A detailed look at the current situation of domestic charging piles shows that the number is increasing slowly and there are many problems

The electric vehicle market is developing rapidly. International giants such as Tesla, BMW and GM, as well as a number of domestic mainstream automakers, seem to have realized that electric vehicles will become the future development trend. However, the biggest problem facing electric vehicles, both at home and abroad, is not performance, price or brand, but charging and battery life.

You know, almost all electric car users will face the problem of "range anxiety", and only widely distributed charging piles and charging stations with a sound use system can solve this problem. Unlike the tens of thousands of gas stations in China, the charging piles that electric cars must use are still in a very early stage of development.

At present, more and more companies are involved in the construction of charging piles in China. Among them, there are more than ten companies listed in China, including AUTEK, Shanghai Putian, Power Source, Chengfei Integration, Rongxin Shares, Kelong Electronics, NARI, Senyuan Electric, Sieyuan Electric and Xuji Electric. Among them, NARI, Xuji Electric, Sieyuan Electric and AUTEK are also suppliers of charging pile equipment and chargers.

As for the distribution of charging piles, the distribution of charging piles in major first- and second-tier cities across the country is becoming more and more widespread. Data from the State Grid shows that the number of electric vehicle charging piles built in my country has reached 26,000, but from the comprehensive reports of major media, the comprehensive utilization efficiency of charging piles is still low. Among them, Beijing has built a total of 8,300 charging piles by the end of May, including 234 public charging and swapping stations and 3,700 charging piles; 2,000 social public charging piles; 2,600 private charging piles, and the proportion of self-built piles exceeds 50%. Shanghai will build more than 6,000 charging piles in 2015, and give priority to building a public fast charging network. Guangzhou is expected to build more than 10,000 charging piles by next year, and requires social parking lots to build or reserve charging facility interfaces at a ratio of no less than 18% of the planned parking spaces. Shenzhen plans to build a total of 169 charging stations, 2,000 fast charging piles, and more than 27,000 slow charging piles by 2015. As of the end of May this year, Shenzhen has built 81 fast charging stations and nearly 3,000 slow charging piles for private cars.

In addition to first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, second-tier cities including Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Dalian, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming and Qingdao have also begun to popularize the construction of charging piles. By the end of this year, the number of charging piles will generally be between 1,000 and 3,000.

Tesla

As the most popular electric car, Tesla has encountered many bottlenecks in its development in China. First of all, the ordinary charging piles that can be used by domestic brands are not compatible with Tesla, and Tesla must use exclusive super charging stations. There are only about 70 Tesla super charging stations in China, and Tesla owners can only use GPS positioning and smartphone apps to go to the charging station to charge. This undoubtedly increases the time and labor costs of Tesla owners. However, Tesla's super charging station has another advantage, that is, it provides free charging services to Tesla owners for life, while mainstream charging piles such as the State Grid need to charge additional electricity and charging service fees.

However, for Tesla owners, in addition to Superchargers, Tesla can also use Destination Charging Stations. Destination Charging Stations are charging facilities provided in parking lots of shopping malls, offices and other living places where Tesla owners are active, and Tesla owners can complete charging tasks while watching movies or shopping. Destination Charging Stations are superior to Superchargers in terms of installation difficulty and ease of use. Therefore, the number of Destination Charging Stations is gradually increasing. Many hotels and shopping malls have cooperated with Tesla to lay Destination Charging Stations.

The good news is that the State Grid charging piles will not only support the charging standards of domestic electric vehicles, but will also quickly implement the commissioning and installation of charging piles compatible with the charging standards of other car manufacturers, including Tesla. This will undoubtedly play an important role in solving the range anxiety of Tesla owners.

BMW

BMW mainly launches the i series electric vehicles in the domestic new energy vehicle market, including the i3 and i8. At the same time, unlike Tesla, BMW's charging piles will be compatible with the charging piles of the State Grid, which is undoubtedly a major good news for car owners.

At the same time, BMW plans to build 500 charging piles in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen by the end of 2015, and expand to 1,000 charging piles to cover more cities by the end of 2016. China Putian will become BMW's partner in promoting instant charging projects in China.

State Grid

The charging piles of the State Grid are the most mainstream charging pile standard in China, and almost all domestic electric vehicles are produced in accordance with the charging pile standards of the State Grid. According to relevant data, as of September 2014, there were 640 charging stations and 28,000 charging piles in China; but in 2015, the number of charging stations planned to be built nationwide reached 1,549, and the number of charging piles planned to be built reached 240,000, which is nearly 10 times the number in 2014. In Beijing alone, the city has built a total of about 1,500 social public charging piles, and more than 60% are located within the Fifth Ring Road.

For electric car owners, there are actually two main places to charge their electric cars, namely, private charging piles and public charging piles. As a consumer, before planning to buy an electric car, you should survey your own parking space or garage to see if it has the installation conditions, and you can register with a 4S store for on-site inspection to determine the specific installation method.

As for the types of charging piles, currently household charging piles are roughly divided into two types: wall-mounted and vertical charging piles. The advantage of wall-mounted charging piles is that they save space and are relatively cheap, but they must be installed on a wall where wiring can be done. Vertical charging piles are relatively expensive and take up a large space, but they can be installed in a parking lot with open space around them.

Since charging piles are also considered to be essential supporting equipment for vehicles, many automobile manufacturers currently have different policies for the installation of charging piles. Some manufacturers are responsible for installing charging piles for free, and only a small number require customers to pay.

In addition to charging at your own charging station when you go home at night, it is also common to charge at public charging stations when you go out. At this time, we need to apply for an electric card to purchase and pay for charging electricity. At present, in major cities in China, the business halls under the State Grid can apply for charging cards for free. In Beijing, the 46 power business halls (offices) distributed in various districts can apply for free. In addition, a few Putian and Sinopec can also apply.

Charging electric cars is the same as refueling ordinary cars. You need to spend money to buy electricity. The specific charging standards are composed of two parts: the amount of electricity purchased and the charging service fee. Taking Beijing as an example, from August 1 this year, the upper limit of the charging standard per kilowatt-hour for charging piles in Beijing is 15% of the highest retail price of Beijing No. 92 gasoline per liter on that day, plus a comprehensive fee of 0.8 yuan per kWh. From the current national comprehensive charging pile charging standards, the highest in Jiangxi Province is about 2.36 yuan per kWh (including electricity and service fees), while the lowest in Qingdao is 0.65 yuan per kWh (no service fee).

However, at present, taking Beijing as an example, the systems of various operating service providers are not interoperable. Therefore, for users who want to travel freely between various charging piles, they actually need to apply for four electric cards, namely the recharge cards jointly issued by the State Grid, Putian, Fudian, and BAIC New Energy and Triumph. Since the settlement systems of various companies are not universal, it is impossible to achieve the convenience of "one card" in the short term. In addition, since the public charging piles invested and built by social capital have been charging service fees of varying prices, this has also brought difficulties to unified settlement.

In fact, popularizing electric vehicles is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. It not only saves money, but also protects the environment. However, as the most fundamental charging pile network for the development of electric vehicles, it is still at a very early stage. According to the feedback from the media and netizens, there are often problems such as incompatible charging plugs, long charging time, or charging card swallowing. However, we believe that with the continuous emergence of various high-quality electric vehicles, the continuous attention of consumers and the market to electric vehicles, and the government's continuous increase in support for the development of electric vehicles, we believe that charging piles will become one of the most important links in promoting the development of electric vehicles in the future.

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.