With the popularization of new energy vehicles, more and more consumers choose this environmentally friendly, energy-saving and efficient way of travel. However, for new energy vehicle owners living in old communities, charging has become a big problem. Due to the insufficient capacity of the community power grid, the lack of cooperation of the property, and the lack of fixed parking spaces, they are unable to install charging piles in their own communities, and can only look for external charging stations or commercial charging piles. This not only increases the time and cost of charging, but also brings inconvenience and trouble to their lives.
Mr. Li, a resident of an old community in Chaoyang District, Beijing, bought a pure electric car last year, and originally thought that he could enjoy the preferential policies and convenient services of new energy vehicles, but he did not expect to encounter the problem of charging. He said that his community was built in the first ten years of the last century, there is no underground garage, only surface parking spaces, and it is not fixed, whoever comes first will park first. He wanted to install a charging pile next to his parking space, but the property refused, saying that the power grid of the community was too old to withstand the additional load, and the installation of charging piles would affect the beauty and safety of the community.
Mr. Li had to look for other charging methods, and he found that there were few public charging stations nearby, and they often waited in queues, and sometimes encountered charging pile failures or were occupied by fuel vehicles. He also tried some commercial charging piles, such as supermarkets, shopping malls, hotels and other places, but there are not many charging piles in these places, and they also have to charge parking fees, and sometimes they have to spend a certain amount of money to use them. Mr. Li said that the battery capacity of his car is 40 degrees, and it costs about 40 yuan to fill it once, and if you add parking fees and taxi fees, the cost of each charge will be more than 80 yuan, which is more expensive than refueling. Moreover, it takes a long time for him to charge each charge, and sometimes he has to wait in the car, which feels like a waste of time and energy.
Mr. Li said that he is basically afraid to drive out now, and only drives out on weekends or holidays, and usually takes the bus or subway to and from work. He said that his original intention to buy new energy vehicles was to protect the environment and save energy, but now he feels very regretful and feels that he has bought a "chicken rib".
Mr. Li has a similar experience with many new energy vehicle owners living in old communities, all of whom are facing the dilemma of charging, and some have even given up the purchase plan of new energy vehicles. It is understood that at present, nearly 50% of new energy vehicle owners in Beijing cannot charge in their own communities, and the situation in the country is not optimistic. According to the data of the China National Association, by the end of 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in the country has reached 14 million, while the number of charging piles is only 800,000, of which only 400,000 are public charging piles, which is far from meeting the needs of the market.
In order to solve the problem of difficult charging of new energy vehicles in old communities, local governments and relevant departments are actively exploring and promoting solutions. For example, the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission has issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of New Energy Vehicle Charging Infrastructure", requiring new residential areas to be built in accordance with the standard of one charging pile per parking space, and the old communities are based on the actual situation to transform the power distribution system, increase charging piles, set up mobile charging vehicles, etc., to improve the level of charging services. At the same time, Beijing will also give certain financial subsidies to the construction of charging piles in eligible old residential areas to encourage property and residents to participate.
In addition, some new energy vehicle companies are also actively innovating charging modes to provide users with more choices. For example, Tesla has launched a variety of charging methods such as super charging stations, destination charging stations, and home charging piles, covering different scenarios and needs of users. BYD has launched a battery swap mode, which allows users to replace a fully charged battery in just a few minutes without waiting for it to be charged. There are also some start-up companies that provide services such as mobile charging, shared charging, and intelligent scheduling to provide users with a more convenient and flexible charging experience.
Experts believe that the difficulty of charging new energy vehicles in old communities is a multifaceted problem, which requires the joint efforts and cooperation of enterprises, properties, users and other parties to find a suitable solution. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen the planning, construction, management and maintenance of charging facilities, improve the efficiency and safety of charging piles, and protect the charging needs and rights and interests of users.