Weilai did not initiate the power exchange mode, but formed a set of ideas for power exchange through its own research and practice, which further promoted the wide application of power exchange mode in the whole industry. Wei Lai does have some "stubbornness" in this respect.
Two days ago, Fortune magazine published a list of companies that will change the world in 2020. The only China car company is Weilai. Last year, China Auto was selected by BYD.
This is a typical American proposition, and the proposition of "changing the world" is indeed a bit grand. The reason given by Fortune magazine is:
Buying electric vehicles without batteries is an innovative business model of China electric vehicle brand Weilai. This model is changing an industry constrained by high prices, mileage anxiety and insufficient charging facilities. Weilai has launched a battery rental service (BaaS) based on the separation of vehicle and electricity, which allows users to purchase electric vehicles separately and rent batteries, providing flexible battery service that can be recharged, replaced and upgraded.
Think of BYD, which entered the list last year, because it became the world's largest manufacturer of new energy vehicles in a relatively short period of time and was successfully shortlisted. Therefore, new energy vehicles are likely to be the benchmark element in the selection of Fortune magazine, and innovation on this basis is the key.
According to the thread of Fortune magazine, BYD brought the world to the era of new energy vehicles before Tesla, and Weilai Automobile eased many pain points of this era. This evaluation is very high.
However, when we look back carefully, it is not uncommon for us to discuss and try the power exchange mode at home and even around the world. As early as more than ten years ago, some cities in China tried to change the power test station, and the State Grid also put forward many schemes for the power change mode.
But why did Fortune magazine award this honor to Weilai, a new force making cars?
Weilai did not initiate the power exchange mode, but formed a set of power exchange ideas through its own research and practice, which further promoted the wide application of power exchange mode in the whole industry. Wei Lai does have some "stubbornness" in this respect.
At present, in the domestic new energy vehicle industry, especially in the pure electric vehicle industry, there has always been a dispute between "charging" and "changing electricity". Compared with the familiar charging mode, the battery replacement mode is still in a stage to be tested.
Theoretically speaking, the advantages and disadvantages of power exchange mode are clear, and the key is how to neutralize such advantages and disadvantages in the whole industry in the future.
First of all, as we all know, the construction cost of changing power stations is high. Take Wei as an example. According to the standard set by Wei, the annual investment of a power station is about 2 million yuan. Even if the price of a single electricity exchange is around 700 yuan, it will take about 8 years to break even. This is not an easily digestible cost for users and car companies themselves.
Secondly, judging from the current development status of new energy vehicles in China, the battery brand, size, capacity, layout and even interface of each vehicle enterprise and model are different, which requires not only time and money, but also policies to fully promote these, so as to achieve a unified standard system for the whole industry.
Third, the charging method is widely used. At present, most cities in China have relatively perfect charging facilities, and most users have been able to accept this charging method. Unless the power exchange mode is mature enough to be more economical and convenient than the charging mode, it is difficult to persuade users to change the established charging habits in a short time.
Of course, the power exchange mode advocated by Weilai Automobile has obvious advantages: the power exchange time is much shorter than the charging time, and even the refueling time can be faster than that of the fuel vehicle; Centralized maintenance of the battery is carried out by changing power stations to ensure the life and safety of the battery; Peak-valley centralized charging can further reduce the cost of electricity.
After the above theoretical analysis, in the long run, the battery replacement mode is indeed a more suitable energy endurance mode for electric vehicles, but in the short run, it is more difficult to achieve large-scale popularization than the charging mode.
From this perspective, Weilai's contribution is not only that it has always been optimistic about the power exchange mode, but also that it has made positive attempts within its own company. More importantly, it has been trying to advocate and promote the whole industry.
But obviously, what is more important is the driving force of the "invisible hand" of policy.
In April this year, the four ministries and commissions jointly issued the "Notice on Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles", which clearly mentioned that vehicles in the power exchange mode are not subject to the subsidy threshold of 300,000 yuan. Then, in May, the "Government Work Report" released at the Third Session of the 13th National People's Congress, the power exchange station was included in the newly added national infrastructure projects for the first time.
For a time, the voice of "changing the power mode to the wind" was very rampant, and many domestic car companies also heard the news.
In July this year, BAIC and State Grid reached an in-depth cooperation in the field of power exchange; China Southern Power Grid also formally joined hands with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.; Chang 'an establishes Chongqing Power Exchange Alliance. In the following August, Japan Softbank Energy and Aodong New Energy cooperated strategically; In September, Geely Intelligent Power Exchange Station was unveiled. At present, more than 1 1,000 power stations have been signed nationwide.
According to auto business review, before July this year, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology saw the imported Weilai power exchange equipment. After that, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology met overnight to discuss the power exchange mode.
Subsequently, on July 23, Vice Minister Xin said at the press conference of the State Council Office that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to vigorously promote the construction of charging and replacing infrastructure, encourage enterprises to research and develop replacement vehicles according to applicable scenarios, support the pilot promotion in Jinghai, and promote the high-quality development of the new energy automobile industry.
"Despite the rapid development of the industry, there are still problems such as weak core technology, high vehicle cost and inconvenient charging. New Guo Bin said. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology encourages enterprises to develop new charging and replacing technologies for new energy vehicles, explores the application of the "separation of vehicles and electricity" model, and will work with relevant departments to improve relevant technical standards and management policies.
Subsequently, on August 20th, Weilai officially released the BaaS battery service. There are four necessary conditions for Li Bin to put forward the practice of "separation of vehicles and electricity", one of which is policy support, and the other three are vehicles that can be exchanged for electricity, an operation service system for exchanging electricity, and an independent battery asset company.
To some extent, the power exchange mode was not initiated by Wei Lai, and the development of the power exchange mode could not be promoted by Wei Lai alone. However, Weilai Automobile does help to "promote" the power exchange mode to the national policy departments, influence the policy tilt, and attach importance to the power exchange mode.
There is a saying on the internet that "looking down from the 80 th floor, everything is beautiful; But looking down from the second floor, it's all rubbish. If a person has no height, he will see all problems; If people don't have a pattern, what they see is trivial. 」
In the war-torn business battlefield, every enterprise is like this. In an era of global resources and more transparent information, a commendable innovative move is actually more manifested in upholding and promoting an innovative thinking.
For example, before the popularization of new energy vehicles, BYD always believed that the era of new energy vehicles would come, so it shifted its development focus to the field of new energy vehicles very early; For example, in the case that the charging mode has begun to be accepted by most people, Weilai Automobile strives to promote a more popular power exchange mode.
These innovations lie not only in the contribution of automobiles to technological upgrading in related fields, but also in their unique vision and perseverance in pursuing innovation in corresponding fields.
From this point of view, BYD last year and Weilai this year did not live up to the heavy list of propositions of "changing the world" given by Fortune.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.