By the end of September, the number of new energy vehicles in the country exceeded 18 million, and the demand for after-sales service was increasing. However, the difficulty of power battery maintenance and the high maintenance price have become the core pain points that plague consumers and the development of the industry.
Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and other 9 departments jointly issued guidance, requiring to accelerate the construction of new energy vehicle maintenance technical standards, and the introduction and implementation of a series of heavy standards will also have a far-reaching impact on the new energy vehicle aftermarket.
The first power battery inspection and maintenance standard was released
New standard implementation application/Photo courtesy of China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association
On October 1, the mainland's first power battery testing and maintenance standard was officially implemented. The "New Energy Vehicle Power Battery Testing and Maintenance Specification" launched by the China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association stipulates the basic requirements of enterprises in terms of premises, facilities, personnel and safety, as well as the steps and maintenance processes of vehicle and battery testing.
Feng Jun, secretary-general of the Accident Automobile Working Committee of the China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association, said that the standard stipulates four scenarios in which the battery pack needs to be replaced: "First, the appearance of the battery box is significantly deformed; Second, the failure of short circuit between the heating circuit and the battery occurs; Third, there are multiple serious faults such as water ingress, rust, ablation, coolant leakage and other serious faults inside the power battery; The fourth is the failure of thermal runaway in the battery system, and these four conditions must be replaced. ”
Power battery disassembly and testing/Photo provided by China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association
Previously, the power battery "only replaced but not repaired" is a problem criticized by consumers, this time the standard makes a specific description of the replacement of the battery pack, so that consumers can do it in their hearts.
Feng Jun, secretary-general of the Accident Automobile Working Committee of the China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association, introduced that the power battery detection in the standard can restore the real health of the battery and avoid the battery maintenance institution from being both a referee and an athlete. The test items include the voltage, current, temperature, insulation resistance of single batteries, all batteries have these indicators, and the standard is widely applied to factory repair stations, comprehensive repair shops, and chain outlets specializing in new energy vehicles.
Standard Preparation Survey/Photo courtesy of China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association
Half a month after the implementation of the new standard, 50 maintenance organizations became the first batch of application units, involving hundreds of repair stores. The China Automobile Maintenance Association and JD Automotive, a standard drafting unit, jointly promote the certification of new energy vehicle maintenance skills, and more than 500 maintenance technicians will complete the transformation from fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles by the end of the year.
Cui Lichao, a technical expert in Jingdong's auto aftermarket, introduced that junior personnel need to have a basic understanding of new energy vehicles, such as which red lines cannot be touched in maintenance, and what are the precautions for vehicle maintenance. Intermediate certification requires diagnosis and repair of the three electric systems. Advanced certification targets powertrain components, such as power battery unpacking, inspection and repair.
The after-sales service of new energy vehicles has a basis
"After-sales Service Specification for Electric Passenger Cars" / Photo courtesy of China Automobile Dealers Association
On January 1 this year, the group standard of "After-sales Service Specification for Electric Passenger Vehicles" of the China Automobile Dealers Association was officially implemented, and the drafting units included scientific research units such as the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute and Tsinghua University, vehicle enterprises such as BYD and Volkswagen, as well as battery giants such as CATL, as well as maintenance enterprises such as Yuntong and Tuhu. The standard makes industry-recognized normative requirements for the maintenance safety and service quality of new energy vehicles, of which safety is the top priority.
Lin Xun, director of the Standards Department of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said: "First, operators must have a high-voltage or low-voltage electrician operation certificate before taking up their posts. Second, process training and job responsibility are required after taking up the post, and the safety responsibility will be clearer. Third, the operator cannot wear metal jewelry in the details, which will produce some static electricity or sparks, which will bring safety hazards during battery maintenance. All aspects are very careful and standardized, and try to make the after-sales service flawless. ”
Accident vehicle detection needs to prevent high voltage electricity/Photo courtesy of Weijia Automotive Group
The new standard pays special attention to the feelings and rights of consumers in after-sales service to ensure vehicle safety and peace of mind for car owners. Lin Xun, director of the standards department of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that he hopes that dealers will apply modern tools to provide consumers with visual windows, video equipment, mobile phone applications, etc., so that customers can see the work vehicles and completion status online in real time. It is recommended that after-sales service providers can carry out hidden danger investigation of power batteries no less than once a year, which is also a very good safety protection for consumers.
Battery pack fault module/Photo courtesy of Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan Technology Company
At present, car companies, dealers, repairers and battery companies in more than a dozen drafting units have fully applied the new standards, and the after-sales service level of new energy vehicles has been significantly improved.
Henan Weijia Automobile Group operates hundreds of 4S stores, involving 18 new energy brands such as Volkswagen, Wenjie, Lantu and Great Wall. Wang Shuangcheng, assistant director of the group's after-sales service headquarters, introduced that its stores have made rectifications in accordance with standards, including new energy parking areas and maintenance areas to improve fire protection, and rectify the new and old parts storage area around environmental protection, and the whole operation is more rigorous and standardized.
New energy accident vehicle waiting maintenance parking area/Photo courtesy of Weijia Automotive Group
Standards help solve market pain points
The centralized introduction of new standards not only improves maintenance safety and standardization, but also may help solve market pain points. At present, all new energy vehicle maintenance implements an authorization system, vehicle maintenance must be authorized by car companies, and battery maintenance is authorized by battery factories.
Lin Xun, director of the standards department of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said: "Even if this dealer has reached a certain type of qualification when doing traditional fuel vehicles, such as first-class maintenance, second-class maintenance or filing, but wants to become an after-sales service provider of new energy vehicles, it must also obtain separate authorization from the automobile manufacturer, which is limited to vehicle maintenance in terms of battery replacement." If it involves internal maintenance of the battery pack, most of them are authorized repairers designated by the battery manufacturer to undertake. ”
Detection electronic control system/Photo provided by Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan Technology Company
Huang Hongyan, an aftermarket standardization expert of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that in the early stage of the development of the new energy vehicle market, such an authorization model is conducive to optimizing costs. Due to the many requirements for new energy maintenance equipment, personnel and technology, the initial investment is very high. Battery suppliers can set up sites in one city and can cover all brands of maintenance, but it is difficult for OEMs to carry out this business under the premise that the volume is not enough to cover the cost.
Testing the components in the battery pack/Photo provided by Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan Technology Company
With the number of new energy vehicles approaching 20 million, it is difficult to meet the market demand for authorized maintenance.
Cui Li, deputy general manager and technical director of Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that 4S shops can only repair vehicles of this brand, and other vehicles are basically difficult to practice. From the beginning of the new energy vehicle market in 2016 to the present, some vehicles have a relatively long mileage, and the maintenance cost of 4S shops after the warranty is relatively high, and car owners hope to have a lower price service system to support their subsequent car needs.
Detection of battery cell voltage with insulating gloves/Photo provided by Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan Technology Company
The new energy vehicle aftermarket needs more institutions to join in, enrich service supply, and reduce maintenance prices through full competition. However, it is not easy for social institutions to obtain authorized admission tickets.
Cui Lichao, a technical expert in Jingdong's car aftermarket, said that there are more community stores for Internet car maintenance, but the maintenance of new energy vehicle power batteries may involve safety issues such as battery fires, so the maintenance site is more inclined to an independent space. In addition, the maintenance of new energy vehicles has stricter requirements for the ability and production process of maintenance personnel than fuel vehicles.
Computer testing of new energy vehicles/Photo courtesy of JD Maintenance
Since 2018, Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. has successively obtained authorization from more than a dozen battery factories and can engage in the maintenance of some power batteries. Cui Li, deputy general manager and technical director of the company, said frankly that it takes more than half a year and huge investment from application to obtaining the authorization of a single brand.
First, the maintenance organization needs to prove that it has sufficient technical capabilities, including professional and technical personnel and corresponding technical certificates. Second, the equipment and facilities requirements are high, and the investment in the maintenance of new energy three electric power starts at least 600,000 yuan. Third, the manufacturer will examine the management and operation capabilities of the maintenance organization, including the quality management system and customer service standards. Fourth, the manufacturer will put forward some commercial cooperation conditions, such as the maintenance agency needs to promise to purchase a certain number of parts, according to the manufacturer's price to purchase parts.
Battery pack disassembly/Photo provided by Beijing Jiaotong Xinyuan Technology Company
A number of newly introduced technical standards can provide demonstrations and references for practitioners, promote the social maintenance system to enter the new energy vehicle aftermarket, and the overall maintenance price is expected to be reduced.
Wang Shuangcheng, assistant director of after-sales service headquarters of Henan Weijia Automobile Group, introduced that the group has obtained the full authorization of FAW-Volkswagen's ID series and can engage in various repairs including battery disassembly. Previously, the cost of replacing the overall battery pack was high, but now the vehicle battery pack can be disassembled, replaced with modules, and resealed, so that the maintenance cost can be saved by 80%.
Improve the maintenance standard system of new energy vehicles
Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and other 9 departments jointly issued guidance, requiring to accelerate the construction of new energy vehicle maintenance technical standards. At present, in addition to battery maintenance and vehicle after-sales service, new energy vehicle insurance loss assessment standards have also been released and implemented, and standards such as new energy vehicle maintenance specifications and power battery attenuation testing have been drafted.
Huang Hongyan, aftermarket standardization expert of China Automobile Dealers Association, introduced: "Combined with the current characteristics of electrification of new energy vehicles and the development trend of intelligence, the after-sales standards of pre-researched core components, the quality assurance technical requirements of new energy vehicles, the remanufacturing management requirements and technical specifications, the fault alarm quality problem identification specifications, OTA technical specifications, human-computer interaction quality technical specifications, etc., these standards are all in progress. ”
9. Guidance issued by the department/official website of the Ministry of Commerce
Feng Jun, secretary-general of the Accident Automobile Working Committee of the China Automobile Maintenance Industry Association, introduced that electronic control and motor standards and battery maintenance standards are also being promoted. Follow-up construction operation rules will also be introduced, detailing how to disassemble and assemble the battery of each model of each car, including how much torque the screw tightens. With such detailed standard guidance, practitioners can reach the ability of primary maintenance after a short training.
It is hoped that the relevant standards will become increasingly perfect, and more practitioners will join the field of new energy vehicle maintenance, break the pricing of the authorization system while ensuring quality, and create a fully competitive aftermarket environment for new energy vehicle owners.
Reporter Qi Tian, editor, Sun Yuan, editor-in-chief Cheng Yan