Introduction

Introduction

There are surprises, complaints, and likes.

The just-concluded "Golden September" brought undoubtedly good news, with many new energy automakers announcing impressive sales figures and widespread price increases. As for the ongoing "Silver October," with some participants successively announcing their order data for the past seven days, it can be foreseen that the positive momentum will continue.

In any case, in the face of the unstoppable wave of transformation, electric cars are rapidly becoming the so-called "mainstream." Whether in terms of sales or the mindset of potential consumers, they are making significant inroads.

Little did I know that during the just-ended National Day holiday, I completed a self-drive trip along the coast spanning nearly 3,000 kilometers. The entire journey started from Shanghai, passed through Taizhou Wenling and Ningde Xiapu, arrived at the destination of Quanzhou, and then returned to Shanghai via Wenzhou.

Unsurprisingly, considering my personal preferences, my companion was still an electric car, and specifically, a pure electric vehicle. As for which one exactly? Let's keep it a mystery for now. In the following sections, I want to share some discoveries and personal feelings, all of which are closely related to the protagonist of today's article.

There are surprises, complaints, and likes.

Green license plates conquer low-tier markets

To begin this section, I first want to share some data.

In July, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles surpassed the 50% mark for the first time in history, reaching 51.1%. In August, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles continued to climb, reaching 53.9%. In September, according to current projections by the China Passenger Car Association, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles is set to exceed 50% again.

As I've said before, "In terms of monthly data alone, electric cars have decisively defeated gasoline cars; the turning point has truly arrived."

It must be acknowledged that the media often focuses on mega-cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Thanks to various favorable policies, user acceptance of "green license plates" is indeed increasing at an alarming rate.

However, it's essential to remember that in the vast Chinese automotive market, mega-cities are just one important component. In contrast, the conquest of low-tier markets by "green license plates" is often overlooked.

Precisely against this backdrop, during the National Day holiday, I took the time to visit some new energy vehicle dealerships in Taizhou Xiapu and Ningde Wenling.

At the same time, I had in-depth conversations with several local car owners. In summary, similar to the situation in mega-cities, "green license plates" are also becoming unstoppable in low-tier cities.

For example, I vividly remember driving through a rural road in Taizhou Xiapu and feeling compelled to roughly count the models chosen by 20 randomly selected households along the street.

Among them, BBA accounted for four vehicles, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Honda for six, and the remaining ten were all "green license plate" vehicles led by BYD, Aion, Geely, and Xpeng. Although this is not representative of the entire market, it still left a profound impression on me.

Another example is a conversation I had with an uncle next to me while recharging in Ningde Xiapu.

"Two or three years ago, if you wanted to buy an electric car, your options were limited to either cheap senior-friendly vehicles costing tens of thousands of yuan or overpriced 'scam' cars costing over 300,000 yuan. There were virtually no affordable and high-quality commuting cars priced around 200,000 yuan. But starting last year, I noticed that more and more quality products were emerging, especially plug-in hybrids, so I naturally chose to trade in my old Touareg. Plus, as you can see, almost every household here has a yard, making it very convenient to install charging piles. Electric cars are indeed cost-effective."

From this, I interpreted that the rise of "green license plates" in low-tier markets seems to be a perfect combination of favorable timing, location, and human factors.

Firstly, there are now a wide range of mature options across various price points. Secondly, local potential customers are highly sensitive to operating costs. Thirdly, the overall charging conditions are more relaxed than in mega-cities.

Gradual popularity is a natural outcome.

Should plug-in hybrids be charged or not?

During every short holiday, the topic of "difficulties in charging electric cars on highways" inevitably trends on social media. Consequently, comments about "difficult-to-please electric fathers" emerge one after another.

It must be acknowledged that due to the inherently limited charging resources in most service areas and the fact that electric cars often require several tens of minutes to an hour for recharging, the imbalance between supply and demand inevitably leads to severe queuing and even fights over charging piles.

The pain point is clear. It is foreseeable that as the number of "green license plates" continues to grow rapidly, the above-mentioned issues will become increasingly prominent and profound.

So, is there no solution?

I can only say that "continuous joint efforts and promotions are needed at the government, corporate, and user levels. For example, building more charging piles reasonably, improving the efficiency of power batteries, and enhancing the charging etiquette of car owners. Otherwise, the vicious cycle will continue."

At this point, some readers may be curious about what "charging etiquette" entails. Before elaborating, I would like to share an interesting anecdote I stumbled upon by chance.

It goes like this: "An owner of an LIXIANG MEGA arrived at a popular highway service area only to find all the charging piles occupied. He then offered a BYD Qin PLUS DM-i owner 100 yuan in cash to let him use the charging pile while the latter went to fuel up."

In response, most netizens ridiculed the former for his financial generosity. However, what caught my attention was: "During short holidays, charging resources in highway service areas are inherently limited. Should plug-in hybrids be charged or not?"

In fact, throughout my National Day journey, I repeatedly observed a similar phenomenon: "Plug-in hybrids, which already charge slowly, occupy charging piles for extended periods, insisting on charging to 100% before leaving, leaving multiple pure electric vehicles waiting anxiously in line."

While it is objectively true that all new energy vehicles have equal access to charging piles and they are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, from the perspective of commuting efficiency, shouldn't plug-in hybrids, which already have a fuel tank, consider others more? Should they prioritize refueling during peak hours and choose appropriate times and locations for charging?

Unfortunately, the above suggestions remain merely my personal opinions, and there are no relevant regulations in place. The key factor behind this is "charging etiquette."

How to improve it is a long-term task.

Battery swapping: once you've tried it, you can't go back

Frankly speaking, if you're not a pure electric vehicle owner with advanced charging planning capabilities, embarking on a blind self-drive trip spanning thousands of kilometers during a short holiday is bound to be a painful experience. In other words, the poor charging experience at highway service areas is currently unresolvable.

Unless you have a fuel tank or the option to swap batteries.

This brings us back to the foreshadowing at the beginning of the article: accompanying me on this nearly 3,000-kilometer coastal self-drive journey was a NIO ES6.

As we all know, NIO's "chargeable, swappable, and upgradable" energy replenishment system has always been one of the company's proudest competitive advantages.

Before departure, I used the flexible upgrade option to enhance the NIO ES6's battery capacity to a 100 kWh long-range version for a daily rental fee of 78 yuan.

From Shanghai, through Taizhou Wenling and Ningde Xiapu, to the destination of Quanzhou, and then back to Shanghai via Wenzhou, NIO's highway battery swap stations were fully accessible along the route, with stations conveniently located at appropriate intervals.

Without exaggeration, the overall experience was unparalleled among all pure electric vehicle brands. Especially due to Typhoon Son-Tinh, which brought continuous rainfall, it was incredibly satisfying to be able to fully charge in just three minutes without even leaving the car.

Borrowing the words of my fellow passenger, "Once you've tried it, you can't go back."

Even in some popular service areas, where slight queuing might occur, the energy replenishment efficiency is significantly higher compared to waiting for over an hour to charge.

Moreover, it is worth noting that in September this year, NIO officially announced its latest battery swap station expansion plan. The first phase aims to complete the installation of battery swap stations in every county of 14 provincial-level administrative regions by June 30, 2025. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, and Macao have already achieved this goal, while the remaining regions include Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong, Sichuan, Henan, Fujian, Tianjin, and Chongqing, covering over 1,200 county-level administrative regions.

The second phase targets the addition of battery swap stations in every county of 13 more provincial-level administrative regions by December 31, 2025, including Hunan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hainan, Shanxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Gansu, and Ningxia, cumulatively covering 27 provincial-level administrative regions and over 2,300 county-level administrative units.

The third phase, starting in 2026, will focus on conquering the remaining seven provincial-level administrative regions, aiming to cover over 2,800 county-level administrative regions nationwide.

It is certain that if the plan is implemented as scheduled without major deviations, the overall experience of NIO Power is destined to reach a new level.

Additionally, looking at the data released by NIO during the just-ended National Day holiday, its 2,560 battery swap stations nationwide provided a cumulative total of 797,120 battery swap services to users.

The daily peak number of battery swap services exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching 104,270, a year-on-year increase of 33%. Compared to the same period last year, the average daily number of highway battery swaps increased by 38.6%.

Obviously, the stark figures speak for themselves.

Of course, from an observer's perspective, I would also like to add: "The construction of each battery swap station is bound to consume significant human, material, and financial resources. NIO must carefully weigh the cost-benefit ratio of this investment."

Against the current, if you don't advance, you will fall behind.