Now the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is more than 50%, which has triggered many discussions in the industry. Many people believe that fuel vehicles are going to die.
However, the author has seen a lot of online surveys, and still many people choose to buy fuel vehicles. From the survey data of Paul PS3 on microblog, will they choose to buy fuel vehicles or new energy vehicles in the future? Among them, the proportion of preferred fuel vehicles is the highest, more than 60%. Judging from the voice of netizens, there are not a few people who support fuel vehicles.
In the statistics of the Passenger Car Association, FAW-VW sold 395266 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, including 374491 fuel vehicles, ranking first in the industry. In the SUV ranking list in the first four weeks of March in the first quarter of 2024, the SUVs with the highest sales of the world's major brands still rely on fuel vehicles.
Why is the penetration rate of new energy vehicles so high, and some people are stubborn to choose fuel vehicles?
Based on the observation of the pain points that netizens care about, the author believes that there may be several reasons.
First of all, it is easy to buy an electric car, but after buying a car, there are still many headaches. First of all, because there is no private charging post, or because of security concerns, the community does not allow the installation of private charging posts to cause trouble to owners. We often see new energy vehicle companies regret buying a car. For example, they have to wait in line when driving out to recharge in the middle of the night. After all, they have to use it the next day after work.
Secondly, insurance premium is becoming the pain point that car owners pay close attention to. On the one hand, insurance is more expensive than fuel cars.
There are 300000 new energy vehicle owners who show their basic insurance, including compulsory traffic insurance, commercial insurance and driving accident insurance, with a premium of nearly 7000 yuan, which is almost the same as that of a fuel vehicle of about 500000 yuan.
The previous data showed that the new energy vehicle insurance is 1.8 times that of fuel vehicles, and even the premium is still rising. Why? First of all, in terms of manufacturing technology, the new energy vehicles are often stamped as a whole, and the maintenance costs will be huge if they are slightly bumpy. The front and rear lamps are also connected to the left and right, so you have to replace them once you touch them. The insurance company has to settle the accounts.
Therefore, this involves maintenance costs. Now, if there is a problem with new energy vehicles, if they need to replace parts, they basically need to go to the 4S shop. The repair shop basically won't repair them. Because the new energy vehicles include the three electricity system, they are basically electronic products, which are more complex to repair and have high maintenance costs.
Now, the competition for new energy vehicles is fierce. Once some new power vehicle enterprises go out of business, due to the scarcity of spare parts, the vehicles and machines become bricks, and the after-sales service is even more insecure.
Auto insurance is a barometer of safety accidents, and insurance companies are the most astute. The information revealed by the premium is that oil vehicles are more cost-effective in terms of maintenance costs, while the maintenance system of new energy vehicles, including hardware and manpower, needs to be improved, otherwise it will affect the value of the vehicle. Many ordinary people will also consider the problems of high maintenance costs and difficulty in handling.
This involves the second issue, the issue of hedging. Now fuel vehicles are still more conservative than new energy vehicles. The China Automobile Circulation Association issued the Research Report on China's Automobile Value Preservation Rate in March 2024, pointing out that the value preservation rate of luxury brands is high and the price of luxury brands is stable.
However, the value preservation ratio of new energy vehicles is declining rapidly, regardless of the technical route, there is a large decline, and the value preservation ratio of self owned brands shows a continuous downward trend. This is worth the attention of new energy manufacturers.
Although in the second-hand car market, oil cars do not maintain their value, they can still be sold at least. But after buying electric cars, they are more difficult to sell than oil cars. Many second-hand car dealers dare not accept them. The value preservation rate of second-hand cars is still a problem that many consumers care about.
The third is that auto safety comes first. Spontaneous combustion is a problem that many consumers worry about. Although many data show that fuel vehicles can also spontaneously ignite, the fire of new energy vehicles is more difficult to extinguish and more dangerous. In 2023, the data from the automobile exposure platform shows that 8 new energy vehicles will catch fire on average every day.
In the past, Yu Chengdong repeatedly stressed in the press conference that the problem is zero spontaneous combustion. Many cars are burning every day. The car companies emphasized that they did not have spontaneous combustion to persuade consumers that their cars are safer. This problem is also a major concern of consumers when buying cars.
At the beginning of the year, on the outlying islands of Hainan Island, oil tankers could get on board, while new energy vehicles could not buy tickets on a large scale, which was behind the concern that the fire of new energy vehicles could not be extinguished.
After all, the self ignition of fuel vehicles is relatively slow, which gives them time to escape. New energy vehicles are fast in self ignition, unable to extinguish, and release a large amount of toxic gas, which is more dangerous. Many new energy vehicles are hidden door handles, and the door may not be opened for external rescue, which is more dangerous.
Although many manufacturers have made a lot of efforts to avoid spontaneous combustion, due to the large number of automobile enterprises and products, this is also an important concern for consumers, which also reminds new energy automobile enterprises and the system level to try to minimize the battery risk.
Fourth, high speed is a very important demand for many consumers. Although the penetration rate has reached 50%, when you look at high speed, most of them are fuel vehicles. The pain point of trams running at high speed is not only the problem of endurance mileage such as low temperature endurance and fracture in cold winter weather, but also the endurance ability of "high speed".
Some netizens mentioned that the battery with 600km range can basically run 600km on normal urban roads. But once you drive at a high speed and the speed reaches 120 or above, the power consumption increases rapidly. It's very good to run 400 kilometers! If this problem cannot be solved, electric vehicles cannot be the ideal choice for long-distance driving.
The fourth is the problem of vehicle change cycle and service life. Ordinary wage earners buy cars and choose fuel vehicles. In fact, there are also considerations about the service life behind them. Most fuel cars don't have much problem after driving for more than ten years. However, new energy vehicles remind consumers to change within 4-6 years due to battery life and service life.
At present, the battery cost of new energy vehicles accounts for 40% - 60% of the vehicle cost, or even higher. That is to say, the battery cost of a new energy vehicle of about 200000 yuan will reach 80000-120000 yuan.
The battery of new energy vehicles is not only high in cost, but also complex in structure, which is difficult to disassemble and maintain. Its repairability is often lower than that of traditional fuel vehicles.
For some consumers, changing cars in 4-6 years can give them a better sense of technology, but for another group of relatively conservative consumers, they prefer longer car use cycles and higher stability, reliability and cost performance.
In addition, the tires of electric vehicles are more expensive than those of gasoline vehicles. For automobiles, the life cycle of parts and components and the service life of batteries are far lower than that of engines. The life and price of electric vehicle tires also need attention.
500 tires for oil vehicles, 1800~2000 yuan for electric vehicles, and even 3000~5000 yuan for high-end tires. The owner of a car repair shop revealed that there is no way to mix the tires of new energy vehicles with ordinary car tires, otherwise it will cause trouble.
Because electric vehicles need to bear greater torque and weight, the design and material requirements of tires are more powerful and durable. In addition, the power of electric vehicles directly comes from batteries, which may lead to higher friction heat, making tires need to have better handling and stability. The power output of electric vehicles is also more rapid when starting and braking. These factors have led to an increase in the cost of R&D and use of electric vehicle tires, so the price is relatively high.
Many consumers change their tires every three to five years when they drive more than 60000 to 80000 kilometers. The tire cost is also a cost that many consumers are considering.
New energy vehicles involve high-speed scenarios, difficult maintenance, expensive parts replacement, high insurance premiums, safety scenarios, service life, short car changing cycles and other pain points. The current cost performance ratio, practicality and stability of fuel vehicles are irreplaceable in the minds of many consumers, which is why the development of new energy vehicles today, There are still many important reasons for consumers to choose fuel vehicles.
This also reminds new energy vehicle manufacturers not to be complacent about the penetration rate of new energy exceeding 50%, but to effectively solve the existing pain and itch points of new energy vehicles. After all, new energy vehicles are now competing for customers who are still choosing fuel vehicles. What are they thinking about? What are you worried about? It is the core issue that car enterprises need to care about. Whether we can really impress them on the products and solve their pain points and concerns may be the key to decide the further development of new energy vehicle enterprises.
