Pickup trucks are an important sub-track of the entire automobile industry. The new energy of automobiles is a comprehensive new energy source. Therefore, the new energy process of pickup trucks is of great significance.
According to data from the Passenger Federation, in September this year, my country’s pickup truck market sold 44,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 7% and a month-on-month increase of 9%. From January to September this year, the overall pickup truck sales reached 387,000 units, down 2% from the same period in 2021. However, relying on the strong growth of exports, pickup truck production and sales performance is significantly better than other truck markets. However, compared with passenger cars, the proportion and market penetration of pickup trucks are still relatively low. Especially the new energy pickup is really low.
In order to accelerate the new energy process of pickup trucks, the key is to stimulate consumption on the market side, reduce obstacles, and pave the way for it in terms of policies.
Recently, pickups have ushered in favorable policies, which are expected to increase production and sales.
01The policy is “unbinding” for pickups to enter the city
On October 26, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Tenth National Deepening of “Delegation, Regulation and Service” Reform Video and Telephone Conference Key Task Division Plan” mentioned the policy on pickup trucks, extending the time allowed for trucks to pass on urban roads, relaxing Tonnage restrictions, it is clearly mentioned to promote the cancellation of restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city.
The specific implementation will be led by the Ministry of Public Security, and the relevant departments of the State Council and various regions will be responsible according to the division of responsibilities.
This plan is not the first policy on Picari. In the first half of this year, the “Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Further Unleashing Consumption Potential and Promoting the Continued Recovery of Consumption” and the “Notice of the State Council on a Package of Policy Measures to Consolidate the Economy” It has repeatedly proposed to “implement refined management of pickup trucks entering the city, and study to further relax the restrictions on pickup trucks entering the city”.
The local government responded quickly. Since June this year, provinces including Guangdong, Hebei, Henan, Guizhou, etc. have issued documents requesting that the restrictions on pickup trucks be relaxed. Among them, on June 1, Guangdong Province took the lead in promulgating the “Guangdong Province Implementation Plan for the Implementation of the State Council’s “A Package of Policies and Measures for Solidly Stabilizing the Economy”, which was the first time to lift the ban on pickup trucks at the provincial level.
Relevant data shows that there are currently 287 cities in the country where pickup trucks have been lifted, accounting for 85.4% of the cities, 75.9% of the population and 66.1% of the total economic volume of the cities.
Among first-tier cities, some cities have lowered the thresholds for pickup license plates and right-of-way this year.
In Shanghai, pickup trucks can be licensed as trucks, and they can also be licensed as “Shanghai C” under “non-operating” conditions;
Chongqing Yuji pickup trucks are not subject to the management restrictions on the prohibition and restriction of trucks in urban areas on all road sections and all periods of time in the city;
Tianjin clearly stated that pickup trucks “can receive a special pass code for large trucks, and are not subject to the restrictions on the off-peak period of trucks on the outer ring road and the inner road (the trucks are not allowed to pass outside the road).”
Recently, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province has allowed light trucks (including pickup trucks) with a total mass of 3 tons (inclusive) and above to pass through for 24 hours, and no longer need to apply for urban truck passes (codes).
At the just-concluded National Two Sessions, Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC Group, clearly put forward a proposal to speed up the release of pickup trucks into cities in order to drive the consumer market.
An insider of SAIC Maxus said, “The launch of the policy represents the further strengthening of the pickup policy, the domestic pickup market has entered a new stage, and the comprehensive lifting of the pickup truck ban in my country has become the general trend.”
Of course, some cities are still cautious about pickup trucks. Beijing’s current policy on pickup trucks is that the city’s license plate is prohibited from driving on the roads within the Fifth Ring Road from 6:00 to 23:00 every day, and the main road of the Fifth Ring Road is prohibited from being approved for a load of 8 tons. (inclusive) above trucks pass through; outside the port number plate is prohibited from entering the road within the Sixth Ring Road (inclusive) from 6:00 to 24:00 every day.
02 Pickup trucks accelerate new energy
Huajin Securities is also very optimistic about the future development prospects of pickup trucks. In the previous research report, the bank believes that since 2016, local governments have gradually loosened the restrictions on pickup trucks entering cities, and the domestic pickup truck market is expected to usher in rapid development. From the perspective of demand, commercial demand is expected to benefit from consumption upgrades, replacing micro-cards and mini-vans. From the perspective of passenger demand, pickup trucks are expected to become multi-purpose passenger vehicles, expanding to consumers in first- to third-tier cities to meet urban incomes. Higher demand for outdoor activities. It is estimated that the sales volume of the pickup truck industry is expected to reach 1.04 million units in 2025, with a penetration rate of about 3.6%.
In addition, under the background of dual carbon, the new energy transformation of pickup trucks is also the general trend. Lifting the ban on pickups is undoubtedly one of the most effective means to help the new energy of pickups.
At present, pickup trucks have become a subdivision of competition among various car companies.
In terms of market structure, the current domestic pickup truck market is still dominated by traditional fuel vehicle companies. In September this year, the pickup market sold 44,000 units, and the top five pickup manufacturers accounted for more than 80% of the cumulative sales. The details are shown in the following table (data source: Passenger Association):
Great Wall Motors is an old player in the pickup field. In the first half of 2022, it won the sales champion of electric pickups with a market share of 37%, and became the double champion in the fuel/electric pickup market.
Great Wall Motor launched its first pure electric pickup, the Fengjun 7EV, in 2019, and later launched models such as the Great Wall Pao EV.
Tesla’s pure electric pickup, Cybertruck, has now surpassed 1 million orders and is expected to be delivered in mid-2023. The car has three versions of 400 kilometers, 480 kilometers and 800 kilometers in terms of battery life, and the acceleration time per 100 kilometers is only 2.9 second.
In July this year, Geely’s new new energy brand RADAR was released, launching China’s first pure electric platform pickup radar RD6. According to the plan, this pure electric pickup will be launched and delivered in the fourth quarter of this year.
BYD will launch its first pickup model based on pure electric and DM dual-mode hybrid technology in 2023.
As car companies accelerate the transformation of pickup trucks to new energy sources, the competition is bound to become increasingly fierce, and the market pattern will be rewritten.
A research report released by Haitong International Securities pointed out that electric pickups have two unique advantages: fast acceleration performance, greater traction for towing RVs or extra garages powerful. Among them, the three-motor version of the Cybertruck can even surpass the 911 in 100 km acceleration under ideal conditions.
The large tractive force enhances the core function of pickup truck transportation, allowing pickup trucks to have larger and stronger transportation capabilities. The acceleration performance is fast, and it gets rid of the bulky image of the pickup truck, and the handling is stronger and the safety performance is stronger. The large tractive force enhances the core function of pickup truck transportation, allowing pickup trucks to transport more cargo or carry more RVs, but how to solve the problem of reduced battery life when transporting cargo remains to be studied. Therefore, electric vehicles can be competent in the main application scenarios of pickup trucks, and we are optimistic about the long-term trend of electrification and intelligence of pickup trucks.
Author Hui Ze Li