The curtain of new energy vehicle power exchange industry is gradually opening.

In the first batch of power exchange stations set up in Xiamen, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, vehicles equipped with standardized batteries are undergoing power exchange demonstration.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited has set up an electric heavy truck power station in Ningde area.

　　On the 18th, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited put the first batch of power exchange stations into operation in Xiamen, which was the first time that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited launched the power exchange brand "EVOGO" at the beginning of the year.

　　Power exchange is not a new concept, but for many years, the power exchange industry has never become the "mainstream" of new energy vehicles, and only a few car companies such as Weilai have changed power stations in scale. This time, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, as the leading power battery, entered the market, can it make the power exchange market stir up waves?

　　Industry leaders are heavily "spoiled"

　　On January 18th, at the online press conference held in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Chairman Zeng Yuqun sat in the car and took out a piece of chocolate and said to the camera, "Want one?" It was at this conference that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited released the mass-produced "chocolate battery" specially developed to realize the power exchange mode, and entered the power exchange market.

　　After 90 days, the first batch of four EVOGO power stations were started in Xiamen.

　　According to Chen Weifeng, general manager of Times Electric Service, the first batch of power exchange stations are located in Siming District, Huli District and Haicang District of Xiamen, and a single standard station covers an area of about 42 square meters (about 3 parking spaces).

　　"Users only need to download EVOGOApp in the mobile phone application market, after completing the information entry, drive the vehicle into the quick change station, and click’ one-button power change’ on the mobile phone application end. The quick change station will disassemble and install batteries one by one to provide users with power change services. The battery that needs to be replaced in each car is composed of chocolate replacement blocks with different capacities and quantities, and the replacement time of a single chocolate replacement block is about 1 minute. " According to reports, at present, the lowest monthly rent of chocolate battery replacement blocks is 399 yuan/block, and the rental price will be dynamically adjusted according to the different usage conditions of users.

　　According to the reporter’s understanding, the registration place of Times Electric Service is in Xiamen. By the end of this year, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited plans to set up about 30 power exchange stations in Xiamen, and one power exchange station will be set up within every 3 km service radius on the island.

　　In recent years, with the new energy industry getting better and better, the penetration rate of new energy is gradually rising, and the discussion on the topic of power exchange is getting hotter and hotter. It is generally believed in the industry that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited’s entry has made the track of power exchange more lively.

　　As a matter of fact, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited was not the first to lay out power stations in our province.

　　A few days ago, the reporter saw at Weilai Power Station in Yue Feng New Town, Fuzhou that the owner Chen Xiaodi was changing the electricity for his car.

　　I saw that he parked his car at the designated position of the power exchange station, and after one-click operation on the car, the vehicle automatically parked in the power exchange platform. "It only takes a few minutes to change the power, and you don’t have to get off the bus." Mr. Chen told reporters that his home is nearby and there is no charging pile installed in the community. "Car companies promise to change electricity six times a month for free, which can fully meet the daily commuting needs."

　　It is understood that Weilai began to operate the power exchange station in Fujian as early as 2018. Up to now, it has laid out a total of 24 power exchange stations in Fujian. Among them, Yue Feng Xincheng Power Station in Fuzhou is its second generation station, occupying only about 4 parking spaces, with 13 batteries in reserve. The whole process is intelligent and the service capacity is greatly improved.

　　"From the data point of view, more and more car owners have chosen the power exchange service. At present, the power exchange penetration rate of Weilai car owners in the province is close to 78%. " Guo Shuzhen, general manager of Weilai Fuzhou Regional Company, said that power exchange has become the most popular choice for users to travel, and they will choose power exchange service for urban driving and long-distance driving.

　　Weilai recently announced that it will increase the layout of power stations, and plans to build more than 1,300 power stations this year. Previously, it had built 902 power stations nationwide.

　　Leading the era of "separation of vehicles and electricity"

　　"The power exchange mode first appeared, and the biggest pain point to be solved was the slow energy replenishment. This is also the original intention of Weilai to lay out the power exchange system. " Guo Shuzhen said.

　　According to Chen Weifeng, the first batch of power exchange stations put into operation by EVOGO are mainly for the network car market, and will be extended to private cars in the future. Targeting the first show at a specific scene is obviously a market behavior that directly hits the pain point.

　　At present, the fastest charging time for new energy vehicles on the market is more than half an hour, while the time for changing electricity is close to or even faster than that for refueling.

　　In the eyes of the industry, the promotion of power exchange mode is far more than solving the problem of speeding up energy supply.

　　"We are firmly committed to the construction of power exchange network, and increase the layout of battery rental services, battery health monitoring, and flexible battery upgrades derived from power exchange. The purpose is to let car owners completely get rid of concerns such as inconvenient recharge, battery attenuation, and battery technology iteration, and regard it as an important part of future brand competitiveness." Guo Shuzhen said.

　　Obviously, "fast" is an important value of power exchange, but it is not all.

　　According to Tang Jie, an associate professor at the School of Economics of Fujian Normal University, "separation of vehicles and electricity" will enable power battery manufacturers to face consumers directly, thus generating a brand-new industry ecology.

　　Tang Jie believes that new energy vehicle owners have a potential anxiety besides mileage anxiety, that is, "battery life anxiety". "The power exchange service realizes the centralized storage, unified charging and discharging, standardized maintenance and assembly of the battery by changing the power station. In this process, the operator can professionally monitor, maintain, repair, upgrade and even recycle the battery, thus greatly reducing the cost of the battery life cycle." Tang Jie said.

　　On the other hand, with the popularization of power exchange mode, new business models will emerge. "If the power exchange industry grows to a large scale, the business model of buying a car and renting a battery will bring huge market opportunities." Tang Jie said, "In the era when subsidies for new energy vehicles are gradually declining, this new model will also reduce the cost of car owners and save the cost of battery maintenance and replacement in the later period."

　　This is also confirmed by the Notice on Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles issued by the State on April 23, 2020. The notice clearly stated that vehicles in the power exchange mode are not subject to the subsidy threshold of 300,000 yuan. The FAW-Pentium NAT battery-changing model, which was launched in Xiamen together with the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited battery-changing service, is about 80,000 yuan cheaper than the original model under the battery lease mode.

　　The relevant person in charge of Fujian Branch of State Grid Electric Vehicle Service Co., Ltd. believes that the mode of intensive management of changing power stations has less impact on the instantaneous power of the power grid; At the same time, thanks to the energy storage characteristics of the battery itself, the power exchange station may also become a temporary energy storage station to realize peak load shedding and valley filling and feed back the power grid.

　　Happy to see industry-level scale.

　　Over the years, power exchange has never formed an industry-level scale. People in the industry generally believe that high construction cost and difficulty in standardization are obvious obstacles.

　　The reporter learned in the interview that the power exchange mode is "asset-heavy mode", and the equipment cost of a single power exchange station is more than 2 million yuan, which does not include the cost of batteries, land lease and personnel. Therefore, for existing OEMs, only a few enterprises can support such investment.

　　On the other hand, it is generally believed in the industry that the power exchange mode can be profitable only if it is large-scale, which means that it is necessary to get through the battery standards between different brands of new energy vehicles. And many OEMs are reluctant to hand over the right to speak as a core component of the battery.

　　"And this is the significance of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited entering this track as a battery supplier." A related person from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology told reporters.

　　According to the data provided by China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, in 2021, the loading capacity of power batteries in China totaled 154．5GWh, up 142.8% year-on-year. Among them, the installed capacity of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited is 80．51GWh, with a market share of 52.1%.

　　According to the insiders, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited is the battery supplier of most domestic new energy car companies except a few car companies with self-sufficient batteries, and it has inherent advantages for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited to promote the standardization of battery replacement.

　　According to Chen Weifeng, the power exchange system introduced by EVOGO in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited is suitable for most car companies. Its core product-chocolate battery changer can adapt to 80% of the new models that have been listed and will be listed in the next three years. The models span from A00 to B and C passenger cars and logistics vehicles, breaking through the adaptation barriers between batteries and models, and have now achieved mass production.

　　"At present, the chocolate power exchange block has been applied to the combined power exchange version of FAW Pentium NAT. In addition, it has reached cooperation with many car companies, and relevant progress will be released in due course." In Chen Weifeng’s view, EVOGO has a win-win relationship with the vehicle OEMs that provide power exchange services in the market, and jointly make the power exchange service market bigger.

　　As for the cost of building a station, the plan given by Times Electric Service is to join hands and cooperate. For example, partners who have the site and power resources needed for the operation of the power exchange station can cooperate with Times Electric Service in the operation of power exchange through joint ventures, franchises and other modes. For vehicle partners who have experience in vehicle operation and management and purchase more than 100 vehicles at a time, Times Electric Service will provide them with battery leasing and energy replenishment solutions to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

　　As for the entry of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited and the announcement of relevant development routes, OEMs including Weilai are also happy to see it.

　　Guo Shurui said that Wei Lai and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited are both shareholders of Wuhan Weineng, a battery asset company, and they have close cooperation. "At present, the most important competition is the competition between new energy vehicles as a whole and fuel vehicles, so all innovations and business models that are conducive to the convenience of new energy owners and convenient travel are good news for all electric vehicle brands."

　　"If Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited wants to truly turn electricity exchange into an industry, it must stand the market test in terms of coverage of power exchange stations and real efficiency of electricity exchange. At the same time, it also needs to cooperate with more head car companies. This is a step-by-step process." Tang Jie said. (Reporter Lin Yuwen/map)