Introduction
I used to have doubts about Hyundai’s ambitious plan for electric vehicle development. However, looking at the current situation, Hyundai is the most determined among traditional car companies that follow Volkswagen’s electric vehicle platform and carry out subsequent implementation strategies. On the charging network side, Hyundai has entered the charging business and also launched a power card service.
There have been two recent developments:
Firstly, with the sale of Ioniq 6 and EV6, Hyundai opened 12 E-Pit fast charging stations at rest areas on highways in Korea since April this year, and then extended to 8 charging stations in different cities in Korea to maximize the fast charging performance of these two models.
Secondly, Kia, through the Electrify America fast charging network established by Volkswagen, offers a free ultra-fast charging card for 250 kWh. This kind of wool combined with its fast charging feature is actually an interesting move.
E-Pit Charging Station
Since the launch of Ioniq 5 and EV6, many Korean consumers have placed potential orders for these two models, and the information announced by both models shows an order pool of 23,760 and 21,000 per day, respectively. In order to maximize the unique platform features and fast charging performance of the two cars, which require an 800 V system that is generally defined as the ability to be charged within 15 minutes from 10% to 80%, the E-Pit design is possible only in Korea and is inspired by gas stations. As shown in the figure below, each station is equipped with 6 charging piles and provides 350 kW charging capability.
Hyundai seeks to deploy these charging stations in limited areas, which can serve both advertising purposes (unlike Tesla’s charging stations, the signs and styles are of great significance) and specialized charging purposes. These charging stations are highly recognizable and can effectively manage vehicle occupation (with the addition of parking locks).
Note: The difference in the configuration above can effectively illustrate the problem. For a general charging capacity of 100 kW, it is more appropriate to have two charging heads per pile, so that the number of charging positions is doubled and the power can be adjusted.
The current features that E-Pit supports mainly include:
1) Fast: These charging stations are mainly designed for use with Hyundai-Kia 800V system electric vehicles, which can charge up to 80% in about 15 minutes and drive about 100 kilometers in 5 minutes of charging.
2) Convenience “plug and play” feature: This includes identity verification, billing, and payment. Payments can be made through the App digital wallet, and the “charging reservation queue” service is available on the App.
In terms of plug design, liquid-cooled cables are used to reduce weight, and automatic height adjustment, rotation, and auxiliary handles are designed. Automatic sterilization is also installed on the charging interface.
3) Roof: The design of this roof is quite interesting, mainly considering that car owners can get out of the car and open the charging cap in bad weather without getting wet. The roof also displays information for nearby smokers to check while resting, and 15 minutes is relatively easy to withstand. Of course, these charging stations are located in rest areas on highways, and 15 minutes can be broken down into several 3-minute intervals.
Marketing Strategies in the US and Europe
In areas that Hyundai-Kia cannot currently reach, Hyundai-Kia is reusing money, such as in the United States, where Tesla currently dominates more than 80% of the electric vehicle market. A good strategy is to utilize the Electrify America network established by Volkswagen. This time, Hyundai has released a 250 kWh charging card, allowing Hyundai owners to use it directly.
Note: Yanyan’s XPeng car comes with 3000 kWh of free charging, with geographical restrictions in place. This is currently the main supplement for the P7, which encourages car owners to charge at stations for free and with a full charge.
In Europe, Hyundai-Kia launched its own marketing strategy last year by introducing the Charge myHyundai public charging service.
Modern charging services are simplified through collaboration with Digital Charging Solutions (DCS), using applications to facilitate payment.
Currently, access is provided to approximately 160,000 charging points across Europe through registration with Charge myHyundai. This allows access to all major operators from a single platform (in China, with WeChat and Alipay, payment integration is relatively easy, but in Europe car manufacturers need to develop solutions for users themselves). In order to promote these services, users may also receive electric cards for the main fast charging network, Ionity.
Summary
Currently, charging networks are auxiliary support for BEV sales for car manufacturers, and require a large investment of resources to support consumer experience and loyalty. In fact, several domestic enterprises in China will begin investing heavily in their own fast charging networks from 2021 onwards. The motivation behind this is to support high current charging standards in the future, as well as increasing production levels of fast charging chips around 2022. The expansion of Chinese enterprises overseas, including Hyundai-Kia’s initiatives, will also encounter similar obstacles.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.