should take the initiative to disclose the charging standards, and at the same time let the owner understand the purpose of the charge, which is a must. ”
In contrast, the new domestic automakers are more "tolerant" in the collection of overtime occupancy fees. Some insiders said that in addition to overtime occupancy fees, Tesla is also slightly conservative in the interconnection of charging piles. Not long ago, Tesla officially opened charging stations for some non-Tesla brand new energy vehicles on a pilot basis in Chinese mainland. However, Tesla has only opened 10 Supercharger stations and 120 destination charging stations on the mainland. This number is not a high proportion compared to its volume of more than 1,600 Supercharger stations and more than 700 destination charging stations.