Original title: New energy vehicles continue to add "weight" for assured consumption
After years of market cultivation, new energy vehicles have played a very important role in the domestic automobile market, which not only exceeded the general market expectations, but also pulled the overall car market back.
According to the data of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers), in the first eight months of this year, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles was close to 1/4, showing a rapid growth trend. How to create a safe and secure new energy vehicle consumption market environment has become the most concerned topic of consumers.
Significantly improved market position
"At present, the new energy vehicle market is at the best stage of development in history, and the growing monthly sales data is the best proof of the hot market." Referring to the performance of the new energy vehicle market this year, Xu Haidong, the deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, told the China Consumer Daily that, from the perspective of sales, the monthly sales of new energy vehicles remained more than doubled year-on-year.
Influenced by various factors, the automobile market showed great fluctuations this year, and only by the end of August did it achieve positive growth. In contrast, new energy vehicles that have entered the high-speed development track have always maintained a high growth rate. According to the data of China Automobile Association, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in the first eight months of this year reached 3.86 million, up 1.1 times year-on-year. In 2021, the cumulative sales volume of new energy vehicles will be 3.521 million, and the sales volume in the first eight months of this year has surpassed that of the whole year last year.
At the beginning of this year, the China Automobile Association predicted that the sales of new energy vehicles this year would be 5 million. As the market performance exceeded expectations, the industry is full of expectations for new energy vehicles this year. This year's sales of new energy vehicles are likely to exceed the 6 million mark. At present, the number of new energy vehicles has exceeded 11 million, which is expected to reach the goal of 13 million within the year.
On the one hand is the overall downward moving car market, and on the other hand is the new energy vehicle market, which has reached new heights. Between the increase and decrease, it highlights the improvement of the market position of new energy vehicles.
The sales volume of new energy vehicles continues to grow, which makes major automobile enterprises increase their investment in new energy vehicle products. According to incomplete statistics by the reporter, since this year, automobile enterprises have launched more than 100 new energy vehicles to the market, and the number of new energy vehicles launched is far more than the same period in previous years.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Joint Conference, who has long observed the new energy vehicle product planning, told the reporter of the China Consumer Daily that auto enterprises regard the demand of the consumer market as the basis of product layout and strategic choice direction. Nowadays, under the wave of electrification development, both traditional car enterprises and new car brands regard new energy as the key development object. "In a sense, embracing new energy vehicles is not a multiple choice question for car companies, but a must answer question for survival." He said bluntly.
In November 2020, the New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035) issued by the General Office of the State Council proposed that by 2025, the sales of new energy vehicles would reach about 20% of the total sales of new vehicles.
At that time, the industry also debated whether the new energy vehicles could meet the target on schedule. Now, less than two years ago, new energy vehicles have proved themselves with actual performance.
According to the data of China Automobile Association, in August, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles has risen to 28%. It is expected that with the arrival of the "golden nine and silver ten", this number will soon exceed 30%. Miao Wei, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, said publicly at the 4th Global New Energy and Smart Vehicle Supply Chain Innovation Conference recently that the promotion target of new energy vehicle market penetration will probably be achieved this year.
After more than 10 years, from the edge of the market to the mainstream, the automobile market has witnessed the development and growth of new energy vehicles.
Included in the scope of "three guarantees" for automobiles
2022 is a milestone year for new energy vehicles, which not only breaks the market sales expectations, but also fills the gap of "three guarantees" for new energy vehicles.
New energy vehicles are rapidly popularized, and quality disputes around the "three electricity" system (motor, power battery, electronic control system) are gradually increasing. When asking for a return or replacement of goods due to major quality problems, some businesses refuse to perform corresponding responsibilities on the ground that the new energy vehicles are not protected by relevant regulations.
As the new energy vehicle is a new product, the warranty, after-sales and other relevant provisions in the past period of time still refer to the traditional fuel vehicle products. As a result, due to the lack of identification specifications for core components of new energy vehicles, it is impossible to include the power battery, motor, electronic control system and other important components of new energy vehicles into the corresponding protection scope.
This means that in the process of use, once the quality of key parts of the vehicle is damaged, the consumer may ultimately bear the responsibility for the lack of corresponding liability provisions. The legitimate rights and interests of new energy vehicle owners cannot be fundamentally protected.
In response to this phenomenon, last year, the State Administration of Market Supervision released a new version of the Provisions on the Responsibility for the Repair, Replacement and Return of Household Automotive Products (hereinafter referred to as the new version of "San Bao"), which will be implemented on January 1, 2022, and new energy vehicles (pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles) will be officially included.
Specifically, the new terms related to new energy vehicles in the new version of "San Bao" include: the traction battery and the driving drive motor are included in the scope of free replacement as the main parts of the household vehicle in parallel with the engine and transmission; The quality problems of special components such as traction battery and driving motor are included in the "three guarantees" return and replacement terms.
In addition, in view of the frequent battery safety incidents of new energy vehicles in the market, the new version of "San Bao" will also include the ignition of the traction battery in the terms of free return and replacement. Within 60 days from the date of validity of the "Three Guarantees" or within 3000 kilometers (whichever comes first) of the household automotive product, if the power battery catches fire due to quality problems, consumers can choose to replace the household automotive product or return the product with the purchase invoice and the "Three Guarantees" certificate.
Cui Dongshu said that with the implementation of the "three guarantees" of the new version of cars, the quality of new energy vehicles has laws to follow, so that consumers can understand the boundaries of their rights and interests, which is crucial for consumers to protect their own rights and interests.
Strengthen the construction of safety system
In real life, the safety problems of new energy vehicles occur from time to time, which always overdraw the trust of consumers in new energy vehicles.
According to the statistics released by the Emergency Management Department, 640 new energy vehicle fires occurred in the first quarter of 2022, up 32% year on year. The fire risk of new energy vehicles is generally higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles.
In order to improve the quality and safety level of new energy vehicles, in April, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the State Administration of Market Supervision jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of the Safety System of New Energy Vehicle Enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), proposing that the safety management mechanism, product quality and safety Test platform efficiency and other aspects comprehensively improve the overall safety level of new energy vehicles, and create a good consumer market environment for new energy vehicles.
The Opinions pointed out that automobile enterprises should clarify the responsible department for safety management and promote the construction of safety system as a whole; Improve the safety management system, regularly organize safety education and training, and improve the safety awareness and related skills of staff.
As a core component, the quality of power battery directly determines the quality and safety of new energy vehicles. From the safety accidents in recent years, it can be seen that whether the vehicle self ignites during driving or catches fire during charging, it is more or less related to the quality of the power battery. The Opinions clearly require automobile enterprises to develop and continuously improve product safety design guidance documents, strengthen product online and offline testing, strengthen supplier management and encourage them to actively cooperate with and open necessary data protocols, and carry out design collaboration with battery suppliers to ensure product quality and safety.
Strengthening the construction of new energy vehicle safety system has always been the top priority in the development of new energy vehicles. In the three mandatory national standards for electric vehicles, namely, Safety Requirements for Electric Vehicles, Safety Requirements for Electric Buses and Safety Requirements for Traction Batteries for Electric Vehicles, which came into effect on January 1 last year, the thermal diffusion test of the battery system is specially added, requiring that the battery system should not fire or explode within five minutes after the thermal runaway of the battery cell, so as to reserve a safe escape time for passengers.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and others have also incorporated the strengthening of product safety supervision and guidance into the 2022 new energy subsidy policy, added the provisions of "improving the safety supervision system of new energy vehicles, further compacting the main responsibility of new energy vehicle manufacturers", required to implement the main responsibility of new energy vehicle manufacturers for product quality, and encouraged enterprises to actively carry out defect investigation and voluntary recall, It is also required to accelerate the establishment of vehicle accident reporting system. For those who conceal accident information and do not cooperate with the investigation, the subsidy qualification for the involved vehicle models will be suspended or cancelled depending on the seriousness of the circumstances.
Cui Dongshu said that no matter how the automobile market evolves, safety is always the basic guarantee that all automobile products, including new energy vehicles, should have, which is related to the life and property safety of consumers, and is the top priority of automobile enterprises in product research and development. For automobile enterprises, providing consumers with safe and reliable new energy vehicles is also the basis for winning market trust.
