Charging prices have skyrocketed, and tram owners call it too expensive! One place is clear: the upper limit of the service fee is 0.65 yuan / degree
Charging piles have sprung up, constantly appearing on the streets of various cities, and the number of charging piles has increased the recent charging price.
Since entering July, new energy vehicle owners in Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao, Chongqing and other places have reported that the charging price of charging piles in their locations has increased, and some areas have broken through 2 yuan / kWh, which makes car owners complain. Some ride-hailing drivers said they spend four or five hundred yuan a month.
The charging price of new energy vehicles includes two parts: electricity fee and charging service fee. A few days ago, Haikou, Hainan Province issued a policy stipulating that the charging service fee for new energy vehicles shall not exceed 0.65 yuan per kWh.
Haikou clarifies the upper limit of service fees
The Haikou Development and Reform Commission recently issued the Notice on the Charging Standards of Electric Vehicle Charging and Swapping Service Fees, pointing out that the charging and swapping service fees are managed by government guidance prices.
Among them, the upper limit of charging service fee for electric vehicles (regardless of model) is 0.65 yuan/kWh (excluding electricity costs); The electric vehicle battery swap service fee includes the charging electricity fee and charging service fee, which is charged according to the vehicle mileage, and the upper limit is 0.60 yuan / km (including electricity fee, battery rental and charging and swapping service). The notice will be implemented from September 1, 2023 and will be valid for 5 years.
At present, the charging price of new energy vehicles includes two parts: electricity fee and charging service fee. In terms of electricity charges, according to the current policy, public charging stations in different locations and voltage levels often implement different electricity prices, such as charging piles installed in some residential areas to implement residential electricity prices, and charging stations in shopping malls, office buildings and industrial parks to implement industrial and commercial electricity prices.
In terms of service fees, the Notice on Issues Related to the Electric Vehicle Electricity Price Policy issued by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2014 requires that the government guide price management be implemented for electric vehicle charging and swapping service fees by 2020. The upper limit of the charging and swapping service fee standard shall be formulated and adjusted by the competent price department of the provincial people's government or its authorized unit. Since then, the charging service fee has gradually become market-oriented, and the price elasticity of the service fee has increased.
In this round of charging fee increase, some areas have seen an increase in service fees. For example, on July 12, the service fee for special calls in Zhengzhou was adjusted from 0.42 yuan / kWh to 0.6 yuan / kWh, an increase of 43%.
The cost of charging in some areas has broken through 2 yuan / kWh. According to the Beijing News, a car owner living in Shanghai said that charging in Shanghai's Huangpu District costs about 2.13 yuan / kWh, including service fees. "Even if you go to the mall in Jing'an District to eat, it will cost 2.2 yuan / kWh to charge at noon."
Image source: Daily Economic News Infographic
Charging pile charges floated collectively, and officials in many places began to shoot. On July 24, the Zhengzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued a reminder letter for charging electric vehicle charging piles, requiring electric vehicle charging pile operators not to charge unspecified fees at a markup in addition to the listed price. At the end of July, the Development and Reform Commission of Shandong Province issued new regulations, detailing the previous two electricity price periods of peak and valley into four electricity price periods: deep valley, trough, peak and peak, and each period implements different electricity price standards.
The profitability challenge of charging piles
The entire new energy vehicle market in mainland China is still in a stage of rapid growth. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on August 10, the market share of new energy vehicles further increased in July, reaching 32.7%. From January to July, NEV production and sales totaled 4.591 million units and 4.526 million units, up 40% y/y and 41.7% y/y, respectively, with a market share of 29%.
Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD Co., Ltd., said at BYD's 5 millionth new energy vehicle launch conference that the development trend of new energy is irreversible, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market will exceed 60% in 2025, and the market share of Chinese automobile brands will increase to 70%, achieving leapfrog development.
Tong Zongqi, deputy secretary-general of the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, previously said in an interview with the Daily Economic News that one of the main reasons for some operators to increase service fees is that most charging stations are currently in a loss-making state. "At present, most of the domestic charging stations are in a loss-making state, because the ownership of new energy vehicles is still not high enough, and the utilization rate of the charging piles that have been built is low, resulting in charging operators in a loss-making state, and the payback cycle is long."
Image source: Daily Economic News Infographic
After checking the annual report of the parent company of a leading charging pile, the reporter found that the company had been in a state of loss in previous years. The data shows that in 2020~2022, the company achieved revenue of 1.577 billion yuan, 3.104 billion yuan and 4.570 billion yuan, and losses of 37.8649 million yuan, 51.3208 million yuan and 26.0002 million yuan respectively.
Charging station construction is an asset-heavy industry, and it will take time to pay back. According to the first financial report, Mr. Wu is the head of the investment and operation business of a charging pile head enterprise, and since the beginning of this year, he has clearly felt that "the business is not as good as before". "The (charging pile) market is a bit oversupplied, and after the investment enters, the return on investment may not be as high as predicted." In his opinion, the number of charging piles is increasing, but the charging demand for new energy vehicles has not kept pace.
"Before the investment pile station can basically return the capital in 3 years, now it takes 6 years to return the capital, the return on investment period is significantly extended, if you really evaluate, this investment is considered a failure." Mr. Wu said.
A report by the Beijing News also said that Mr. Zhang, the relevant person in charge of a charging station in the Beijing area, said, "The construction cost is almost 100,000 yuan per gun, including the charging service fee, charging price difference fee and other income, it will take at least three and a half years to achieve the return of the equipment." If rent, operation and maintenance, labor and other expenses are included, it is at least four years before the equipment cost can be recouped. However, he also said that there will be some subsidies that can shorten the time to pay back.
Editor|Lu Xiangyong Du Bo
Proofreading | He Xiaotao
Daily economic news is synthesized from Nanhai.com, Every App (reporter Sun Lei), Yicaijing, Beijing News