Some new energy vehicle owners have reported that charging fees at many public charging piles have increased. The fees are much higher than before. The electricity prices at charging piles in many places have increased significantly, ranging from a few cents to one yuan. The highest increase has almost doubled compared to before. The survey shows that some charging companies increased their service fee standards in the second half of this year, and some even increased by 50%.
In response to the above situation, some charging companies responded that because they invested a lot of capital costs in the early stage to build charging piles and adopted low-price strategies to attract users in order to expand market share, the companies were burdened with higher operating costs. Therefore, in order to ease operating pressure, companies had to increase service fees.
It is reported that the current charging cost of electric vehicles mainly consists of two parts: electricity fee and service fee. Among them, the electricity fee is calculated based on the electricity price and charging capacity of the charging pile, while the service fee is the fee charged by the charging station to provide charging services, which is determined by the operating company. Among them, electricity prices are determined by the market, and charging pile operating companies are not allowed to increase prices at will. Therefore, increasing service fees has become the first choice of companies.
The penetration rate of new energy electric vehicles in the domestic market is increasing year by year. A large part of the reason is their cost-effective car use. Now the increase in charging costs is the strongest "backstab" for new energy vehicle owners. Xiao Lei believes that short-term increases are not terrible. The most terrifying thing is that after the upward channel is opened, price increases may become the norm in the future.
According to Tong Zongqi, deputy secretary-general of the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, in order to compete for market share, the charging station industry has engaged in a "price war" that has led to most operators being in a state of loss. Now some operators have adjusted their service fees, and prices are rising to a relatively normal range.
Faced with rising charging fees, online ride-hailing drivers who drive hundreds of kilometers every day are undoubtedly one of the groups most affected. Changes in charging fees directly affect their actual income. In order to find cheaper charging piles, many drivers need to rack their brains to seize spots. Sometimes they even have to drive in the middle of the night to find charging piles for lower charging fees.
In addition to online car-hailing, ordinary residents who do not have home charging stations often have to fight for wisdom and courage to occupy charging stations. Previously, some car owners had conflicts over charging stations. The original intention of buying electric cars was for a more cost-effective travel experience, but now it has become a source of trouble.
In Xiaolei's view, it is understandable for companies to increase charging fees in order to survive. The closure of many smaller-scale affordable charging piles because they cannot afford to operate due to low service fees is the best lesson from the past. The rising cost of car use is a problem that new energy vehicle owners will have to face in the future. However, we also hope that charging pile operating companies can make the adjustment standards of service fee prices public and transparent, and clearly mark the prices to better allay the concerns of car owners.
Faced with increasingly higher vehicle costs, if there are no relevant government subsidies for new energy vehicles in the future, will so many people still choose them?