New energy vehicles gradually enter the transition period, production qualification review may be relaxed

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission announced that Henan Suda Electric Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Henan Suda) has been approved for a project to produce 100,000 electric vehicles per year. This means that Henan Suda has become the fifth company approved this year after Jinkang New Energy, Guoneng New Energy, Yundu New Energy and Zhidou Automobile. So far, 12 companies have obtained the qualification to build new pure electric vehicle production.

Tian Yongqiu, a well-known commentator in the automotive industry, said in an interview with a reporter from China Business News: "With the continued increase in national support for the development of new energy vehicles, the number of companies that have obtained production qualifications this year will not be less than last year. From the perspective of the development stage, this year and next year will be an important transition period for the development of new energy vehicles."

Breaking the 10-company “limit”

On the last day of March, the website of the National Development and Reform Commission released the "Approval on the Annual Production of 100,000 Electric Vehicles Project of Henan Suda Electric Vehicle Technology Co., Ltd.", agreeing to approve Henan Suda's annual production of 100,000 electric vehicles project in accordance with the requirements of the "Notice of the State Council on the Release of the Catalogue of Government-Approved Investment Projects" and the "Regulations on the Management of New Pure Electric Passenger Vehicle Enterprises".

Regarding Henan Suda Automobile's acquisition of production qualifications, the industry has mixed opinions, and even doubts. When asked about the reason, Tian Yongqiu said: "This is because Henan Suda was still plagued by negative news a year ago, such as 'private lending to raise funds' and 'not producing a single car in five years, no factory', etc., but Henan Suda officials never responded." In addition, he added, "The reason why Henan Suda was able to obtain new energy production qualifications is inseparable from the strong support of the local government."

Previously, industry insiders believed that from the perspective of market capacity, 10 to 15 new energy vehicle companies would be more appropriate. Dong Yang, deputy secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, also publicly stated that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's goal is to build no more than 10 new energy vehicle companies in the future. However, with the issuance of the 11th and 12th new energy vehicle production qualifications, the "upper limit" of 10 has been broken. In addition, Tian Yongqiu predicted that the number of companies that will obtain production qualifications this year will definitely not be less than last year.

"In fact, from the 10th production qualification issued, we can find that the country is relaxing the review standards and speeding up the approval process." Tian Yongqiu believes that "this will encourage a large number of companies to enter this field at the same time and promote the development of new energy vehicles. However, in the later stage of production review, companies need to strictly control and truly let the products speak for themselves."

At present, those who have obtained the qualification for new energy production include state-owned holding enterprises BAIC New Energy and Chery New Energy, as well as joint ventures such as Minan Automobile and Guoneng New Energy, and enterprises such as Qiantu Automobile and Yundou Automobile that can be classified as new forces in car manufacturing.

Looking at the 12 companies that have obtained new energy production qualifications, an obvious common point is that they all have a background in traditional manufacturing, while none of the previously popular Internet car-making teams has yet obtained new energy vehicle production qualifications.

"An important reason is that these companies are still in the process of prototype production and planning. Only after the prototype is produced can trials and tests be carried out." Tian Yongqiu believes, "At this stage, companies are over-promoting, and the cars are still in the concept stage."

Qualified car companies still face challenges

Obtaining new energy production qualifications is only the first step. Currently, most of these 12 companies have not yet mass-produced new energy vehicles.

According to the "Regulations on Access Management of New Energy Vehicle Manufacturers and Products", after enterprises obtain access qualifications, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will entrust a third-party technical service agency to organize experts to conduct technical reviews of new energy vehicle manufacturers and new energy vehicle product access applications, including on-site reviews and document reviews. Only when new energy manufacturers and products pass the review can the company officially mass-produce new energy vehicle products. In addition, the new energy vehicles produced by car companies need to be included in the "Recommended Model Catalog for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles".

At the same time, the new energy production qualification is not a permanent insurance policy, which is generally valid for three years. After three years, the state will review it again, and the review standard is to evaluate the product. "Only companies that really make good products and meet consumer needs can be considered to have entered the 'safe'." Tian Yongqiu explained.

In addition, unlike traditional car companies that can choose to produce either traditional fuel vehicles or new energy vehicles, car companies that have obtained new energy qualifications have only one way to go, which is to produce new energy vehicles. In addition, in order to secure production qualifications, companies have to focus on developing new energy vehicles and cannot wait and see or hesitate.

Industry insiders believe that new entrants will play a positive role in stimulating the development of traditional car companies after obtaining new energy production qualifications, but conversely may also have an adverse impact on the development of the entire new energy vehicle industry.

For companies that have not yet obtained the qualification to produce new energy vehicles, the pressure is also great. "What we need to do now is to speed up the production of prototypes," said Tian Yongqiu. "For these Internet car-making companies, although they have the operating thinking of the Internet, they lack experience in the automotive industry. In the future, they may speed up car-making through mergers and acquisitions, recruitment of industry teams, etc."

In addition, according to the reporter's understanding, many car manufacturing forces including JAC Volkswagen, WM Motor, CHJ Automotive, Youxia Auto, Singularity Motors, Lifan New Energy, SAIC-GM-Wuling, LeTV Auto, FMC and others are stepping up their applications for new energy production qualifications.

New energy vehicles usher in a "transition period"

In 2016, my country's sales of new energy vehicles reached 507,000 units, accounting for 1.8% of new car sales, and the number of vehicles in stock reached 1 million. New energy vehicles are gradually moving from the blue ocean to the red ocean.

However, due to the dual impact of the decline in new energy subsidies and the re-examination of the first five batches of new energy vehicle recommended catalogues, my country's new energy vehicle development encountered a "late spring cold" at the beginning of this year, with new energy vehicle sales in January and February down 30.5% year-on-year.

"Previously, it was the government subsidies that drove the rapid development of new energy vehicles. Once the subsidies are reduced, sales will inevitably decline." Tian Yongqiu believes that "the development of new energy vehicles cannot be driven by government subsidies alone. The survival of the fittest depends on products and the market."

For new energy vehicle companies, opportunities and challenges coexist. At present, there are still some problems in the development of new energy vehicles in my country. First of all, car companies rely heavily on new energy subsidies. Sales data from January to February show that with the decline of subsidies, the sales of new energy vehicles of domestic independent brands have shown a downward trend, while Tesla, which did not rely on new energy subsidies before, has always maintained a good development trend. In addition, there are technical problems. At present, an important reason why new energy vehicles have not been widely accepted is the low range and long charging time. Technical problems have restricted the development of new energy vehicles to a certain extent.

Since 2013, the scale of my country's new energy vehicle market has gradually expanded, and consumer acceptance has gradually increased. "By 2020, the subsidies for new energy vehicles will be phased out, and new energy companies will rely entirely on their products," said Tian Yongqiu. "Take 2020 as the time node, there will inevitably be a 'transition period' for new energy vehicles to go from relying on government subsidies to relying entirely on companies. From a time perspective, this year and next year will be an important stage for the development of new energy vehicles."

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.