In other words, in 2023, Weilai will add 1000 power stations on the previous basis. Among them, about 400 power stations will be built in expressway service area or expressway; About 600 will be deployed in urban areas, including third-and fourth-tier cities and county towns. After this year's deployment, Weilai will invest more than 2,300 power stations in China.
Weilai wants what users need.
Prior to this, Weilai also expressed the reasons for the key layout of power exchange stations, which is the continuous pursuit of users' power exchange experience.
During the Spring Festival holiday this year, Weilai's survey data showed that the demand for "long-distance driving" was so strong that during the holiday, Weilai Power Station provided users with more than 654.38+0.245 million power exchange services, and expressway alone carried out more than 370,000 power exchange services.
Among the users, 18 users traveled more than 10000 km in the past month during the Spring Festival, and the users who ran the most mileage reached 19577 km. Undoubtedly, this mainly depends on the strong assistance of Weilai power exchange system.
Accordingly, Weilai's operating pressure on the power exchange system began to appear. After the opening of free power exchange during the Spring Festival, the average waiting time for a single power exchange is 13.08 minutes. Therefore, in order to improve the experience of power exchange and reduce the waiting time of users, Weilai finally decided to build a 1000 power exchange station.
However, what does the power exchange mode of private users mean to enterprise operation? What is the demonstration effect of Weilai accelerated power station layout on the high-end intelligent new energy battlefield?
Recently, in the latest issue of the online "Hard Core Cloud Salon" organized by the Hard Core Automobile Research Institute, many senior media people and industry analysts conducted in-depth discussions on this topic.
As the first owner of Weilai ES6, Han Jia said that her daily energy supplement is mainly based on changing electricity. First, the power exchange experience is faster, and second, the power exchange service is free for old car owners. "Some car owners will choose to change electricity for free even if they have charging piles at home."
He believes that it is definitely a good thing for Weilai to speed up the layout, which will greatly enhance the convenience of users, especially making it possible for trams to travel at high speed and long distance.
In history's view, the most important reason for Weilai to attack the "power exchange mode" is based on the needs of users. One is that the power station provides users with a charging experience comparable to that of a fuel vehicle, which greatly shortens the charging time; Second, with the increasing number of users, the demand for changing power stations will naturally increase.
Third, with the popularization of new energy vehicles, the penetration rate of electric vehicles is changing with each passing day. "From 2065438 to 2022, the monthly penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China increased from 4.06% to 3 1.85%, an increase of nearly 7 times. In 2022, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China reached 25%. This data has already led the global 12 percentage point, which is three times that of the United States. "
Historically, the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles will further increase in the long run, which will lead to fierce competition in the industry. At this time, Weilai invested heavily in the construction of power exchange station, naturally hoping to further consolidate the "long board" of power exchange and energy replenishment system, thus enhancing its appeal to users.
Yang Xiaolin, a senior auto media person, added the reason of "user demand": "Users have a strong demand for power exchange. First, the charging method is inconvenient when driving long distances; Second, due to geographical restrictions (such as the old city of Beijing), it is unrealistic to install private charging piles, so changing electricity is the most reliable energy supplement measure for users. "
The power exchange experience needs to be iteratively upgraded.
Based on this, Weilai has built a high-speed power exchange network of five vertical, three horizontal and eight urban agglomerations, and the time cost and experience of power exchange in expressway are better than that of ordinary charging methods.
In particular, the plan to replace power stations in 600 urban areas this year will focus on urban areas with a certain user base and no power stations, further radiating local people. You know, the word "electricity room" comes from Weilai community, which refers to the living and office space within 3 kilometers from the power station.
At present, the coverage rate of the "electricity room" of Weilai Power Station has reached 69%, which shows that the layout of Weilai Power Station is quite wide and extremely accurate. It can be predicted that after further accelerating the construction of power exchange stations this year, it will undoubtedly radiate to potential users in more towns. Furthermore, the existence of the power exchange station makes it possible to have a "rechargeable, replaceable and upgradeable" comprehensive charging experience. Especially when there is demand, it can be flexibly upgraded. For example, before a long trip, you can change to a battery pack with long battery life.
In short, the further "encryption" of changing power stations will allow more people to experience or witness the "zero anxiety travel experience" brought by the mode of changing power stations, thus further guiding more people to become new experiencers of Weilai and expanding the user group of Weilai. To put it more bluntly, the more optimized the number and layout of power stations, the more obvious the boost to Weilai automobile sales.
Talking about what is an excellent power exchange experience, Han Jia, a senior user of Weilai, described the change of Weilai's power exchange experience from green to mature.
He said that from the first generation station to the third generation station, Weilai has been continuously optimizing the user's energy supplement system from the research and development end. The service capacity of the third generation power station, which is about to go online, is already quite strong. The number of battery stations has increased to 2 1, and the daily service times can reach 408 times, which is 30% higher than that of the second generation station. "In addition, the brand-new three-station cooperative operation mechanism has improved the work efficiency like the automobile production line, and the power change time has been directly shortened by 20%, which may be faster than the fuel truck queuing for refueling."
In addition, Han Jia also said that Weilai's power exchange advantage lies in the number of free power exchanges for users. Even if you need to charge after exceeding the quota, the charging standard is based on the "degree" of the new battery, which is not much different from the charging standard, and the pricing is conscience. In addition, Weilai's flexible battery upgrade scheme is also a big advantage, which can make rational use of resources and effectively reduce the cost of users' cars.
In history, the first element of a good power exchange experience is convenience, many outlets, high speed and high success rate of power exchange.
Li believes that an excellent power exchange scheme should not only satisfy users, but also make enterprises "profitable", so that such a scheme can continue. If we can continue to explore in this direction, Weilai's power exchange mode will become "sustainable". From this point of view, the power exchange experience will continue to rise in a virtuous circle.
Long-term sustainable investment is crucial.
Since the power exchange experience is of great significance for users to replenish energy, why is Weilai the only one in the high-end intelligent new energy battlefield doing power exchange layout so far? Moreover, with the increasing number of power exchange stations and the expanding users of Weilai, what challenges will Weilai's power exchange station system face in the long-term operation?
Shi said that how to grasp the pace of enterprise development is the most important thing. For example, battery standardization is the basis of large-scale power exchange system. At this stage, Weilai has gradually tried to open up the technical cooperation of charging and replacing electricity, and I believe this enterprise can do the same through continuous exploration.
Han Jia said that the key challenge of long-term operation is the competition for capacitor resources: "Many brands are planning to introduce the power exchange mode, but the physical conditions cannot meet the needs of each brand to build multiple power exchange stations."
Of course, in this regard, Wei Lai does not need to worry too much. Because before the end of the year, Weilai will build 2300 power stations, which means that they have seized the opportunity and occupied limited high-quality station resources. I'm afraid it's already difficult for other brands to catch up.
The third challenge is to balance the utilization ratio of resources, and the key is the distribution of power exchange stations in expressway and urban areas. At this point, Weilai, which has built a high-speed power exchange network with "five vertical, three horizontal and eight urban agglomerations" and "electricity rooms" covering nearly 70% of users, has also been far ahead.
The new brand plan helps upgrade the power exchange mode.
The question is, with the launch of sub-brands such as Alps and Firefly, will Weilai's power exchange mode focusing on serving high-end smart electric vehicles be decentralized to low-end brands?
As we all know, Weilai will officially launch the Alpine brand with a price of 200,000 yuan in the near future, and the follow-up economic car brand "Firefly" is also planned. Therefore, whether the new brand is compatible with power exchange will undoubtedly affect the "car purchase options" of potential users.
According to Li, the answer to this question should be obvious. He said: "The commercial laws through the ages prove that the more economical and standardized the brand is. Therefore, if Weilai can solve the problem of battery standardization, there will definitely be a battery replacement mode in the energy replenishment system of the new brand. "
In this regard, Yang Xiaolin further added: "Weilai can set different exchange prices according to different brands, so that users can have a psychological balance and take care of users of two new brands."
Han Jia revealed that in a previous interview, Li Bin promised the media that the Alps would be compatible with the power exchange system. Of course, the details have to wait for the final official announcement. However, in his view, it is almost certain that the power exchange model is applied to new brands, because solving the mileage anxiety problem is the initial intention of Weilai from its birth to the present.
"Wei to consider from the beginning. What are the reasons why people don't buy electric cars? It is more convenient to refuel than to power up. If charging is more convenient than refueling, electric vehicles have a reason to be chosen, so Weilai must make it more convenient than refueling. "
At the end of the live broadcast, the last question can be described as the underlying logic of Weilai's power exchange mode: "Will you choose to buy a Weilai because you can exchange power?" All three guests expressed their different ideas and views on this issue.
In Li's view, he won't buy a car because of the benefits of changing electricity. The first element of buying a car still depends on the car itself. The implication is that although the service and experience outside the car is also an important reference for car purchase, the comprehensive experience of providing similar energy supplement services based on excellent products is obviously better.
Shi said that due to different personal habits and preferences, there is not much demand for recharging. If the daily charging problem can be easily solved by charging piles, charging will still be the first choice to solve the charging problem.
Han Jia, the original owner of Weilai ES6 who is used to changing electricity and thinks it has always been "cool", said: "We should not only look at the attractiveness of the mode of changing electricity, but also consider whether the energy supplement system is perfect. In fact, Weilai's one-button boot, that is, the upgrade experience of the housekeeper driving the car away, is more attractive to me than the power change mode. "
This article comes from Che Yi, the author of Che Hao, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for any form of reprint. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.