Recently, the shared power bank has been named "assassin" and rushed into the hot search. It used to charge 50 cents per hour, but now it charges 4 yuan or even 10 yuan per hour. The shared power bank that can be seen everywhere in life has become the focus of public opinion due to the price increase. Many netizens complain that "this is to encourage everyone to buy their own power bank".

A few years ago, under the name of "sharing economy", shared power banks were favored by capital. In just 10 days, the amount of financing reached 300 million yuan, and more than 20 institutions entered the market. At that time, smartphones were fully functional, power consumption was getting faster and faster, and charging had become a high-frequency demand. With the trend of "sharing economy", shared power banks quickly entered the market. According to public data, as early as 2020, the number of users of shared power banks was close to 300 million.

At present, the shared power bank market is showing a concentration of leading companies. In 2021, Monster Charging will go public, Street Power Search will merge, and Xiaodian will also sprint to IPO, forming a pattern of "three power and one beast". However, under the epidemic, the shared power bank companies that focus on offline scenes are actually under certain pressure. The competition at the channel end is increasingly fierce, and the battle for points is intensifying.

According to a third-party report, based on the operating income of shared power banks to calculate the market size, it is expected that the average annual compound growth rate will reach 20.8% in the next five years. In the case of better prospects, prices have risen, but losses have increased. Services have been complained by users, and shared power bank companies still cannot find business growth. The current situation is very embarrassing.

Charge up to 10 yuan for 1 hour

"I am a big user of electricity," a shared power bank user from Beijing told China News Weekly. Due to the frequent need to participate in business activities, he has become accustomed to borrowing shared power banks when his mobile phone is out of power, but recently the price after being used has "stung": "It takes less than half an hour to charge 4 yuan."

In addition to questioning the recent increase in the price of shared power banks, the above users also found more details. When he checked past usage orders, he found that a shared power bank using small electricity once took 2 hours and 5 minutes and charged 12 yuan. However, the charging standard is 4 yuan per hour, and it will be returned free within 3 minutes. Less than 1 hour is calculated as 1 hour.

"This means that I charged 4 yuan more for an extra 5 minutes, is that reasonable?" the user questioned.

According to public research, among the users of shared power banks, business people, young women, car users, game users and video users use shared power banks more frequently. These people often become a loyal paying client base because of the long use of mobile phones, the inconvenience of carrying their own power banks and the low price sensitivity. However, recently these users with low price sensitivity also feel that they can’t afford to share power banks.

Previously, according to media reports, in many cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing, the price of shared power banks has risen to about 4 yuan per hour, and some popular scenic spots have reached as high as 7 or 8 yuan per hour. Reporters visited and found that in major business districts in Beijing, the charging standards for shared power banks vary. Shopping malls, bustling tourist attractions and streets in the core business district often charge more, generally 4 yuan to 6 yuan per hour. At individual points, the price is higher, reaching 10 yuan per hour, such as in some scenic spots and high-end sales offices.

In fact, different shared power banks may have different prices and charging standards in the same place. Looking at the Mini Programs of various power bank manufacturers, taking the area near a core business district in Beijing as an example, most monster charging charges 2 yuan every half hour, and it is free to return within 3 minutes. Less than half an hour is calculated as half an hour; most small electricity charges 1.5 yuan or 2 yuan every half hour, and it is free to return within 3 minutes. But the difference is that in some places, less than 30 minutes is calculated as 30 minutes, and in some places, less than 1 hour is calculated as 1 hour, and the difference between these two places is often only a few hundred meters.

A staff member of the shared power bank revealed to China News Weekly that there has been no uniform price for the shared power bank, and the price of each point is different, because there are direct sales points and agent points in the middle, and different people and merchants negotiate the price, and the final price will be different. "Many times, the company’s control over the price is not so strong, and the room for human manipulation is relatively large," the staff member stressed.

Shi Songpo, vice-president of Rock Capital, pointed out that "in the early days, the price of power banks was mostly charged 1 yuan per hour, but now it is mostly concentrated at 3 to 4 yuan per hour. This kind of price increase is not an isolated case in the sharing economy industry, and the price of shared bicycles is also rising. At present, there is no unified pricing rule in the industry, especially in the case of the increasing proportion of the agency model, the price control of power bank manufacturers has actually become weaker. The phenomenon of random pricing by agents and point merchants is relatively common, and there is often chaos of different prices for the same brand on the same floor."

Why become an "assassin"?

Around 2017, it was in the period of perfect development of smart phone functions and the prevalence of various large-screen applications. At that time, people used mobile phones for an average of 1.86 hours a day, but the power problem of mobile phones has not been solved. Shared power banks have become a trend, and players from all walks of life have poured into the industry, occupying major shopping malls, stations and other traffic-intensive places. Capital has also entered the market, and the amount of financing has reached 300 million in just 10 days.

Within a year, the leading companies announced profits one after another: Caller first announced a break-even, and then Street Power and Small Power announced profits respectively. The financial data of Monster Charging showed that the net profit in 2019 and 2020 reached 166 million and 75.40 million yuan, respectively. In 2021, Monster Charging was listed in the United States, demonstrating the business model of sharing power banks. In 2021, the industry concentration was further enhanced, and Small Power Technology submitted a prospectus to seek listing; Street Power and Soo Power merged into Bamboo Mang Technology, forming a pattern of three "small bamboo beasts" competing.

According to a public report, in the first half of 2022, the number of devices, transaction volume, and order volume in the shared power bank industry increased compared with 2021, with CR4 (the top 4 share concentration in the industry) exceeding 90%. In fact, the price of shared power banks has increased several times in the past few years. In the second half of 2019, the price of shared power banks increased to 2 yuan per hour. In the second half of 2020, the average charging standard of major platforms increased to 3 yuan, and this year it reached 4 yuan per hour.

Shi Songpo said that in the sharing economy, the price increase of shared power banks is still relatively fast, and the primary factor for collective price increases is that the industry reshuffle period of low-price drainage has passed, and the tail players have been cleared and entered the oligopoly stage. These companies originally pursued market share, but now turn to profit.

"In fact, the price of the shared power bank is not expensive, such as taking the bus and subway, it is normal to spend a few dollars for five minutes, but the shared power bank has caused so much controversy, or there is a problem with the service." Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Consulting, stressed that if the quality can be improved, it does not matter if the price is a little more expensive.

In the media report, a user rented a shared power bank from a hospital in Kunming, Yunnan, but when he returned it, he found that the warehouse was full and could not be returned, and there was no return point nearby. The user didn’t know what to do for a while. In addition, there are two models of shared power banks displayed in the Mini Program. These two models do not support mutual return. The user asked the customer service about this situation, and the customer service asked to return it by mail and asked the user to bear the cost. The user expressed dissatisfaction, and the company that owns the power search did not give a solution.

Previously, the regulatory authorities conducted a survey on the pain points of shared power bank services, and the survey showed that billing was not stopped after return, renting was easy to return, difficult to return, and the price logo was not significant, and the charges were unreasonable. On the Black Cat complaint platform, there were as many as 70,000 complaints about incoming calls, 25,000 complaints about small electricity, and 15,000 complaints about monster charging, including malicious deductions, failure to return, and false propaganda.

A picture circulating on the Internet shows that a user has purchased more than 40 shared power banks in the past two years. Generally, shared power banks have a "buy-out" mechanism, which stipulates that if they are not returned for a long time (about 7 days) after charging, the full deposit of 99 yuan will be deducted. Many users who borrowed the power bank and forgot to return it often "lost" 99 yuan to take the shared power bank home.

"Recently, shared power banks have been controversial, and the core problem is that the price has risen to a certain extent, but the product service and quality have generally shown a downward trend, and the price and service are far from consumers’ expectations." Zhang Yi told China News Weekly that the most widely criticized power bank is the slow charging speed, so it is not high in terms of consumer satisfaction.

The dilemma of a single profit model

In the past two years, affected by the epidemic, the business of sharing power banks is not easy to do.

According to the financial report data, Monster Charging’s revenue reached 1.427 billion yuan in the first half of this year, and 1.819 billion yuan in the same period last year, a significant decline year-on-year. In fact, Monster Charging has experienced a year-on-year decline in revenue for three consecutive quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Quarter 1 of 2022 and the second quarter of 2022, revenue declined by 9.7%, 13% and 29% respectively.

In terms of profit, in the first half of the year, the monster charging loss reached 280 million yuan, while in the monster charging profit in 2019 and 2020, the net profit added up to 242 million yuan. At present, the monster charging has lost money for four consecutive quarters, and the loss is expanding.

According to the financial report, the entrance fee and commission paid by Monster Charging to merchants have increased year by year. In 2019, this expenditure accounted for 48.2% of the revenue of the power bank, and in 2021 this data reached 61.1%. Shi Songpo believes that the reason for raising prices and pursuing profits is not only because of the increase in market concentration and oligopoly, but also because of the single profit model of shared power banks, serious losses and fierce competition.

"We can see that companies such as Monster Charging are paying more and more commissions to third parties. This is because of the compromises that manufacturers have to make during the winter under the pandemic. Under the situation that the industry’s profits are further under pressure, high-quality points are the focus of the efforts of shared power bank companies. The intensification of competition for high-quality points has led to the increase in the cost of distribution venues, and both the entrance fee and the commission are increasing, further boosting the price of power banks."

The above-mentioned sharing power bank staff pointed out that the business of sharing power banks is "cannibalism", and the increase in the frequency of renting power banks will increase the income, so the point is very important. The demand for renting in crowded places is relatively large, so the price of these places will be higher. If it is a direct operation, it is very expensive to raise a very large ground team. Therefore, this year, companies such as Monster Charging have turned to agency operations. In this case, they mainly rely on renting machines to make money, but this has led to the result that the pricing power is controlled by the agent.

Zhang Yi said, "In recent years, shared power bank companies have encountered great pressure to lose money, mainly due to the competition for channels. Everyone is overdrawing prices and profits, and stimulating channels through third-party commissions, entering a vicious circle."

According to public data, it is expected that by 2025, the market size of shared power banks will reach 27.80 billion yuan, and users will break through 700 million. Zhang Yi believes that the current mobile end point intelligence is getting higher and higher, the demand for electricity consumption is also increasing, and the battery life problem has not been fundamentally solved, so there is still room for the future development of shared power banks. He also stressed that only by improving products and services can we win the favor of consumers.

At present, Zhumang Technology is developing new businesses such as shared charging stations for motorcycles and smart retail containers. Monster Charging has also relied on millions of power banks to incubate the Baijiu brand through private domain traffic. Xiaodian also revealed in its prospectus that it wants to enter the short video field.

"Shared power banks have actually become large-scale, and the popularity of first- and second-tier cities is already very high. However, under the cold winter, the problem of profitability is prominent, and even if it expands, it will not increase profits." Shi Songpo said that now companies are looking for different profit models, trying to bring new increments, but whether it can really solve the single profit model still needs time to verify.

　　Last week, today’s Morning Post reported the problem of Mr. Zhang, a Shanghai car owner, about BYD Qin, which attracted the attention of many BYD Qin car owners. After the report was published, the auto rights hotline of Morning Post also received different calls and heard different voices.

　　In these calls from BYD Qin car owners, the problems reflected are not limited to the power system problems on the dashboard. Some car owners pointed out that the cruising range of BYD Qin Chuandian mode is inconsistent with the actual propaganda.

　　In the face of outside doubts, BYD made an exclusive response when interviewed by Morning Post.

　　On the highway

　　Air conditioners, wipers, turn signals and headlights all failed.

　　The first person who called the Morning Post reporter was Ms. Ma, the owner of BYD in Shanghai. The thrilling experience on the expressway two months ago still left her with a lingering fear.

　　"Finally, someone pays attention to Qin’s problem. My experience is similar to that of Mr. Zhang, a Shanghai car owner, but mine is even worse. I had a narrow escape on the highway and had no way to complain after several times."

　　What experience did Ms. Ma encounter that made her so angry?

　　In an interview with the Morning Post reporter, I learned that Ms. Ma’s Qin was purchased from Shanghai Ledi 4S store in December 2014, and has opened more than 8,000 kilometers so far.

　　"On April 6, it was the last day of the Qingming small holiday. It was raining. My family of five had a 4-year-old child in the car and drove BYD Qin back to Shanghai from Bengbu, Anhui."

　　On the expressway from Anhui to Shanghai, the sky suddenly rained heavily, but to make matters worse than the weather, the car broke down.

　　"The air conditioner, wiper, turn signal and headlights all failed. At that time, the rain was very heavy. I had to turn on the double jump, pull over urgently, and call BYD customer service at high speed to wait for rescue."

　　Ms. Ma recalled, "At that time, the road was parked in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. As a result, Changzhou 4S shop said that they could not rescue it. Later, it was easy to say that after waiting for more than 40 minutes, two staff members came. However, the staff said that the reason was not detected, and the car could continue to move forward and told us to go back to Shanghai for maintenance. "

　　However, just after Ms. Ma drove her car to Shanghai for less than 20 minutes, the car broke down again. "This time, the situation is the same as before. Air conditioners, wipers, turn signals and headlights all failed. In particular, the failure of the turn signal made me very scared, because at that time, the car was driving in the middle road, and the fog on the glass inside the car was too thick to see the outside. My wife had to wipe the windshield while looking at the car behind me. I only acted as an artificial turn signal, opened the right window, and waved my clothes as a turn signal before reaching the emergency lane. "

　　Ms. Ma said: "Because on the last day of the small holiday, there were a lot of cars returning, and the traffic volume was also very large. The emergency lanes were all cars. We put up a tripod 50 meters away, and the tripod was crushed by the car and almost crashed. Fortunately, the car stopped in time, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."

　　Before BYD’s rescue, Ms. Ma asked for help in a qq group of BYD Qin. "At that time, some riders said that he had encountered a similar situation, but the problem was not as serious as mine. It is suggested that we start the car after 20 minutes of power failure, and it will be normal. The power failure of the whole car means that the emergency lights can’t be used. We have to take risks, because there is no rescue and no way to stop at the emergency lane. Finally, my wife braved the rain and took an umbrella as a warning sign behind the car. "

　　It was not until 1 am the next day that Ms. Ma’s family arrived in Shanghai safely. "In the early morning of April 7, we drove the car to the 4S shop for maintenance. After waiting for an hour and a half, the staff told me that there was no problem detected for the time being and asked me to go back and wait for news. I asked if it was the reason why the rain line leaked, and the mechanic said it was impossible. "

　　On April 8, Ms. Ma received a phone call from the 4S shop saying that she went to pick up the car. The problem has been fixed, and the staff only mentioned lightly that "it was because a part at the rear of the car fell, which led to the system disorder, and now the template has been replaced".

　　"It’s only about 7 thousand kilometers, and this kind of life-threatening problem appears. What should I do if I have this problem again in the future? Do I dare to get on the highway?" Ms Ma questioned the quality of Qin.

　　Yesterday afternoon, Ms. Ma called the Morning Post reporter again. "Although the problem has not appeared again, I dare not drive far away, especially in rainy days. If I can’t open it, I won’t open it."

　　What about the agreed 70 kilometers?

　　Pure electric mode only drives 45 kilometers.

　　Unlike the situation reflected by Ms. Ma, Mr. Wang, the owner of Fuzhou, Fujian, called the Morning Post reporter to reflect the cruising range.

　　"The manufacturer promotes that the pure electric mode can reach 70 kilometers, but why have I tested it many times only about 45 kilometers?" Mr. Wang pointed the problem directly at Qin’s battery problem.

　　According to public information, the charging capacity of Ferrous lithium phosphate power battery used by BYD Qin is 13kW·h, and 90% of the system uses pure electric mode in hybrid mode, and its comprehensive driving mileage can reach 70km.

　　"I didn’t care much about BYD Qin’s cruising range before. After all, this car is a hybrid car. I can burn oil without electricity, but since May, I have begun to pay attention to this problem and found that the test results are far from the manufacturer’s 70 kilometers."

　　Mr. Wang said that at first he thought his driving habits were not good, but after many tests, he found that the problem was not his own fault at all.

　　"I am now working in the suburbs of Fuzhou, where the road conditions are very good, and I can basically maintain more than 60 km/h. In order to extend the cruising range, I didn’t even turn on the air conditioner or play music, but the test results are still not satisfactory, from 100% to 5%, I can only drive about 45 km." Mr. Wang told the Morning Post reporter.

　　The reporter learned that at present, electric vehicles on the market are basically composed of three parts: motor, control system and battery, among which battery is still the biggest problem restricting the development of electric vehicles.

　　According to industry insiders, Qin’s working principle is very simple to sum up. "A dual-clutch DCT gearbox, an inverter, an external power plug and an inverter constitute this power system. BYD Qin, on the other hand, mainly uses BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery, adding some cobalt to the battery, which enhances the cycle efficiency of the whole battery. Therefore, many people call it lithium iron cobalt phosphate battery. "

　　Previously, the Automobile Consumption Report conducted an actual measurement of Qin, and the test route was selected at Beijing-Shanghai Expressway: Wuning Road-Cao ‘an Highway-Beijing-Shanghai Expressway-Beijing Toll Station of Beijing-Shanghai Expressway in Putuo District, Shanghai.

　　Before departure, the staff filled Qin’s battery (the battery showed 100%), and then filled the fuel tank from the nearby gas station to the automatic jump gun. Vehicles keep driving in EV (pure electric mode), from Wuning Road to Cao An Road, and get on the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway. Within 15 kilometers of Shanghai, the speed of the vehicle is 30 kilometers per hour, with a total mileage of 15 kilometers. Then, it enters the Shanghai section of the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, with a speed of 60-80 kilometers per hour. When the vehicle’s battery shows the remaining 15%, the vehicle travels another 25 kilometers.

　　A staff member who participated in the test told the Morning Post reporter: "In order to test Qin’s pure electric mileage, we pressed the EV mode key for 5 seconds according to the vehicle instructions and forced to continue using the EV mode. When it reached the minimum 5% protection power set by the vehicle, it traveled another 5 kilometers. Therefore, in urban congestion and suburban comprehensive sections, Qin used 95% of electricity to drive a total of 45 kilometers. "

　　An industry insider said, "There is no clear statement about Qin’s battery capacity so far. However, according to the price speculation, it should be a monomer of 60AH, which is connected in series together. Whether it is charging or discharging, the low voltage of a single battery will seriously affect the cycle life of the entire battery pack, which is beyond doubt. "

　　BYD’s exclusive response

　　There are two possibilities for Qin Chundian’s unsatisfactory mileage.

　　Yesterday afternoon, BYD also gave the Morning Post an exclusive response to the owner’s question about the cruising range in pure electric mode.

　　"There may be two situations in the consultation on the unsatisfactory mileage of Qin Chundian: 1. Whether the battery is fully charged. 2. The road use environment and driving habits are related. "

　　BYD said, "The charging dissatisfaction is to protect the power battery. The total capacity of Qin Power Battery Pack is 13 kWh. In order to prevent the battery from over-charging and over-discharging, and ensure the service life and safety of the power battery, the power battery is designed with a part of reserved power that is not allowed to be released. This part of reserved power is greater than the current low power alarm display value to protect the battery from over-discharging. When the power battery is charged, the voltage and charging current of the single battery change dynamically, which will cause some errors in the SOC calculation of the battery management system. Vehicles with charging capacity above 10.5 degrees are normal. If the charging capacity deviation is too large, it is recommended to go to BYD authorized service stores for inspection. Fully charge and discharge more to ensure the activity of the battery. If the vehicle is stored for a long time, it is necessary to ensure that the power battery is fully charged, and it is best to fully charge the vehicle. "

　　In addition, BYD also wants to remind car owners to pay attention to the charging operation through the Morning Post: "After the Qin battery is fully charged, charge it for a while to better balance the battery performance. If in doubt, please consult the local 4S shop or upgrade the balancing program. Upgrade the equalization program to optimize battery performance. "

　　For balanced batteries, BYD’s explanation is that "power batteries are in series structure, and if the performance of individual batteries is inconsistent, it will affect the overall battery performance. Qin started the balancing program from full charging to unplugging the charging plug and after Qin started the power-on, balancing the performance of individual batteries to achieve consistency, thus optimizing the overall performance of batteries. "

　　Mr. Wang, the owner of Fuzhou, Fujian, who was concerned by the Morning Post, was confused about the cruising range. BYD staff also said that they would contact the owner as soon as possible to test the car battery and solve the worries of the owner.

　　If you have any problems with the car when you use it, you are welcome to get in touch with the Morning Post car rights hotline 18667120283.