It is difficult to charge new energy vehicles, and charging pile operating companies are powerless. Who will break this vicious cycle?

In recent years, due to the use of ternary batteries, the cruising range of electric vehicles has been greatly improved, but compared with fuel vehicles, there is still a big gap. In addition, due to the imperfect charging facilities and the long charging time, drivers generally have the so-called "range anxiety", fearing that they will run out of power while driving.

Improving the endurance of electric vehicles mainly depends on improving the energy density of power batteries. However, this requires a breakthrough in power battery technology, which is highly uncertain. Due to the limitations of the battery itself, although there is still room for improvement in the endurance of electric vehicles, in theory, it cannot surpass fuel vehicles.

To solve the problem of electric vehicle range, we must start with charging facilities. If the battery is not enough, charging will make up for it. Although the energy density of batteries cannot be compared with that of fuel, if the charging facilities are convenient enough and the charging time is shortened to an acceptable range, the energy replenishment of electric vehicles can be guaranteed, the range anxiety will be greatly alleviated, and the development of electric vehicles can gradually get rid of the dependence on policy support.

Charging facility construction lags behind

The number of electric vehicles in China is growing very fast. However, the construction of charging facilities is relatively lagging behind. By the end of 2017, the number of new energy vehicles in my country exceeded 1.7 million, and the number of public and private charging piles exceeded 440,000 during the same period. At present, the ratio of new energy vehicles to charging piles in China is about 3.5:1.

The State Council's opinions on accelerating the development of charging facility construction indicate that by 2025, in order to meet the charging needs of 5 million vehicles, 4.8 million charging piles and 12,000 stations will be newly built, with a plan to achieve a 1:1 vehicle-to-charging pile ratio.

The backward construction of charging facilities is not conducive to the further popularization of electric vehicles. In the next few years, the number of electric vehicles in my country will continue to increase, the corresponding charging market scale will also further expand, and the contradiction of insufficient charging pile facilities will become more prominent. At the same time, charging companies will also have more opportunities.

Charging piles, charging stations and gas stations are all infrastructure. The premise of building a home charging pile is to have a private parking space, which is not realistic in some cities where parking resources are very tight. This limits the popularity of home charging piles. Especially in some old communities, the number of charging piles that can be added is very limited and cannot meet the charging needs of new energy vehicles.

Moreover, home charging stations cannot meet the needs of long-distance travel. Currently, most electric vehicles are only used for urban transportation. Although intercity high-speed rail is developing rapidly, the demand for long-distance travel by car will not disappear. If electric vehicles are to be gradually replaced by fuel vehicles, the construction of public charging stations must keep up in time.

Currently, the construction of charging stations is very uneven, with most charging stations concentrated in first-tier developed cities. The construction of charging facilities in third- and fourth-tier cities and highways is very backward, which makes it difficult to fully release the demand for electric vehicles in third- and fourth-tier cities. In order to promote the popularization of electric vehicles in third- and fourth-tier cities, the construction of charging facilities is essential.

How to solve the problem of low utilization rate of charging piles?

On the one hand, the number of charging facilities is far from enough; on the other hand, the utilization rate of charging facilities is very low. At present, the overall utilization rate of charging piles in my country is less than 15%. According to cost accounting, only when the utilization rate of charging facilities reaches more than 30% can the operating companies make profits.

A major reason for the lack of charging facilities is that it is difficult for companies to make profits and private capital investment is not very enthusiastic. Since charging piles require a lot of investment in the early stage of operation, and the payback period is long and the profit model is single, some charging companies have already withdrawn from the market.

Public charging stations in first-tier cities mostly serve public vehicles, such as buses and special vehicles. The utilization rate of such charging stations can reach a very high level. However, there are also a large number of charging piles scattered in parking lots and other places, and the utilization rate of such scattered charging piles is often low.

Many times, electric car owners finally find a charging station, only to find that the parking space is already occupied by a fuel car or an electric car that has been fully charged but no one has driven it away. In addition, damage to charging stations also reduces the utilization rate. Although the number of charging stations in first-tier cities is already considerable, the low utilization rate means that the problem of difficulty in charging remains unsolved.

The low utilization rate is due to the extensive management of charging facilities. In the early stages of the development of the charging pile market, a large number of companies rushed to grab land, blindly pursued scale, focused on building new charging piles and neglected operations, hoping to obtain more subsidies and seize a larger market share. This led to the unreasonable layout of many charging piles and the lack of management and operation.

Charging companies also have their own difficulties: it is not economical to assign dedicated personnel to manage scattered charging piles; parking spaces are already tight, and charging companies do not rent parking spaces, so there is no reason not to allow fuel vehicles to park.

Considering the shortage of parking resources in first-tier cities, charging companies do not have the financial resources to build large-scale dedicated charging stations. They must cooperate with parking lots and other departments. The management of scattered charging piles needs to rely on the properties of relevant units.

Many charging companies complain about the lack of cooperation from parking lots and other units, or that the prices are too high. However, the reality is that if property companies cannot benefit from the operation of charging piles, they will not actively participate in the management of charging piles. Since they need others to help manage, they need to clarify the interests and reasonably distribute the relevant profits.

As a result, the cost of charging companies is bound to rise. But in the long run, this cost increase is worth it. Only when scattered charging facilities are well managed can the utilization rate of charging facilities be improved, and charging companies can gradually improve their profitability, and then be able to share profits with related parties, thus forming a virtuous circle.

Difficulty in making profits is the root cause

In fact, it is difficult for charging operation companies to achieve profitability by relying solely on charging business, excluding various costs. They must reduce costs and explore other profit models. Only when charging operation companies achieve profitability can they share profits with property companies and achieve good operation of decentralized charging piles.

Charging operators cannot just be busy grabbing land and expanding market share, but must return to the management of existing resources.

The construction of charging piles can be done by concentrating social forces to build together. This can reduce costs and reduce the burden on charging companies. At present, some charging operators have adopted this method to build charging piles. For example, through investors, operators and site resource providers, social resources can be effectively integrated, costs can be shared, and profits can be shared according to the investment ratio.

With the implementation of the new electricity reform policy, social capital can also set up power sales companies, obtain electricity at wholesale prices and sell it at retail prices. Charging pile operators can take advantage of this policy, obtain relevant qualifications, and earn the difference in electricity prices.

In response to the contradiction between charging piles and parking spaces, some charging pile operators have begun to include parking spaces in their business scope. By leasing parking spaces and integrating parking space resources, they can achieve flexible conversion between parking and charging; at the same time, the parking space income can be used to feed back the charging revenue. However, this will further increase the initial investment cost.

Many charging pile operators said that it is difficult to achieve profitability with charging income alone. Relying on the traffic brought by charging services to make profits will become an important source of income for operators. The most direct way is advertising, such as installing LCD screens or advertising light boxes on charging piles.

Most charging operation companies have their own apps, which are actually a traffic diversion interface. This interface can be connected with e-commerce, car rental, car sales, car repair and maintenance and other businesses to expand the business channels of the charging industry.

Charging piles should not only be charging devices, but also interfaces to other businesses. If charging pile operators can attract a large number of new energy vehicle users with good charging services, they can integrate various resources based on this and make their profit models more diversified.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.