Author: Huangshan

Last year, Li Xiang, the CEO of LiXiang Auto, posted such a dynamic on his WeChat Moments:

The picture shows Li Xiang’s WeChat Moment from last year.

The point is that the built-in charging and swapping service system of the host factory has a very positive effect on sales promotion. This argument seems a bit biased, but if we only look at charging, this view is correct.

The logic that I agree with is that any action that improves the user experience is valuable, and the more you need to pay real money for it, the more valuable it is.

Charging is just like that.

We have always compared electric vehicles with fuel vehicles in the past. The most criticized aspects are nothing more than these: price, endurance, charging/swapping, and safety. After several years of rapid development, these shortcomings are being quickly made up for. Electric vehicles are approaching the various indicators of fuel vehicles.

The biggest difference from fuel vehicles is the charging and swapping part, which is fundamentally different from oil vehicles because the energy supply method has changed. The main automakers of traditional fuel vehicles have never built their own gas stations, but now the main automakers of electric vehicles, especially new car-making forces, have built their own charging and swapping stations and set up their own energy service systems.

Why do car companies need to build their own charging and swapping service systems? Does it make sense? Recently, I drove a XPeng P7 for a week and felt deeply about it. Today, I want to chat with you about it.

Free charging is really great

Getting 3,000 kWh of free electricity per year is equivalent to not spending money on 15,000 kilometers of travel. Isn’t that great?

This is the “Free Charging Plan” launched by XPeng Auto last year: For all first-generation non-commercial car owners of XPeng Auto during the service period, when they go to designated charging stations to charge, each car can enjoy a lifetime of free charging service for 3,000 kWh of electricity per year.

So, where do you charge? How to redeem?

The first step is to solve the online problem. In the XPeng Auto APP, there is a special charging section that provides charging station queries, filtering, navigation, and scan code charging to solve the problem of charging station data access and settlement.

In addition to XPeng Auto brand super charging stations, XPeng also integrates charging pile data from mainstream operators such as State Grid, Techrules, and Star Charge. Car owners can use the XPeng APP to scan code charging at different operator sites, greatly improving the convenience of charging.## Step 2: Tackling the Offline Issue.

Firstly, there are already 219 brand-owned supercharging stations with 2686 charging piles operated by XPeng as of the end of May. The construction plan is based on the following priorities: first-tier and second-tier cities; cities with a larger number of XPeng car owners; areas with higher traffic flow; areas with more concentrated car owners; high-quality destinations such as hotels, scenic spots and airports.

However, relying solely on their own construction, XPeng cannot cover so many cities in a short period of time. Therefore, they need to incorporate more third-party charging stations into their network. However, the charging experience of these stations may vary. Hence, XPeng has taken an initiative to screen these third-party charging stations and recommend preferable charging stations to their car owners for free charging.

As of May, XPeng’s free charging service has covered 188 cities across the country with a total of 1314 charging stations and 21678 piles. XPeng aims to achieve free charging coverage in all prefecture-level cities by the end of 2021.

As a car owner, isn’t this such an attractive benefit?

Turning Charging into a “Penguin Friends” Gathering

During my return journey from Beidaihe to Beijing, I stopped by a free charging station operated by Stars Charging in Tianjin. There were 10 fast charging piles, and I saw 4 XPeng cars charging there, which included 4 P7s and 1 G3 in addition to mine, making it a total of 5 cars. It was around 3-4 pm, and the station was randomly selected. The probability and number surprised me.

At the station, I met another XPeng P7 owner, “Xiaohao”, a fervent 90s kid who was eager to talk to me. His words made me realize that they were not just there for charging; it could also be seen as a meetup gathering.

“This free charging station is like our XPeng car owners’ base. Many of us ‘Penguin Friends’ met here and later established a group. We often come here together for charging and outings,” Xiaohao said.

After free charging became a basic service, charging stations turned into a physical connection point that attracted XPeng car enthusiasts around the neighborhood. For new brand customers, there was always a sense of sympathy, and the charging station gradually evolved into a social venue.

When a group of friends were formed and a group chat was created, organizations and mobilization could be established, and the power of car owners would be magnified, forming a ripple effect that gradually radiates to more people. Both car owners’ interaction and cooperation with manufacturers have a foundation.

This is another point of value I found in free charging.

Is Free Charging Worth It?Is free charging cost-effective? Actually, there are two aspects to consider: money and beyond.

Firstly, assuming an annual consumption of 3000 kWh per car owner, including electricity and service fees, the cost is around 5000 RMB annually. As of May, XPeng Motors has sold around 51,000 vehicles, resulting in a total annual charging cost of around 250 million RMB. It’s worth noting that not all car owners will consume the full 3000 kWh of electricity.

The cost of over 200 million RMB seems high, but the services and experience offered to users are tangible. Compared to traditional OEMs, who typically spend billions on marketing, it’s more worthwhile to invest this money in users.

Moreover, free charging can drive the increase in sales, making it a very effective marketing approach. Compared to endless advertising, users are more strongly influenced by this service.

More importantly, the good word-of-mouth from car owners can bring intangible benefits to the XPeng brand, reputation, user community operation, and user loyalty, which cannot be measured by money.

In addition, as the charging service system becomes increasingly refined, a positive cycle will form. Since XPeng was the first carmaker to offer free charging, they are at an advantage. Other carmakers, such as NIO, Tesla, Porsche, and even Li Auto, are also building their own charging service systems, including supercharging and destination charging, while introducing third-party charging operators. Although this approach is more costly, once formed, the benefits and competitiveness are clear.

Therefore, Li Xiang is right to say that charging is a compulsory course for OEMs.

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.