"This new energy mini car has been selling quite hot, in addition to young people are more favored, there are also some elderly people to buy it for transportation or to pick up their children to school. On the afternoon of February 25, Li Ming (pseudonym), a salesperson of Wuling Hongguang Automobile Dealership located in Kuangshan Automobile World, West Second Ring Road, Jinan, pointed to the macro mini model in the store and told a reporter from China ** Daily.
Since the beginning of this year, many places have issued policies to prohibit or restrict illegal three-wheeled and four-wheeled electric vehicles (commonly known as "old man music") on the road. At the same time, Wuling, Geely and other car companies have accelerated the layout of A00 (micro and small passenger cars) pure electric vehicles that are closest to them on the first stage, and seized the "old man's music" vacant market.
Illegal three-wheeled and four-wheeled electric vehicles in many places
Since January 1 this year, Beijing has banned illegal electric three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles on the road and not allowed to park in public places, and violators will be investigated and punished in accordance with the law. In addition to Beijing, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai and other provinces have also introduced relevant policies to regulate and restrict the "old man's music" on the road.
It is reported that the main reason for the "old man's music" in many places is the problem of potential safety hazards. Many drivers do not obey the traffic rules when driving such vehicles, driving and stopping recklessly, which greatly affects the traffic and also brings great safety hazards.
In September last year, Mr. Shen, who lives in Chaoyang District, Beijing, received the "Notice of Elimination Subsidy for Personal Illegal Electric Three- and Four-wheeled Vehicles" from the neighborhood committee, which mentioned that on the basis of ** evaluation of vehicles, the subsidy for each electric tricycle is 800 yuan, and the subsidy for each electric four-wheeled vehicle is 1,000 yuan.
In fact, as early as November 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other six ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Low-speed Electric Vehicles", which clearly stated that the old scooters belong to the category of low-speed electric vehicles that are included in the supervision this time. At that time, the idea of work was to "upgrade a batch, standardize a batch, and eliminate a batch", so in addition to requiring all localities to clean up and rectify the existing production capacity, the "Notice" also strictly prohibits the addition of low-speed electric vehicle production capacity.
Since then, the intensity of supervision and rectification of "old man music" has been increasingly strengthened, in addition to Beijing, many places across the country have issued relevant policies on strengthening supervision and restricting "old man music" on the road.
Last year, Jiangsu planned to legislate that the production and sales of old-age scooters will be strictly controlled; Wuhu City, Anhui Province will set up electric three- and four-wheeled vehicles ("Lao Tou Le" manned three- and four-wheeled electric vehicles, industrial and general freight three- and four-wheeled electric vehicles) in the main urban area to strictly manage the road section, and comprehensively strengthen management through strict measures; As early as August 2022, the Shanghai Qingpu Traffic Police issued a safety reminder that "old-age scooters" are prohibited from driving on the road.
Experts in the automotive industry said that "old man music" is a necessary move to maintain traffic safety and order, and relevant users can buy regular new energy vehicles.
The manufacturers involved are in trouble
With the gradual shrinking market share of the policy, a number of low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers have begun to upgrade by acquiring production qualifications and cooperating with traditional car companies.
Among them, Reading Automobile, known as the "old man Le Yige", acquired Shaanxi Qinxing in April 2018 to obtain the production qualification of new energy commercial vehicles and special vehicles, and turned to the new energy vehicle market. The transformation is not an easy task, Reading Motors has tried to complete the transformation and upgrading of the brand through the pure electric model i series, but the feedback given by the market has declared that Reading Motors' dream has become a utopian dream. According to public data, in 2019, the sales of the i-series were only 3,387 units, so it was completely discontinued after only one year of its launch.
By May 2023, the announcement of the Changle County Court in Weifang, Shandong Province shows that Reading Automobile has filed for bankruptcy, and the former "Old Man Le" leading building will collapse.
Not only Reading Motors, but also many low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers have encountered difficulties on the road to transformation. In 2017, Yujie received investment from Great Wall Motors and changed its name to Lingtu Motors, and launched several pure electric SUVs with dismal market performance. In 2018, Fulu Group, which owns four low-speed electric vehicle brands of Litz, Fulu, Qifeng and Lupai, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BAIC Manufacturing to jointly build new energy vehicles, but most of the mini car products created by the two parties are based on the transformation and upgrading of Fulu Group's original low-speed electric vehicle products, and have not made waves.
An automotive industry analyst pointed out that it is difficult for small and scattered low-speed electric vehicle companies to dilute manufacturing costs before forming large-scale sales, and the price is also uncompetitive, and insufficient funds is a major threshold. "In addition, although low-speed electric vehicle companies have obtained the production qualification of new energy vehicles, the overall idea of car manufacturing is still at the level of low-speed electric vehicles, the lack of first-class chain control ability, insufficient technological innovation, and the lack of high-precision talents also restricts its development. ”
Car companies are accelerating the deployment of mini trams
When the reporter investigated the market, he found that the market share of "Old Man Le" has gradually shrunk, and the stores that used to be everywhere have been greatly reduced. The A00 class (micro passenger car) pure electric vehicle, which is closest to it, is being favored by more consumers.
In the Kuangshan Automobile World, located in the West Second Ring Road of Jinan, Shandong, the reporter visited Wuling, Geely, Changan and many other dealers with micro electric vehicles on sale, and said that the sales volume of micro cars in the store is very good, and many of them have become the "sales champion" products in the store.
A miniature new energy vehicle displayed by a car dealer in front of the store Photo by Zhang Pengfei.
There are many elderly people who come to our store to buy the 'Panda mini' car, although it will be slightly more expensive than the 'old man', but the car itself has strict management norms, which can ensure the safety of the elderly. Geely Automobile's salesperson ** (pseudonym) told a reporter from China**.
In the Wuling Hongguang store next to it, Li Ming (pseudonym), a salesperson, also said, "The third-generation Macaron 170km range version of the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV in the store has been selling quite hotly. In addition to young people, there are also some elderly people who buy transportation or take their children to school. ”
Previously, Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Automobile Association, had said that the restrictions on "old man music" may provide opportunities for the development of micro electric vehicles, and regular micro electric vehicles can better replace "old man music" low-speed cars.
In February last year, the Geely Panda Mini was announced, and the next month the car sold more than 10,000 units. Including Benben EV and Chang'an waxy corn, there are also many brands that want to "grab food" in the A00 market. In March this year, the share of A00 pure electric models in the new energy vehicle market has climbed to 106%。
In fact, new energy vehicle companies have never given up the "big cake" of the mini car market. According to the data of the New Energy Vehicle Branch of the China Automobile Dealers Association, there are currently 29 companies in the country producing and selling a total of 53 A00 pure electric vehicles.
In the view of Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the passenger association, "with the structural growth of China's auto market, especially the current trend of diversification of Chinese population structure. The number of two-person families has increased significantly, and the middle-aged and elderly groups, especially two-person families, are growing rapidly, so it will also promote the popularization of electric vehicles for middle-aged and elderly two-person families. ”
Reviewer: Cheng Zhu.
Editor: Wang Yin.
Proofreading: Zhang Jing.
Producer: Zhang Nan.
Issued by: Wen Zhaolin.