New energy trucks in the eyes of users: concerns about charging and swapping, light trucks are more suitable for new energy

On August 11, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released the latest data: from January to July, the cumulative sales of new energy commercial vehicles in China reached 80,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 58.9%. Among them, the cumulative sales of pure electric commercial vehicles reached 78,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 64.4%.

This data intuitively reflects that the sales base of China's new energy commercial vehicles is still relatively low, and even with a 60% year-on-year growth, the total sales from January to July only reached 80,000 units.

Relevant analysts stated that China's new energy commercial vehicles still have huge room for growth.

Data shows that in 2020, the total sales of commercial vehicles in China was 5.133 million units, and the sales of new energy commercial vehicles was 121,000 units, accounting for only 2.3%. Among new energy commercial vehicles, as a product promoted in urban transportation networks, new energy buses account for a higher proportion at 65.26%, while new energy trucks, as the main vehicle type in the transportation industry, only account for 34.74%.

It is worth noting that energy conservation and carbon reduction for commercial vehicles has long been a focus of attention for relevant industries and sectors. In the just-ended July, China officially implemented the *China VI National Emission Standards for Pollutants from Motor Vehicles* (hereinafter referred to as China VI) for heavy-duty diesel vehicles, which means that heavy-duty diesel vehicles that do not meet the China VI emission standards will be banned from production and sale.

This also means that for traditional trucks, technology and component costs caused by emission restrictions will further increase.

Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated in an interview that after the implementation of the China VI emission standard for heavy-duty diesel vehicles, the emission limits for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter will be reduced by 77% and 67% respectively, which is of great significance for energy conservation and emission reduction. However, to meet the emission requirements, automakers need to update the after-treatment devices of diesel engines, and environmental protection devices including DPF (diesel particulate filter), SCR (selective catalytic reduction), DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst), EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and other devices are installed on the engines.

However, relying solely on upgrading the emission standards of diesel heavy-duty commercial vehicles is obviously far from enough to speed up the pace of carbon reduction for commercial vehicles. According to the 2020 *China Mobile Source Environmental Management Annual Report* released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles account for more than 80% of the total vehicle emissions, and particulate matter emissions account for more than 90%.

Therefore, further increasing the promotion of new energy transformation for commercial vehicles, especially trucks, is a key task under the current circumstances.

At present, green-licensed new energy trucks are promoted by many cities, and most road access restrictions have been lifted for them across the country. For example, Shanghai issues passes for new energy freight vehicles on a priority basis. In Chongqing, except for individual roads, new energy light trucks are not subject to truck traffic restriction management, and no truck pass is required for models under 4.5 tons......