As new energy vehicles become the “principal” of the car market, the slabs facing new energy vehicle maintenance gradually emerge. In the recent past, the topic of “car repair difficulties” in new energy vehicles has become a new focus。
In recent days, journalists of the chinese business newspaper visited a number of auto repair shops and workshops in cheng city, and found that in independent car repair shops, large and small, on both sides of the street, cars in the process of being repaired or awaiting repair were almost all single-coloured fuel trucks. When the journalist asked the repairer whether he could repair the new energy car, he either went to the professional new energy car repair shop and said he could “can't fix” and went back to work, or when he learned further that there were not simpler problems such as painting, repairing chassis, etc., but that there might be electrical failure, he went to a professional new energy car repair shop for consultation。
However, during their visits, journalists found that in auto repair shops with the title “professional new energy car maintenance”, only a very small number of repairers were able to repair new energy vehicles, while others were able to deal only with relatively primary problems. In response to the more difficult questions about core components such as batteries, electric appliances, electrical controls, they said that they had a doorway to fix it elsewhere, “you can find it yourself, we have our way”。
One of the reasons behind the problem of “car repair” in new energy vehicles is the lack of new energy vehicle maintenance talent. According to the guidelines for the development of manufacturing talent development, published by the ministries of education, human welfare and industrial and technological affairs, it is projected that by 2025 the number of new energy automobiles in the country will be 1. 03 million, of which 80 per cent will be available after the sale of new energy。
In shenzhen city, a student-in-charge of the new energy infrastructure training base, li taewei, told reporters that the supply of talent in the area of new energy vehicle maintenance is currently far from keeping pace with the growth in market demand, creating a large gap. “as new energy vehicle maintenance capacity is not available, a number of companies offering training resources and teaching services are now advancing training ‘quick start’ in hot heat, but tuition fees are not cheap. At our training base, the cost of the 45-day training in new energy vehicle maintenance is $15,000, and upon completion of the training, the trainees have only a more basic level of skills.”
According to data published by the ministry of public security in july of this year, by the end of june 2024, there were 345 million vehicles nationwide, of which 2. 47 million were new energy vehicles and 7. 2 per cent were new energy vehicles. According to the credit card, by 2025, the market size of the car will reach nearly 2 trillion, of which almost 15 per cent (about $300 billion) will come from the after-sales insurance of new energy vehicles. It is expected that, by 2030, the “triple power” of new energy vehicles will be in the post-market range of about $40 billion。
"it's hard for a person to support the cost of learning without the support of his boss."
“new energy cars tend to be built at 4s shops or at repair shops that specialize in new energy vehicles, although they are rare. Since the maintenance of new energy vehicles involves electrical circuits, high voltage, low voltage, etc., we have not been exposed to the business, nor has the company organized training.” in recent days, when journalists visited a car repair shop on the grounds that they needed to repair new energy vehicles, one of the staff members of the road tiger maintenance shop told the journalist。
It is not uncommon for traditional car maintenance stores, which are widely spread across urban streets, to lack the technical capacity to repair new energy vehicles。
“the last time a customer drove a hybrid car to the shop, we couldn't fix it, let alone repair a pure electric car.”
Journalists have learned that the repair of new energy vehicles has focused mainly on batteries, electric appliances and electrical control systems, and that many parts need to be repaired to open circuit boards for testing. The maintenance of new energy vehicles is centred on batteries, electric appliances, electrical controls, not only electrical knowledge, but also electricians' permits to be placed on duty, as electricians, batteries and high-voltage distribution boxes, among other things, are high-pressure parts, and safety measures should be put in place。
“one of the reasons why traditional car maintenance doors cannot repair new energy vehicles is that, if certain parts of the vehicles are damaged and parts need to be replaced, traditional car maintenance doors are often very difficult to purchase, and even if the maintenance master finds the problem, there is no way to repair them.” a traditional car repair shop owner told journalists that, for the maintenance staff of the traditional fuel truck, there was no information on the construction of the products of the new energy vehicle, and technology was blocked by the factory, which prevented the traditional car shop from doing so. In general, traditional car companies have made information on fuel vehicle-related products publicly available and can be found online by maintenance masters. “the maintenance shop pays an annual fee of a certain amount, and the traditional car company can even give us the engineer's account, and it can solve any problem.”
In addition, journalists learned from interviews that the relatively low failure rate of new energy vehicles, the need for new energy vehicle maintenance operations for traditional garages, the need for additional high-voltage electrical security equipment and other related hardware investments, and the need for additional staff training costs, high costs and low frequency of repairs, make the vast majority of traditional garages not eligible to repair new energy vehicles。
Under the guidance of the above-mentioned maintenance master, journalists visited three of the auto repair shops that displayed the “new energy vehicle detection and maintenance centre” “new energy vehicle maintenance service points” at the visible shop. When journalists indicated that the electric power of their pure electric vehicles might be malfunctioning, the maintenance staff of the three repair shops indicated that they could be dragged to the shop for testing。
One of the mechanics told journalists that the journalist described the failure of the new energy vehicle to start and that if there was a problem with the car's small bottle line, it would cost about $2,000 to replace the power line. In the case of car battery failure, it may cost between $10,000 and $30,000 to replace the battery. Moreover, the latter would have to wait longer, as they would have to go all over the country to find a battery of the same car type to replace it。
“i spoke to a spare parts company on 16th of this month about the distribution of spare parts, but after seven or eight days, no deliveries were made.” the repairer, wang zhijun (alias), who was able to repair both the new and the fuel vehicles, told journalists that it was difficult for independent cars to find new vehicle parts. Another repairer at the new energy car repair shop told journalists that if the car could not slow down or if the battery or the electrical power was damaged, it would not be able to deal with the failure and would need to go to the 4s store or other authorized shop。
During their visits, journalists found that there were not many repairers capable of repairing new energy vehicles. In a car shop with 10 maintenance mechanics, only one mechanic was able to repair the new energy vehicle。
Wang ziljun told reporters that new energy vehicles are more technically difficult to repair, that maintenance staff need professional training, and that new energy vehicles involve high voltage electricity, which is dangerous for maintenance staff. “at present, many garages are unable to repair some of the electronic devices associated with new energy vehicles. With fewer teachers capable of repairing new energy vehicles, the cost of repairing new energy vehicles is currently higher.”
While it is imperative to accelerate the development of new energy vehicle specialists, it will not be easy to develop a new energy vehicle mechanic, which will cost more time and money。
Wang ziljun indicated to journalists that it would take longer to train traditional car mechanics to be able to repair new energy vehicles. “it is not realistic to learn new energy vehicle maintenance skills, like a fuel truck mechanic, from apprenticeships to masters, and to raise a team without five or six years. I have been exposed to new energy vehicle maintenance since 2018, and i have been learning maintenance techniques through online courses and offline training courses for the years. Also, learning costs are high, requiring several study trips a year and thousands of dollars for a week. Without the support of the owner, the costs of tuition, transportation and accommodation involved in learning are difficult for individuals.”
The problem of “maintenance” has reached industry and government
The problem of “maintenance difficulties” in new energy vehicles is influenced by a number of factors and is not related solely to the difficulty of purchasing spare parts and the high cost of training。
A new energy vehicle maintenance teacher currently serving at a school for auto trades and technology told journalists that our system of vocational education and training has been relatively behind schedule for specialized training courses for new energy vehicles. The curricula of many vocational colleges continue to favour traditional car maintenance and lack training for new types of vehicles such as electric cars and smart cars. Technical standards and norms for the new energy automobile industry continue to evolve and refine, particularly with regard to different maintenance standards for different brands and models, further increasing the technical learning difficulties of maintenance staff. Moreover, not only are students less likely to learn, but many vocational schools also lack relevant professional teachers。
The question always arises before the answer. In interviews, journalists learned that as the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to rise, the problem of new energy vehicle maintenance has entered industry and government perspectives。
“there is currently a large shortage of new energy vehicle maintenance personnel, and some of the technical and training schools do not adequately train new energy vehicle specialists.” in march of this year, the director of the road science institute of the ministry of transport and communications and the automobile transport research centre, zhou zhou yi, called for the government to play a leading role in promoting projects, financial subsidies, tax incentives, etc., in the maintenance of intelligent motor vehicles, attracting high-level talent and participating in post-sales maintenance. “in addition, more market players, such as power cell and smart system suppliers, social investors and others, should be encouraged to compete in the market and adapt to the maintenance needs of the development of intelligent electrodynamic scale. Encouraging the diversification of business models in the industry, emphasis should be placed on the socialization of new energy vehicles, leading to branding and chaining, and giving the owners more repair options.”
During field visits and interviews, journalists learned that the new energy vehicle is currently mainly a manufacturer-mandated maintenance system, with fewer cases of repair by socialized repair plants. New energy vehicles have relatively few after-sales service points and are unevenly distributed. In addition, the professionalism and quality of service points are uneven and there is a lack of uniform standards and norms. Automobile maintenance enterprises have insufficient technical capacity to detect and repair core components such as electric motor vehicles' “triple power system”。
It is a matter of concern that our traditional fuel vehicle maintenance services are large and well-structured, and there are currently some 397,000 businesses in the entire industry. In contrast, our new energy vehicle maintenance service system is in its infancy, with fewer than 20,000 new energy vehicle maintenance businesses。
According to statistics provided by zhang yanhua, president of the chinese association of automobile repairs and repairs, fewer than 100,000 workers are employed in the country, only 24. 7 per cent of technicians are capable of battery testing and maintenance, and less than 5 per cent of technicians are aware of assistive or automatic driving, but cannot complete maintenance work. At the same time, only 24. 2 per cent of existing maintenance workers have obtained electrician certificates and have been placed in new energy vehicle maintenance。
“there are currently 3,000 higher-level colleges in the field of automobiles, but the effective supply of graduates is insufficient, with only 28. 3 per cent of graduates entering the automobile industry and 32. 0 per cent in the professional undergraduate sector, with more limited skills in the new energy vehicle maintenance service.” in zhang yenghua's view, the development of new energy vehicle maintenance service skills should be given greater importance, with enhanced top-level design, resource advantages, optimization of the talent environment and concerted and integrated approaches by governments, enterprises, institutions, industry organizations and others。
Many interviewees told journalists that many new energy vehicle-related data are currently closed and that the next step should be to make these data accessible and shared in order to build a more capable, inclusive and better-serviced network of mobile and maintenance services and to extend the life cycle of new energy vehicles。
“there is currently a gap between the quality of disclosure of new energy vehicle information and the need for social maintenance, which is difficult for social maintenance workers to find and use. Some whole factories do not want to involve social maintenance teams in the maintenance of new energy vehicles, and if they do not, this is not a good thing for host plants, which assume many of the responsibilities that should be borne by society.” zhou xian told journalists that public information on new energy vehicle maintenance technologies and the development of electronic health files should be promoted. In his view, the former could build a “knowledge base” on the vehicle maintenance line, while the latter would facilitate the creation of a “case bank” on the vehicle maintenance line。
