When will the new energy vehicle be protected? Return to the market is the only way

“With the gradual withdrawal of the monetization support policy, the policy of using accessibility and subsequent succession needs to be studied in advance and the layout must be tightened. Different forms of local protectionism still exist, and some cities set up local directories, leading consumers to have a lot of space for choosing models. Compression has caused fragmentation of the market and has inhibited the vitality of development.” At the 2018 Electric Vehicle Centennial Forum (hereinafter referred to as the “Hundred Talents Association”), which was recently opened, the words of Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei made many participants The people resonated.

In 2017, the production of new energy vehicles in China was 774,000, and the sales volume was 777,000, which accounted for 2.7% of the total domestic automobile production. Among them, the new energy passenger vehicles sold a total of about 580,000 vehicles.

China's sales of new energy vehicles have been ranked first in the world for three consecutive years, but local protection in the development of new energy vehicles is still prevalent, and policy-oriented results are obvious. Some analysts believe that when the era of the new energy vehicles is going away, a sound, unified, fair, and adequate competition mechanism has not yet formed across the country, which may be a constraint on China's new energy vehicles entering the popularization stage. Muse.

Pure electric conflict, who will be the referee?

“The electrification of power systems has always been an eternal task. Regardless of future pure electric, plug-in electric vehicles, or hydrogen-fueled electric vehicles, the process is irreversible and it is estimated that a considerable period of time is related to hybrid (plug-in hybrid).” At the one hundred people's conference, Zhang Li, deputy general manager and CTO of Keliyuan Hybrid Power Technology Co., Ltd. made this judgment.

At home, there are no shortages of supporters for Zhang Jian. In the eyes of the industry, although the plug-in hybrid technology threshold is relatively high, but in the case of the number of charging facilities and the size of new energy vehicles do not match, battery and charging technology is not perfect, the objective case of pure electric vehicles with limited mileage, in For a long period of time, plug-in hybrid power will be an effective transitional solution to resolve the anxiety of new energy vehicle users.

“I hope to further implement the state’s policy requirements for unlimited and unlimited purchases of new energy vehicles.” At the 100-person meeting, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu’s proposal seemed helpless. “Now in some areas there is no subsidy for new energy vehicles, and some cities still have Plug-in hybrid vehicles are subject to restrictions."

Wang Chuanfu's proposal is not groundless. Although there are certain market demands in China, plug-in hybrid vehicles have encountered quite different situations in some cities.

According to the “New Energy Passenger Car Market Report for the First Half of 2017” released by Wilson Automotive Data Consulting, in the first half of 2017, the Beijing pure electric new energy vehicle market accounted for 98.1% of the total, while the plug-in hybrid new energy vehicle Only 1.9%. In Shanghai, pure electric new energy vehicles accounted for 25.9%, and plug-in hybrid new energy vehicles accounted for 74.1%.

Some analysts said that plug-in hybrid vehicles have a dramatic drop in sales in some cities, reflecting not the real needs of consumers but the policy orientation.

According to Beijing's relevant policies, plug-in hybrid vehicles do not enjoy local fiscal subsidies, nor do they enjoy "unlimited" preferential treatment, nor can they participate in the revamping of new energy vehicles, and the policy restrictions directly allow plug-in hybrid vehicles to be Exclude from new energy vehicles.

According to the Circular on Continuing the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in September 2013, new energy vehicle models that enjoy the scope of central government subsidies should be qualified pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and fuels. Battery car. According to this regulation, all cities that promote the operation of new energy vehicles should provide corresponding subsidies to pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

According to statistics, in addition to Beijing, in most of the country's cities, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles are the same, and all can enjoy local subsidy policies. In cities where motor vehicles are restricted to purchase, such as Guangzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, plug-in hybrid vehicles can also directly apply for licenses without having to participate in the traditional energy vehicle's shake.

Some people think that tailoring the subsidy policy for local companies for the benefit of the region has not only limited the R&D activity of car companies, has led to the emergence of bad currencies, but also detracted from the country’s determination to develop new energy vehicles. Original intention. At the same time, this is also a disregard for consumers’ choice of rights.

Is subsidy retreat from slopes a "last mile" to get rid of local protectionism?

It is only a projection of the local protectionism of new energy vehicles that the pure electric conflict struggles. In fact, although the state is not allowed to set a threshold for local protection after repeated orders, the “strange phenomenon” of “respectively governing” new energy automobile policies in various regions is still banned.

At the two national conferences in 2017, Wang Fengying, deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Great Wall Motors, submitted the "Proposal on Eliminating Local Protection and Creating a More Fair Market Environment for New Energy Vehicles".

According to Wang Fengying's statistics, as of the end of February 2017, at least nine pilot cities for new energy vehicle promotion still set up local "small directories" under the name of filing, and privately retained restrictions on local market access, leading to high standards for some foreign brands. It is difficult for high-quality products to enter the local market.

Many local governments impose conditions for foreign companies to enter the local market. For example, they must register local legal entities and build new automobile production bases, which will result in low-level redundant construction and inefficient wasteful investment.

There is also a “stealth threshold” for local protection of new energy vehicles. Non-technical indicators outside the scope of national policies are formulated to favor local enterprises, or technical indicators that exceed national policy standards are used to exclude foreign companies. The motion proposes that at least four cities have separated the local market by specifying the upper limit of fuel tank capacity and formulating a warranty period that is much higher than the central policy.

According to sources, in 2018, the new energy automobile local protection policy is expected to usher in ice-breaking. At the end of 2017, Assistant Secretary-General Lu Huaping of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association revealed that the subsidy policy for new energy vehicles has been further tightened. The Chinese government is studying the adjustment of the central government's fiscal subsidy policy in 2018 and is inclined to encourage high mileage and low energy consumption models. At the same time, cancellation of local subsidies is also a high probability event.

At the 100-member meeting, Miao Wei's speech once again confirmed this view. “Everyone is worried that the subsidy policy will adjust. In fact, this adjustment is imperative.” Miao Wei said, “If we all piled up until the end of 2020, we might as well release the pressure of this adjustment step by step. The effect of this downward slope can be smoothed out.”

On the one hand, the cancellation of local subsidies will help create a fair competitive environment and promote the survival of the fittest. On the other hand, an increase in the strength of the downslope will force companies to rapidly increase their technological level, and the competition for new energy vehicles will return to the normal track of “talking with products”.

"From a market share perspective, after the implementation of the double-integration policy, electric vehicles have entered the popularization stage." Dong Yang, executive vice president of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an interview that "in the popularization stage, we must break the local protection and form a unified market. The most important way to break down local protection is to cancel local subsidy for car purchases and turn it into support for the construction and charging of charging facilities."

Then, will subsidy retreat will change the industrial environment where local protection prevails? According to industry insiders, the elimination of local subsidies for new energy vehicles is by no means abolishing the “last mile” of local protectionism. Completely breaking the “short-sighted behavior” of local protection of new energy vehicles and allowing the development of new energy vehicles to return from “policy-oriented” to “market-oriented” is the only way to build a healthy competitive environment. Breaking the new energy local protectionism undoubtedly requires more stringent policy design, as well as strong supervision and punishment measures.

“We need a long-term and stable legal framework. Based on this, we need to establish a corresponding and continuous mechanism to deal with the market. We will further understand that after 2025, what is the demand in the Chinese market? We need to continue Correcting the current awareness of the electric vehicle market.” At the 100-person meeting, Heinzmann, the president and CEO of Volkswagen Group, expressed that he hopes that policies and laws can give auto companies a better competitive environment and market environment.