Automobiles ┃ New energy vehicle companies face three major challenges
Since the beginning of the year, the new energy vehicle industry has been experiencing continuous pain, and the overall market performance is not optimistic, especially in the segmented market, where the commercial vehicle sector is even more bleak.
As April 1 approaches, what step have the corporate platforms and vehicle models reached in testing?
Recently, news regarding the national monitoring platform has attracted widespread attention in the industry, as this regulation is closely linked to the recommended directory, ultimately pointing to subsidies.
It is understood that vehicle testing and platform testing share a set of appointment systems. There is only one monitoring center at Beihang University, but there are hundreds of vehicle manufacturers and thousands of models, which gives a sense of "a thousand troops crossing a single-log bridge."
Companies must first complete the testing of platforms and vehicle models at the monitoring center, from making an appointment in advance—on-site confirmation—monitoring center testing—data organization, review, and report issuance—to finally uploading to the China Machinery, with too many factors affecting appointment, queuing, and uncertainty, the entire process can take as short as several days or as long as several months.
As long as a company has not passed the inspection for a day, it cannot be at ease for a day.
Two batches of recommended directories have been issued, and companies have no cars to sell.
A salesperson from a certain car company bluntly stated that all their cars from last year have been sold, but this year they are facing the reality that they cannot sell cars without being on the recommended directory. Not being able to sell cars without being on the recommended directory is indeed a pain point in the new energy vehicle industry, so companies must enter the recommended directory to secure a place in the market.
This year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released two batches of recommended directories, with a relatively short interval of less than two months between the first two batches, but the total number of these two batches is less than the fifth batch from last year, so companies that have not entered are looking forward to more opportunities, resulting in 294 batches of new cars being announced with over 690 new energy vehicle products declared. From a probabilistic perspective, the more companies declare, the higher the likelihood of entering the "Announcement" and "Recommended Directory."
The battery whitelist is also a hard threshold; the companies on the battery directory are more favored, and the corresponding battery directory presents a challenge for battery companies.
Although there is no definitive news indicating whether the recommended directory is linked to the battery directory, it is still very necessary for power battery companies to enter the directory, and the supporting battery companies in the recommended directory reflect the preferences of vehicle manufacturers, mostly collaborating with companies on the battery whitelist.
It is understood that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released four batches of battery directories, with a total of 57 battery companies listed (including system companies), but there are far more than 57 power battery companies in the country, so companies that have not entered the battery directory are eagerly hoping to obtain testing reports issued by qualified institutions for power storage battery testing through the new national standard product inspection to apply for entry into the battery directory.
In fact, many battery companies are stuck at the testing stage, as there are only a few nationally recognized testing institutions by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, such as the National Automotive Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Beijing), Tianjin Automotive Testing Center, National Automotive Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Xiangyang), and National Motor Vehicle Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Chongqing), similar to the situation of a thousand troops crossing a single-log bridge, and the costs are high.
The rapid development of new energy vehicles in China cannot be separated from national and local policies, and companies have a love-hate relationship with these policies, as following the national pace is like being pinched by the throat, losing not only the initiative but also facing life-threatening risks, while discussing the market without policies is like hitting a stone with an egg, leaving companies in a dilemma.
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