In February, the production of pure electric buses was 0.

Recently, the GGII Motor Vehicle Research Institute (GGII) statistics according to the statistics of motor vehicle manufacturing certificate, the total output of new energy buses in China in February was 303, all of which were plug-in hybrid vehicles, while the output of pure electric buses was actually 0. .

It can be said that this refreshes the lowest value of China's pure electric bus production history, and it also continues the dismal trend of China's new energy bus production since 2017.

In January of this year, the total output of new energy buses in China was only 228, a year-on-year decrease of 91.42%. The output of pure electric buses is only 31 vehicles.

After contacting Yutong, Zhongtong, Golden Brigade, Nanjing Jinlong and many other large passenger car companies, the reporter learned that it was influenced by many factors such as the recommended catalogue, safety technical conditions of electric buses, and battery testing reports. Major car companies since 2017 Mainly engaged in vehicle model adjustments, submission of relevant inspection reports, application of a new round of announcements and catalogs, and so on. In the alternating period of February, the slump in production and sales is expected. The dismal market is expected to continue until March, and the real market will pick up in April.

In addition, some people in charge of coach companies stated that at the current stage, not only car companies are adjusting models, but also they are adjusting their supply chain relationships. Next, auto makers have become more rigorous and cautious in their choice of suppliers, and their cost control has become more urgent.

Policy adjustment sequelae market picks up in April

"This is a policy adjustment, the market and companies still need a little time to adjust and digest, so this phase of the market is a normal cold reaction." Huang Jinliang, director of Nanjing Golden Dragon Products said.

According to the technology-related person in charge of several bus companies, at the end of last year, the state made major adjustments to the technical conditions of pure electric buses, such as the requirements for subsidy standards, safety and technical conditions of electric buses, etc. Not only do the companies need to submit related inspection reports, but they also need to access and test the national safety supervision platform. On the other hand, they must also make corresponding adjustments to the entire vehicle product.

This directly led to the disruption of the rhythm of job announcements and recommendations, and the production and sales plans were also greatly affected.

Of the two batches of catalogs that have been introduced in 2017, more are the models that were launched for the adjustment period, and the first batch of catalogs are mostly models in the old catalog of 2016, and their battery energy density is low. Level.

“A lot of models in the first batch of catalogs were introduced by companies for orders left over from 2016. They are for the normal production and sales of models.” A person in charge of a bus company stated that it is expected that many models will be used by car companies in the future. give up.

The second batch of catalogs was released on March 1, so it is not surprising that the output of pure electric buses in February was zero.

“It should be said that the models in the first two batches of catalogues do not represent the main trends of 2017 new energy bus technology and models, because the models launched by everyone are relatively hasty, and it can even be said that it is to cope with this adjustment period. In the 294th batch of announcements, the number of new energy buses will increase significantly and the models will become more mature,” Huang Fuliang said.

As expected, on March 14th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the announcement of 294 batches of automobile products to be released, and the number of new energy buses and chassis reported has reached 509, which is much higher than the previous two batches.

It is expected that the 294th batch of automobile and product announcements will be released shortly. The third batch of recommendation catalogs will also be released. This indicates that the production and sales volume of new energy passenger vehicles in China will still not be optimistic in March, but the market will gradually return to normal from April.

Supply chain reintegration under pressure of cost reduction

This reporter learned that the current car companies and upstream suppliers are in a state of constant adjustment and integration.

In 2017, the state subsidized the subsidy of new energy vehicles, and bus companies must impose price cuts on core components, especially battery suppliers, due to cost pressures. The core component companies are faced with many factors such as the pressure of upstream raw material price increases, and the price reduction can far fall short of the requirements of car companies.

"At present, the price cuts for car companies are mainly focused on batteries. The car companies demand that the price of batteries be reduced by 20-30%. At present, the price of battery companies may be reduced by only 10%, which is too different from the car companies' expectations." disclose.

According to reports, price negotiations between many car companies and battery companies can be understood as a stalemate and game state. On the one hand, battery companies are reluctant to take the initiative to lower their prices and lose their initiative and opportunities. They hope that car companies can have enough orders to ensure transaction volume. On the other hand, the unpredictability of car prices for the market, it is difficult to ensure that there are enough orders.

Especially in the country where the battery quality and safety are highly demanded, the first-tier power battery companies are more sought after. Under such circumstances, there may be a situation where the first-tier battery is in short supply and the price is difficult to fall. The three-echelon battery fights the price war, but it can only "drink soup."

It is understood that there are also many power battery companies have reduced prices, and a larger margin, but this does not make up for car prices for their battery energy density, quality and safety concerns.

In addition, many companies in the industry have also started to integrate resources, or have reached strategic cooperation relationships on the upstream and downstream sides. On the one hand, they are in order to reduce costs more effectively. On the other hand, they are closely and firmly established in the following market competition. Very important. Car prices not only choose suppliers, but also choose partners.

"According to the current subsidy program, the cycle of subsidy issuance will be extended to 24 months or even longer. This is not only a test for the strength of auto companies, but also a test for the strength of suppliers, especially for auto companies. There are long-term plans for companies that have to consider many factors when choosing partners,” Huang Fuliang said.