On the eve of the introduction of national standards, the battery selection of low-speed electric vehicles is controversial again
For most industries, the formulation and promulgation of national standards have more advantages than disadvantages for standardizing the market, unified management and reasonable competition among different enterprises. Recently, however, the formulation of a national standard for low-speed electric vehicles has triggered a big war of words among enterprises, academics and markets.
Debate between lead-acid battery and lithium battery
The cause of the incident was that on December 30 last year, after consultation with the relevant departments of low-speed electric vehicle standards, it was clear that low-speed electric vehicles were equipped with lithium batteries, and lead batteries were rejected as power sources for low-speed electric vehicles. Later, Dong Yang, the leader of the drafting group of four-wheel low-speed electric vehicle standards and the executive vice president of China Automobile Industry Association, also pointed out in an article that lead batteries will not be allowed to be used in the formulation of low-speed electric vehicle standards, and frontal and side impact experiments are required.
"If the new national standard is implemented, it means that 90% of low-speed electric vehicle enterprises will be destroyed, and the excellent situation of the development of low-speed electric vehicle industry will be destroyed." Wei Xueqin, executive vice president and secretary general of Shandong Automobile Association, said helplessly in an interview.
Low-speed electric vehicle companies also expressed concern about the introduction of this standard. Shu Xin, general manager of Reading Automobile, said frankly that the mainstream price of low-speed electric vehicles is 20,000 ~ 30,000 yuan, accounting for more than 80% of the whole market. If we change from lead battery to lithium battery, the price of bicycle will rise to 40 thousand yuan, but this market is only about 5%. "Such a small market is difficult to operate, and it is difficult for dealers to feed. In the future, the market will disappear."
What is the difference between lead battery and lithium battery? Which battery is more suitable for low-speed electric vehicles?
Safety is not the weakness of lead-acid batteries. It is understood that the lead-acid battery has been born for more than 160 years. Since its birth, the whole world has been researching and developing whether there is any new technology to replace it, but up to now, there is still no mature technology to completely replace it.
The focus of controversy lies in the pollution risk of lead-acid batteries. In 2016, the market size of low-speed electric vehicles has reached 1.2 million. Some experts believe that if a large number of batteries are eliminated, lead pollution will easily occur in the process of recycling and smelting, which will not only endanger human health, but also cause environmental pollution.
Therefore, in the selection of batteries for low-speed electric vehicles, some experts have given high expectations to lithium batteries. Compared with lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries have advantages in energy density and cycle life. Using lithium batteries can make low-speed electric vehicles lighter and the cruising range can be improved one after another.
In this regard, an industry source said that "lead battery recycling is a false proposition". "In 2016, China sold more than 28 million traditional cars, which means that 28 million lead batteries were used. Why didn’t anyone ask, what is the recovery rate of lead batteries in traditional cars? " He asked, "Based on trust, many people believe that the batteries of traditional cars have been recycled. Why do they suspect that people don’t recycle when they arrive at low-speed electric vehicles?"
Lu Hong, a standard member of Shandong Automobile Industry Association and chairman of Hupu Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., told the reporter that if each city can set up a recycling point, it will be beneficial to standardize the batch use of lead batteries for electric vehicles. "A battery can sell 200 yuan on average, and no one is willing to throw it."
Wang Du, deputy secretary-general of china automobile dealers association, pointed out: "The problem is not pollution, but how to supervise it." It is understood that in Weifang, battery manufacturers Tianneng and Chaowei have set up more than ten recycling points and established a complete system. Zhang Tianren, chairman of Tianneng Group, said in an interview that the recycling technology of lead-acid batteries is very mature. At the end of last year, Tianneng Group’s recycling capacity of waste lead batteries has been upgraded from 150,000 tons/year to 300,000 tons/year, and the recycling capacity has doubled.
Low-speed electric vehicles can also produce fine products.
In January this year, committee of 100, an electric vehicle in China, held a closed-door meeting with some low-speed electric vehicle enterprises. The meeting put forward two viewpoints: First, low-speed electric vehicles can make rural areas directly electrified without the transition of fuel vehicles. Second, invigorating the rural economy is the re-liberation of rural productive forces.
Some experts believe that there are buses, taxis, subways and drip taxis in big cities, but there are very few means of transportation in rural areas. Rural public transportation is also being carried out, but it is still inconvenient to have a few shifts a day. Because the use cost of cars is relatively high, gas stations are separated by ten or twenty kilometers, and fewer people buy cars in rural areas. "The advantages of low-speed electric vehicles are particularly obvious. Short-distance travel does not need to be particularly fast, which is of great help to the active rural economy. At the same time, rural charging is very convenient, and it can be completed with 220 volts at home. "
The data shows that from 2014 to 2016, the average annual growth rate of low-speed electric vehicles reached more than 50%, and it was developed without any state subsidies. In the fourth-and fifth-tier cities and rural markets, low-speed electric vehicles with a price of about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan meet the consumption needs of low-income families.
However, for a long time, low-speed electric vehicles were regarded as the "culprits" of many road jams and frequent safety accidents because of the reasons that the low-speed electric vehicles were not licensed, most users did not have driver’s licenses and drivers did not understand the traffic rules. In addition, the quality of low-speed electric vehicles has also become a controversy. "I have always believed that low speed and low price do not mean low quality, and low-speed electric vehicles should also find a good direction to upgrade." Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary general of China Automobile Industry Association, said in an interview.
In fact, low-speed electric vehicles have gradually entered the industry upgrade in recent years. Among them, there are enterprises represented by Zhidou, which have entered the product catalogue of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology by means of alliance with high-speed car production enterprises and with the help of high-speed car production qualifications, and realized the regularization; In addition, there are also enterprises represented by Reading that introduce new technologies and upgrade themselves. In the new Redding factory in Weifang, Shandong, the reporter saw the same four processes as traditional vehicle manufacturing: stamping, welding, painting and final assembly. There are more than hundreds of robotic arms in the factory, and there are also professional quality inspection processes such as test track and rain detection line.
At the same time, in order to solve a series of problems caused by "black households", low-speed electric vehicle enterprises have also upgraded their products and improved related after-sales services through industry self-discipline.
"Although we are low-speed electric vehicles, it is really not low-quality at low speed." An insider of a low-speed electric vehicle company said, "Through interconnection technologies such as background data and optimized positioning, we helped customers find hundreds of lost cars. From the data of batteries and motors to the control system, all fault codes can be transmitted to the background, realizing the optimization of big data. It can be said that in many technologies, we are not worse than high-speed cars. "
Due to the product upgrade, the supply chain of low-speed electric vehicles has also been upgraded accordingly, and its suppliers have gradually upgraded from the initial commercial vehicle suppliers to passenger vehicle suppliers. Because the quality of some low-speed electric vehicle enterprises has risen rapidly, some excellent suppliers have taken the initiative to come to the door, and the improvement of supply chain quality has further promoted the development of low-speed electric vehicles in the normal direction.
Luo Lei, deputy secretary-general of china automobile dealers association, said: "The government should guide these car companies well and cannot sit idly by; It is necessary to lower the entry threshold and encourage more powerful enterprises to participate. Low-speed electric vehicles also need to improve their quality and meet the national quality requirements for new energy vehicle products, so that they have the opportunity to enter the urban consumer market. "