What kind of new energy vehicles do consumers need?
I didn't have the money to buy a tram before, but now I don't have the money to buy a tram.
At this year's Beijing Auto Show, a number of new energy vehicles were unveiled and became the focus of the audience. Different from the previous pure electric models that have the upper hand, this year's Beijing Auto Show, a variety of hybrid vehicles steal the limelight, traditional gasoline-electric hybrid models also come to take a piece of the pie, and pure electric models are developing in the direction of performance and luxury.
After several years of electrification, consumers have more and more new energy vehicles to choose from, and in addition to pure electric models, hybrid models have become more common, and prices have continued to fall. Pure electric, plug-in hybrid, extended range, the competition of the "three giants" of new energy has become white-hot, coupled with the disruption of oil and electricity hybrid, the pattern of new energy vehicles is undergoing drastic changes. We can't help but ask, what kind of new energy vehicle do consumers need?
Shut it down, it's pure electric, it's all hybrid outside
BYD Qin L, Chevrolet Explorer Plus, Buick GL8 Luzun PHEV, Xinwenjie M5, Toyota Camry, Lincoln Navigator Hybrid ...... At this year's Beijing Auto Show, a number of new cars are equipped with hybrid models, which can be refueled and charged as standard.
At the beginning of the electrification era, pure electric vehicles were the most direct way to "electrocute". At that time, there was a clear Chu River and Han boundary between oil and electricity, and the market and consumers' understanding of automobiles was based on "oil" or "electricity" itself, fuel models were still the mainstream of the market, and pure electric models were like outliers.
However, as the crystallization of human industrial civilization, the power system of automobiles is by no means only developed linearly, oil and electricity can come together. As a result, hybrid models with the advantages of both fuel vehicles and pure electric models have begun to usher in their own spring.
Chevrolet Explorer Plus (Source: SAIC-GM official)
According to the data of the passenger association, the retail sales of pure electric models in the first three months of this year were 1.026 million units, up 14.7% year-on-year and 3.7% month-on-month, while the retail sales of plug-in hybrid models were 742,000 units, up 75.6% year-on-year.
It can be seen that the growth rate of plug-in hybrid models has been significantly ahead of pure electric models, and the sales gap between the two is also narrowing, and plug-in hybrid models have become a new growth pole in China's new energy market.
In addition, the voice of questioning the "backward" solution of extended-range hybrids is gradually decreasing, and brands such as Wenjie, Leap, Nezha and even Mazda have launched extended-range hybrid models, which are undoubtedly eating into the market share of pure electric vehicles.
Mazda EZ-6 (Photo by Consumer Reports)
Of course, hybrid models are not only aimed at the pure electric market, but also the gasoline vehicle market is their ultimate goal. The comprehensive cruising range of 1,000 kilometers is only the qualified line, and the fuel consumption of 5 liters per 100 kilometers is the entry threshold. To this end, Chery has released a plug-in hybrid technology with a comprehensive range of more than 2,000 kilometers.
For this reason, hybrid models have played the trump card of "the same price of gasoline and electricity" or even lower than the price of fuel vehicles.
Taking BYD Han as an example, as a medium and large sedan, the official guide price starts at 169,800 yuan, and it undoubtedly wants to pull down the joint venture B-class sedans such as Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Volkswagen Passatra.
Nezha L (Photo by Consumer Reports)
As a medium-sized SUV model, Nezha L is priced at 129,990~154,900 yuan, and the fuel consumption of 4.85L is naturally competitive with Volkswagen Tiguan L, Volkswagen Tanyue, and Nissan X-Trail joint venture SUVs.
In terms of sales, the ideal L7 as a model with a price of 300,000 yuan can achieve more than 10,000 deliveries in a single month, and the medium and large SUV M7 with a starting price of 249,800 yuan has been on the market for 64 days, and the number of more than 90,000 units has been on the market, which can not help but make Volkswagen Tourang and Honda Guandao embarrassed.
It can be said that the subversion of hybrid models to fuel vehicles is more violent than that of pure electric models.
If you don't work hard, you can only buy a joint venture tram
So, what are pure electric cars doing at this time?
Compared with fuel vehicles, the power structure and layout of pure electric vehicles naturally have the characteristics of fast acceleration and stable speed changes, and the advantages of policy support, low car cost, and easy license plate in first-tier cities are not a problem.
In this case, it is necessary to take pure electric models to achieve high-end and performance.
Haobo SSR, MG Cyberster, Nezha GT, Jiyue 07, a variety of pure electric high-performance luxury cars were unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show, with shorter 000 acceleration time, greater motor horsepower, more racing-style appearance and seat design, no brand can refuse the luxury pure electric car to stand on the C position.
MG Cyberster（《消费者报道》摄）
At the same time, the focus on popular electric models is decreasing, and it continues to deepen consumers' stereotypes of civilian pure electric models - isn't this a car for online ride-hailing?
In fact, at a time when independent brands are promoting pure electric vehicles to high-end and performance-oriented, joint venture brands are "saving the country from the curve" and bringing a variety of pure electric vehicles with affordable prices. The Buick E5 mid-to-large SUV and the Dongfeng Nissan ARIYA are sold at CNY 199,900, and the joint venture brand is striving to reduce the price of pure electric models to less than CNY 200,000.
Nissan ARIYA (Photo by Consumer Reports)
This poses a dilemma for consumers. On the one hand, the price of pure electric vehicles of independent brands with high market recognition is higher, and the range and other configurations of models with lower prices may be difficult to meet the needs of daily travel; on the other hand, the market recognition of pure electric vehicles of joint venture brands is low, and there is a large room for price reduction under the lack of sales, so consumers can only be "waiting for the party".
In addition, there are still hidden concerns such as battery life anxiety, energy replenishment trouble, fast battery decay, and spontaneous combustion and fire in pure electric vehicles, while hybrid models reduce the various risks of pure electric vehicles in multiple dimensions, naturally diverting many potential users of pure electric vehicles.
What kind of new energy vehicles do consumers need?
Could it be that hybrids are the ultimate answer to electrification?
In fact, BEVs and HEVs are from the same roots. On the one hand, both support charging and have the advantage of low electricity cost, and on the other hand, both are strongly supported by national policies and enjoy preferential policies such as purchase tax exemption.
However, the common advantages also mean that new energy vehicles will encounter common problems. If the electricity bill rises, the electricity cost advantage of the two will no longer exist; if the national policy changes, some car purchase discounts will naturally be difficult to implement; in order to achieve a higher mileage, both are equipped with large-capacity power batteries, and the safety risks also exist, but there are high and low.
BJ40 Magic Nuclear Power Drive Version (Photo by Consumer Reports)
At the same time, fuel vehicles are also actively seeking change. The ninth-generation Toyota Camry vigorously promoted the hybrid model, the Lincoln Navigator added hybrid products, FAW Toyota launched the new Prado hybrid with gasoline-electric hybrid, and the old fuel off-road vehicle BJ40 also launched an extended-range hybrid model. Compared with the hybrid models that have been developed for many years, other new energy vehicles are not superior in terms of technical background, value retention rate, and maintenance costs.
In addition, compared with fuel vehicles that have been around for many years, new energy vehicles have problems such as short market inspection time, insufficient brand history and technical background, and frequent and large price fluctuations due to rapid model upgrading, which undoubtedly affects consumers' willingness to buy cars.
Toyota Prado (Photo by Consumer Reports)
So, back to the question at the beginning, what kind of new energy vehicles do consumers need?
As a bulk consumer, consumers naturally have to consider more factors when buying a car, such as brand history and technical heritage, selling price, comfort, intelligence, handicraft control, cost performance, value retention, and maintenance cost...... Whether electric or hybrid, only a greater preponderance of these factors will be able to prevail in the future of electrification.
However, the reality is that safe, reliable and stable, these clichéd consumer pain points, new energy vehicles are still trying to realize. The ultimate answer to electrification may not yet be there.