During the National Day holiday, BYD vehicles occupying charging piles in highway service areas dominated social media, becoming the “public enemy” of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. Since most BYD models are hybrid vehicles that can run on both gasoline and electricity, many pure electric vehicle owners believe that charging is not an absolute necessity for them and that they are occupying already scarce charging resources in highway service areas.

However, considering that BYD's sales volume has consistently remained at 300,000 to 400,000 units per month, it is understandable that a small number of owners of these vehicles would prefer to keep their batteries charged to reduce travel costs and enhance the driving experience, given the sheer number of BYD vehicles on the road. This small group of owners is sufficient to create the awkward situation where BYD hybrids seem to “monopolize” charging piles in highway service areas.

According to CCTV News, during the National Day holiday this year, the busyness index of charging stations in highway service areas nationwide reached 30%-35%, over 20 percentage points higher than usual. With the penetration rate of NEVs exceeding 50%, driving green-licensed vehicles on self-drive trips during the National Day holiday, once considered a “smart move,” is no longer uncommon.

During the National Day holiday, Yuan Media Hui drove a NEV to and from Guangzhou, Guangdong, to Tianshui, Gansu, covering over 4,000 kilometers. Through this hands-on experience, we discovered that there was another culprit that truly impacted NEV self-drive trips during long holidays.

01

Held Captive by the State Grid

Self-drive trips during long holidays have always been considered a “hellish” scenario for NEVs. In response, automakers have primarily divided into three factions based on their energy replenishment strategies: NIO, which advocates for swappable, rechargeable, and upgradable batteries; Xpeng and ZEEKR, which have “rolled up” their sleeves with ultra-fast charging technology that can provide 200 kilometers of range in just 5 minutes; and Ideal Auto and BYD, which promote hybrids that can run on both gasoline and electricity.

From the results, it is evident that regardless of whether it's battery swapping, ultra-fast charging, or hybrids, NEVs traveling during long holidays rely, to varying degrees, on public charging piles in service areas primarily operated by the State Grid. However, due to issues with the specifications and maintenance of these public charging piles, the charging conditions they provide fall far short of the ideal state advertised by automakers.

Time-consuming and labor-intensive accurately describes the reality of relying on State Grid public charging piles for NEVs traveling during long holidays.

Among the three factions of NEVs, hybrids that can run on both gasoline and electricity are the least “held captive.” However, even though they can operate solely on gasoline, a considerable proportion of owners still prefer to maintain a relatively high battery charge.

“If the battery is dead, the noise and vibration of the car will be more noticeable, and the power will be weaker. Additionally, using gasoline is significantly more expensive than using electricity, so unless there's a long queue for charging, I prefer to charge up a bit,” a hybrid owner told Yuan Media Hui.

Although hybrid batteries are generally smaller than those of pure electric vehicles, this does not necessarily mean shorter charging times. Due to their smaller capacity and typically lacking high charging rates above 2C, it typically takes over 20 minutes for a hybrid battery to charge from 20% to 80%. This is the primary reason why hybrids charging in highway service areas often irritate pure electric vehicle owners.

NEVs that support battery swapping are second only to hybrids in terms of convenience. However, in areas or popular routes where swapping stations are not available, they are still subject to the control of the State Grid. During their self-drive trip, Yuan Media Hui encountered several instances where all the batteries at the swapping station ahead were already taken.

Taking the more advanced third and fourth-generation NIO swapping stations as examples, their battery compartments can hold up to 20 or more batteries, but typically only carry half or fewer. Additionally, batteries are divided into 100kWh long-range and 70/75kWh standard-range options, and the specifications cannot be temporarily changed, further increasing the likelihood of vehicles arriving at the swapping station without available batteries.

Yuan Media Hui encountered a third-generation swapping station with only five batteries, four of which were long-range, leaving only one standard-range battery available, and it was just starting to charge. To be on the safe side, they ultimately chose to charge at a State Grid public charging pile in the previous service area.

As for NEVs that rely on ultra-fast charging, they are the most affected faction. Due to factors such as charging pile specifications and the number of vehicles charging simultaneously, NEVs that can achieve even half of their nominal maximum charging power at State Grid public charging piles in highway service areas are rare.

According to Yuan Media Hui's observations, only the Xpeng X9 was encountered charging at over 100kW in a service area. Several newly launched vehicles within the past year, including the 2024 ZEEKR 001 and AITO M7, only achieved charging powers ranging from 60-90kW within 5-10 minutes after plugging in. Even the Xpeng X9's charging power exceeding 100kW is less than half of its maximum charging capacity.

02

The Need for More Refined Management to Address Shortcomings

In summary, when it comes to driving NEVs during long holidays, the order of efficiency is: hybrids > battery swapping > ultra-fast charging. The underlying reason lies in the low charging performance ceiling of State Grid public charging piles in service areas and inefficient operations due to a lack of management.

According to data from the China Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, as of June 2024, the State Grid operated 196,000 charging piles, most of which are located in highway service areas. Considering the sheer number of these charging piles, as well as complex factors such as their idle rates during off-peak hours and the conditions for power infrastructure upgrades in highway service areas, it is unrealistic to expect the State Grid to comprehensively upgrade all service area charging piles.

Therefore, enhancing charging efficiency through maintenance of equipment, streamlining charging operation procedures, and optimizing the management of charging piles during peak hours are more practical approaches.

For instance, implementing a numbering system for charging at some service areas during the National Day holiday this year was an effective management tool to improve charging efficiency. Mr. Chen, who has driven a pure electric vehicle for National Day trips for two consecutive years, told Yuan Media Hui that previously, charging in service areas required strategy and vigilance to avoid being cut in line. “I didn't dare touch my phone before plugging in the charging gun,” he said.

Apart from the numbering system, there is still much room for improvement in charging piles in highway service areas. Experts have suggested setting more detailed charging strategies based on different vehicle models. Currently, most service area charging piles stop charging when the battery reaches 90% or even 85% capacity, as charging efficiency drops significantly above these levels.

Image sourced from Weibo user @ Li Lishan lls

“In addition to considering trickle charging, charging piles can also identify hybrid vehicle models through protocols to limit their charging capacity. For example, during peak hours, these vehicles could be limited to charging only 50% or 60% of their battery, which is sufficient to maintain good hybrid operating conditions,” a powertrain calibration engineer from a NEV company told Yuan Media Hui.

Furthermore, Yuan Media Hui observed that due to unclear guidance or equipment status issues with service area charging piles, many owners took 2-3 minutes or longer to complete the charging order process, especially for those who had not previously used State Grid charging piles. In such cases, arranging manual supervision during peak hours and strengthening cooperation with automakers to streamline payment systems for plug-and-charge functionality would significantly enhance charging efficiency in service areas.

As one of the most challenging scenarios for NEV usage, if the issue of charging in service areas during long holiday trips can be truly resolved, the penetration rate of green-licensed vehicles will further increase.

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