Now the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is more than 50%, which has triggered a lot of discussions in the industry, and many people think that fuel vehicles are going to be finished.
But the author has seen a lot of online surveys, there are still a lot of people who choose to buy fuel vehicles, from the survey data of Weibo PS3 Paul, choose to buy fuel vehicles in the future, or buy new energy vehicles? Judging from the voices of netizens, there are not a few people who support fuel vehicles.
In the statistics of the passenger association, in the first quarter of this year, FAW-Volkswagen sold a total of 395,266 vehicles, of which 374,491 fuel vehicles were sold, ranking first in the industry.
Why is the penetration rate of new energy vehicles so high, and some people are stubborn to choose fuel vehicles?
Based on the observation of the pain points that netizens care about, the author believes that there may be several reasons.
First of all, it is easy to buy a tram, but after buying a car, there are still many headaches, first of all, because there is no private charging pile or because of concerns about safety, the community does not allow the installation of private charging piles to bring trouble to car owners. We often see that some new energy car companies regret buying a car, such as driving out to charge in the middle of the night, and they have to queue up, but they also have to wait, after all, they have to use it to commute the next day.
Secondly, insurance premiums are becoming a pain point that car owners are very concerned about. Trams are fuel-efficient and do not save money, on the one hand, insurance is more expensive than gasoline vehicles.
There are 300,000 yuan of new energy vehicle owners who have posted the basic version of the insurance they have purchased, including compulsory traffic insurance, commercial insurance and driving accident insurance, including the premium of nearly 7,000 yuan, which is almost the same as the premium of a fuel vehicle of about 500,000 yuan.
Previous data show that the insurance of new energy vehicles is 1.8 times that of fuel vehicles, and even the premiums are still rising. The front lights, the rear lights and the rear lights are also connected left and right, and they all have to be replaced when they are touched. The insurance company had to settle the score.
So, this brings us to the cost of repairs. Now new energy vehicles, once there is a problem, to replace parts, basically to find a 4S shop, the repair shop will basically not repair, new energy vehicles because of the inclusion of three electric systems, basically belong to electronic products, maintenance is more complicated, maintenance costs are high.
Now that the competition for new energy vehicles is fierce, once some new car companies go bankrupt, due to the scarcity of spare parts, the car machine becomes bricks, and the after-sales service is even more insecure.
Car insurance is a barometer of safety accidents, insurance companies are the most savvy, the information revealed by the premium is that oil vehicles are more cost-effective in maintenance costs, and the maintenance system of new energy vehicles, including hardware and manpower, needs to be improved, otherwise it will affect the value retention of the car. Problems such as high maintenance costs and poor sales are also a problem that many ordinary people will consider.
This brings us to the second issue, the issue of value retention. At present, fuel vehicles are still more valuable than new energy vehicles. The China Automobile Dealers Association released the "March 2024 China Automobile Retention Rate Research Report", pointing out that the current top luxury brands have a high value retention rate and the prices of top brands are stable.
However, the value retention rate of new energy vehicles is declining rapidly, regardless of the technical route, there is a large decline, and the value retention rate of independent brands continues to decline. This is worthy of the attention of new energy manufacturers.
Although in the second-hand car market, the value of oil cars is not maintained, but at least they can still be sold, but after the tram is bought, it is much more difficult to sell than oil cars, and many second-hand car dealers dare not accept it, and the value retention rate of second-hand cars is still a problem that many consumers are more concerned about.
The third is the first automobile safety and the problem of spontaneous combustion, which is a problem that many consumers are worried about. Although many data show that fuel vehicles can also spontaneously combust, the fire of new energy vehicles is more difficult to extinguish and more dangerous. In 2023, data from the Auto Exposure Station shows that an average of 8 new energy vehicles will catch fire every day.
Yu Chengdong has repeatedly emphasized at the press conference in the past that there is zero spontaneous combustion, and many cars are burning every day, and car companies emphasize that they do not have spontaneous combustion to convince consumers that their cars are safer, which is also a major concern for consumers when buying cars.
At the beginning of the year, on the outlying islands of Hainan Island, oil trucks could get on board, but new energy vehicles could not buy tickets on a large scale, which was behind the worry that the fire of new energy vehicles could not be extinguished.
After all, the spontaneous combustion and fire speed of fuel vehicles is relatively slow, giving time to escape, and the spontaneous combustion speed of new energy vehicles is fast, which cannot be extinguished, and releases a large number of toxic gases, and the degree of danger is higher.
Although many manufacturers have made a lot of efforts to avoid spontaneous combustion, due to the large number of car companies and many products, this is also an important issue that consumers are worried about, which also reminds new energy vehicle companies and the system to try to minimize the risk of batteries.
Fourth, running at high speed is a very important rigid need for many consumers, although the penetration rate has reached 50%, but you look at the high speed, the vast majority of them are fuel vehicles. The pain point of running high-speed trams is not only the range problems such as low temperature endurance and fractures in cold winters, but also the "high-speed" endurance.
Some netizens mentioned that the 600km range battery can basically run 600 kilometers when driving on normal urban roads. However, once you get on the high-speed drive, the speed reaches 120 or above, the power consumption increases rapidly, and it is already very good to be able to run 400 kilometers! If this problem cannot be solved, electric vehicles cannot become an ideal choice for long-distance driving.
The fourth is the replacement cycle and service life. Ordinary salaried people buy cars and choose fuel vehicles, in fact, there are also service life considerations behind them. Most fuel vehicles have been driving for more than ten years without much problem. However, new energy vehicles are reminded to change their cars within 4~6 years because of battery life and life problems.
At present, the battery cost of new energy vehicles accounts for 40%-60% of the cost of the whole vehicle, or even higher. In other words, the battery cost of a new energy vehicle of about 200,000 yuan has reached 80,000-120,000 yuan.
The battery of new energy vehicles is not only costly, but also has a complex structure, which makes it difficult to disassemble and maintain. Its repairability is often lower than that of conventional fuel vehicles.
For some consumers, changing cars in 4~6 years can experience a better sense of technology, but for another group of relatively conservative consumers, they are more in pursuit of a longer car cycle and higher stability, reliability and cost performance.
In addition, the tires of electric vehicles are more expensive than those of gasoline vehicles. For automobiles, the life cycle of parts and the battery life is much lower than that of the engine, and the tire life and price of electric vehicles are also an issue that needs to be paid attention to.
500 fuel car tires, electric car tires are often 1800~2000 yuan, and high-end tires are even 3000~5000 yuan. The owner of a car repair shop revealed that there is no way to mix the tires of new energy vehicles and ordinary car tires, otherwise it will cause trouble.
Because electric vehicles need to withstand more torque and weight, the design and materials of the tires are more powerful and durable, and the power of the electric vehicles comes directly from the battery, which can lead to higher frictional heat, making the tires need to have better handling and stability. The power output of electric vehicles during starting and braking is also more rapid, and these factors have led to an increase in the cost of developing and using electric vehicle tires, so the price is relatively high.
Many consumers change their tires once in 3~5 years and when they drive more than 6 to 80,000 kilometers. The cost of tires is also a cost that many consumers are considering.
New energy vehicles involve high-speed scenarios, difficult maintenance, expensive parts replacement, high insurance premiums and other pain points, as well as safety scenes, service life, short replacement cycle and other pain points, fuel vehicles are currently cost-effective and practical, stability in the minds of many consumers are still irreplaceable, which is why in the development of new energy vehicles to this day, there are still many consumers to choose oil vehicles important reasons.
This also reminds new energy vehicle manufacturers, do not be complacent for the penetration rate of new energy more than 50%, to effectively solve the existing pain points and itching points of new energy vehicles, after all, now new energy vehicles to compete for those customers who are still choosing fuel vehicles, what are they thinking, what are they worried about, what are they concerned about? Whether they can really impress them in terms of products and solve their pain points and concerns may be the key to determining that new energy vehicle companies will go further.
Author: Wang Xinxi, Senior Reviewer of TMT This article is not reproduced without permission