At the beginning of the Spring Festival in 2024, a large-scale freezing rain and blizzard came unexpectedly. Many of the wanderers who drove home by car and the returnees who finally grabbed high-speed rail tickets were trapped on the road because of this extreme weather.
Originally, I felt that the battery life of the newly bought Tesla Model Y was still okay, and I thought that there would be no problem with driving home for the New Year. On February 2, Mr. Shen, an electric car owner who was trapped on the highway, confessed to the titanium **app.
What he didn't expect was that the journey back to his hometown in Wuhan was so long, even if he didn't turn on the air conditioner, or even if the vehicle didn't start, the power kept dropping, and his heart was sinking all the way.
On the night of February 3, with the heaviest rain and snow in central China, orange warnings for road ice and yellow warnings for bliths were issued in various places. On the morning of February 4, due to the impact of rain and snow, there were temporary traffic restrictions on 38 highways in Hubei. Due to extreme weather, some people have been stuck in traffic for more than 30 hours.
Mr. Shen, the owner of the electric car, happened to pass through Hubei on his way back to his hometown, and the sudden appearance of extreme weather made him experience a realistic version of "people are embarrassed".
However, although "people are embarrassed", the warmth is still around. According to the feedback of some car owners who were stuck on the road, some of them got out of the car directly at night, picked up some dead branches on both sides of the road to make a fire to keep warm, and everyone "sat around the fireplace and gossip", which can be regarded as a lively atmosphere of the Spring Festival.
The cars stuck in the road are not only "electric dads", but of course there are also fuel vehicles trapped in them.
It was already snowing when we passed through Wuhan, and it hasn't moved for more than 30 hours since we left the Xiantao service area. This is what happened to Shen Ming (pseudonym) and his family from Mianyang, Sichuan, when they returned home from Hefei on February 3.
According to the statement, "During the traffic jam, we were running out of gas in the service area, and the heating could only be turned on one by one. There are still many cars on the side of the road that have run out of gas and are forced to stop on the side of the road. ”
Also trapped on the road is Tian Dan (pseudonym) and his family from Lishui, Zhejiang, who are going back to Xiangyang for the New Year. According to Tian Dan, "their family was blocked for more than 100 kilometers on the Xuguang Expressway, and after eating at the Xiantao service area on the 3rd, they changed the road to the Xuguang Expressway again because of the traffic jam, but they didn't expect it to be blocked."
I waited for 2 hours at a climbing point, because the road was icy and slippery, and many cars could not drive up, and it often took many people to push the cart together to pass. According to her, "At that time, the snow was like stones, and it was difficult to remove it thoroughly, so I had to push the cart." ”
However, compared with gasoline car owners, in the face of this large-scale rain and snow that has not been encountered for many years, the situation of tram owners is undoubtedly more difficult.
With the popularization of new energy vehicles in the past two years, more and more people choose to drive electric vehicles home for the New Year. However, electric vehicles still need to face chronic diseases, such as short battery life, difficult charging, especially in winter, mileage attenuation problems, which also make many people shy away from new energy vehicles, so electric vehicles are also ridiculed as "electric dads".
However, this blizzard weather has brought a more severe test to electric vehicles, and its drawbacks have been exposed again in the cold wind.
Mr. Qian, the owner of the car, reported to the titanium **app, "Even if it is pushed to the charging station, the small battery on some trams is out of power, the charging system cannot work, and even if it is connected to the charging pile, the vehicle cannot be charged."
Some tram owners even said, "When I got off the bus and came back, I found that the hidden door handle was frozen by the freezing rain, and the door could not be opened by automatic sensing."
In recent days, many netizens who are blocked in Hubei have also posted, saying, "Seeing that the electric car is powered off on the highway, from 40% to 25% to 10%, I dare not turn on the air conditioner, so I have to squeeze into the oil truck next door to warm up." ”
It is estimated that a fuel vehicle with a fuel tank capacity of 55 liters can continue to heat for 34 hours if it is stuck on the highway in winter.
In addition, electric vehicles in the cold ice and snow weather, in addition to the endurance is not forceful, in the climbing section, the rear-drive electric vehicle has also become the biggest "difficult household", the rear-drive electric vehicle tail flicking is more serious, a foot of the electric door down, strong power in exchange for only endless skidding, encountered snow hard road frozen uphill section, basically have to rely on manpower to push.
However, despite the bad experience, most tram owners did not attribute all the "faults" to the electric car afterwards, and more just thought that the main reason was "the sky is not beautiful".
With the freezing rain of the blizzard, whether it is an "electric dad" or a fuel car, they are all trapped on the road, but on social **, the discussion about "electric dad" is particularly intense.
In fact, in recent years, during the Spring Festival, the "air-to-line" between oil and tram owners has been a major attraction in the industry.
It is true that in daily use, electric vehicles can save a lot of fuel costs compared to fuel vehicles, which is an indisputable fact. According to statistics, the average energy cost per kilometer of an electric vehicle is only 1 3 to 1 4 compared to that of a gasoline vehicle.
However, in low-temperature, long-distance, and high-speed travel scenarios such as returning home during the Spring Festival, this advantage of electric vehicles may be offset by the extra time cost.
Especially at this special juncture this year, the first volume of electric vehicles seems to have been pressed to the "freezing point" with the blizzard in various provinces and cities. The ability of traditional fuel vehicles to get out of trouble in extreme weather does not leave a trace of affection for electric vehicles.
Although in terms of results, electric vehicles can also pass smoothly along the way. But in general, under the existing energy supplement system, many people still recommend choosing fuel or hybrid models for long-distance driving on major holidays, although the cost of using the car is a little higher, it is better to be worry-free.
However, compared with the "embarrassment" on the way back to his hometown this year, the performance of electric vehicles in the Spring Festival car rental market can be described as a successful "win back a city".
During the Spring Festival, in order to avoid the crowds, many short-distance tourists choose to rent a car and return to their hometowns, which has also invisibly driven the popularity of the car rental market in various places.
This year's Spring Festival car rental is also too popular, I paid attention to it a month in advance, and I almost didn't book it. Xiao Li, who rents a car all year round, feels especially "difficult" to rent a car this year.
According to the news learned by the titanium **app, although the daily rent of car rental is generally 50% due to factors such as the labor cost of the Spring Festival, many car rental companies still say that due to the limited supply of cars, especially the economic transportation model has been "hard to find".
The car rental market for the Spring Festival is hot, and all the cars in the store have been booked before Chinese New Year's Eve, and I don't have a car myself. The person in charge of a car rental company in Shanghai said. A person related to a car dealership in Beijing said, "Customers need to make an appointment at least a week in advance, and everyone generally makes an appointment in advance." At the moment I only have a handful of dirt bikes and sports cars left. ”
The above-mentioned hot ** in the car rental industry is just a microcosm of the car rental market during the Spring Festival this year.
According to data, during the Spring Festival this year, the number of car rental orders increased by more than 2 times compared with the same period last year. Ctrip said that during the Spring Festival travel period, Ctrip's domestic car rental orders will increase by about 60% year-on-year.
According to CAR, the "homecoming tide" and the "tourism boom" make the total number of orders for the Spring Festival this year expected to reach 23 times and 1 in the same period in 20195 times, which is expected to hit a new record high.
According to eHi's car rental data, as of January 28, the company's bookings (including reservations) during this year's Spring Festival travel period increased by more than 75% year-on-year, which is a new high in previous years. More than half of the provinces saw double bookings compared to the same period last year.
In addition to the soaring overall orders and rising rents, there is also a major trend in the car rental market this year, and new energy vehicles have begun to be sought after by more consumers.
Most of the customers who rent new energy vehicles come with the mentality of trying the first experience. The staff of a car rental company in Guangdong told the titanium **app that whether it is a short-distance return to the hometown or a local play, the cost of new energy vehicles is lower, and there are many intelligent configurations, which are very suitable for young people who travel with their families or are willing to try new things.
Taking the current fire of looking up to U8 as an example, the news that the titanium **app learned from car dealers around the country is that U8 was rented away by the monthly package long before the Spring Festival, and if you want to experience it, you can only wait for the post-holiday, and you will have to fight for speed at that time.
According to the staff revealed to the titanium **app, the first-tier cities look up to U8 during the Spring Festival, and the rental cost for a single day will be about 10,000 yuan, so they will generally choose a cheaper monthly subscription model. After the Chinese New Year, it is expected to gradually fall, usually the normal rent is 8,000 yuan a day, rent 7 days 50,000 yuan.
Behind the popularity of the U8, it reflects that the popularity of new energy vehicles in the car rental market is rising.
Ctrip's existing orders show that during the Spring Festival in 2024, new energy vehicle rental orders will increase significantly, with a year-on-year increase of more than 5 times, and Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities are the regions with more new energy vehicle rental orders.
Car China also said that during the Spring Festival this year, the significant increase in bookings for new energy models is a major highlight, an increase of nearly 5 times compared with 2023.
I have a fuel car at home, but I actually want to try the tram when I come out to play, and try the latest intelligent driving, isn't it fun? Xiao Liu, who lives in Hubei, rented a Xiaopeng P7 with his roommate to drive in Tianmen Mountain, which undoubtedly represents the attitude of many young people towards new energy vehicle leasing at this stage.
Some analysts believe that in the short term, the Spring Festival will bring new growth to the car rental market, but in the long run, the change in the travel mode of young consumers is the real reason for the explosion of the car rental market. The design of new energy vehicles is younger and more fashionable, and at the same time, the functions of intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving are more perfect, which is in line with the consumption habits of many car rental groups.
With the gradual increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China, consumers' demand for new energy vehicles is also increasing, and major car rental platforms are also actively launching new energy models. Many first-tier cities have put forward regulations such as traffic restrictions and number restrictions, but new energy vehicles are not affected, and can provide more flexible travel services for car owners, which also provides "soil" for car rental companies to begin to purchase new energy vehicles on a large scale.
The east is not bright, but the west is bright", this sentence is probably a true portrayal of new energy vehicles in the entire Spring Festival this year. There are not only difficulties in the face of blizzard and freezing rain, but also the boom in the car rental market. If it were you, would you choose to drive an "electric dad" home for the Spring Festival or rent a new energy vehicle to go home?
In fact, in addition to driving home, many people will choose to take the train or high-speed rail home.
However, it is worth noting that Wuhan, the most important transportation hub in the central region, is also one of the cities hardest hit by the blizzard, and many trains passing through here have been delayed.
Zhao Duo (pseudonym), who lives in Beijing and is engaged in sales, ended his last business trip a year ago and is preparing to return to Beijing from Shijiazhuang to reunite with his wife and children. However, he didn't expect that such a short journey almost trapped him, an "industry insider" who runs around all year round.
Due to the delay, postponement or cancellation of the previous series train due to weather conditions, passengers are requested to change their ticket as soon as possible, or change to other modes of transportation. After some "tugging", Mr. Zhao still changed to take an intercity bus to rush back to Beijing overnight.
Ms. Qi, who was going to take the high-speed train back to her hometown in Henan for the New Year, waited for three hours in the waiting room after waiting for three hours, and a staff member came out to report, "This train is still waiting indefinitely, and passengers are advised to change their reservations."
In the past day, Ms. Qi has been waiting for a ticket, waiting for the train to depart, being notified of the suspension of the operation, refunding the ticket, and grabbing the ticket again.
There are not a few people who have similar experiences with Ms. Qi, and this panic of going home is also reflected on major social platforms. Many people posted the delay time of their trains, and the records are constantly being broken, one hour, two hours, six hours, and the highest record is the D4832 train at Hefei South Railway Station, which is delayed for 744 minutes (more than 12 hours).
However, in the midst of an unbearable wait, many trapped netizens photographed the green train moving unhindered in the wind and snow.
I still remember the last time the train and the high-speed rail were in the same frame, it was like a collision of two eras. The green train is moving steadily, and a high-speed train roars past it, leaving the train far behind, while the green train is unhurried, enjoying the scenery that belongs to it, and there is a cross-century shock.
The green train pulls the high-speed rail, ** in the network.
And this winter, there was heavy snow and freezing rain in many places, and a large number of passengers were trapped in the high-speed rail station. At this critical moment of the Spring Festival, various provinces invited the diesel locomotives of the "grandfather generation" to come out. In extreme weather, the green train still runs rain or shine in the snow.
You must know that the high-speed rail that is now commonly used relies on electric drive technology and ballastless tracks, and each carriage has an independent power unit to pursue high speed and high efficiency, but at the same time, the ability to cope with extreme weather has also decreased.
The green train follows the traditional ballasted track and centralized power source, and the power provided in the front of the locomotive is an internal combustion engine or steam engine, which runs relatively slowly, but has high stability and is relatively less affected by changes in the external environment.
This scene is very much like an elderly "father", although his thoughts can no longer keep up with the times, but he still stands up with a staggering pace, pulls the "children" who have suffered outside, and is full of homecoming wanderers, all the way to the high-speed rail with the passengers home.
I like a piece of copywriting on the Internet, high-speed rail is the ideal, and the train is the way home; The high-speed rail is a 9-to-5 rush, and the train is a meeting of fireworks in the world; High-speed rail is China's speed, while trains are China's temperature; The high-speed train is fast, it can be so fast that you can't remember what a person looks like, and the train is so slow, so slow that you can listen to a person talk about his whole life.
From the era of trains and high-speed rail, we also see a possibility of the future of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, fuel vehicles will not die, let alone be completely replaced by electric vehicles, and they may form a new synergy and coexistence between them.
In fact, whether it is driving a petrol car, a tram, or a green train or a high-speed train, for wanderers in a foreign land, the journey home is just a "process", because they all have the same goal - to go home.
During the Spring Festival, I chatted with my relatives and friends about this realistic version of the "embarrassing" homecoming trip, and everyone put it into "laughter".
Everyone's story may be different, but what everyone is going to all the way is just the long-awaited fireworks in the world in their hearts, and they will be safe when they return home.
The discussion between fuel vehicles and "electric dads" is still going on during this Spring Festival. If you have a story, please feel free to discuss it in the comment area.
(This article was first published in the titanium **app, the author is Chang Xiao, and the editor is Zhang Min).