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MUST READ - China has just announced a new JV between the State and the 4 largest housing providers for a rapid rollout of infrastructure. State Grid Evergrande Smart Energy Service Company

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the impacts of the Chinese EV subsidy changes however I haven't seem much discussion regarding how the State has shifted its focus onto the issue of charging infrastructure. IMHO this is a game changer to drive massive EV growth.

There have been many articles recently out of China discussing this issue however I haven't seen any discussion of them on Hotcopper.
China has redirected its resources from supporting initial growth of its EV manufacturing industry directly in order to get it up and running - which it certainly achieved - into a massive role out of what it calls "Piles".
Many in the local industry anticipate this new focus to have a greater stimulus on the EV industry than the initial car subsidies.
The numbers involved are mind blowing and I am amazed at how little discussion it is generating. Perhaps there is too much noise on these forums repeating every EV car article.
If you read two articles this week on the EV growth story, I suggest you make it these. Apologies in advance for any translation or format errors.

China's new focus from SMM news.smm.cn :


Can the State Grid take the hands of the four giants of the housing company to break the development of new energy?
Source: Gasgoo 2019-07-31 18:00 Shanghai
On July 28th, State Grid officially established a joint venture with Evergrande Group, “State Grid Evergrande Smart Energy Service Company” (hereinafter referred to as State Grid Evergrande), followed by four leading houses including Country Garden, Vanke, Sunac and Evergrande. The company signed a service cooperation agreement.
SMM News: Many friends who plan to buy a car will always have concerns about the "charging problem" when considering new energy vehicles."Where to charge", "Is it convenient to charge" and so on is always a question that plagues consumers.
Despite the government's strong push, the number of charging pile facilities is rising in recent years.However, compared with the current growth rate of new energy vehicle ownership, the shortage of charging piles is still a major “heart disease” for people to buy new energy vehicles.
As an important part of the development of the new energy automobile industry, whether the construction of charging piles can keep up is a key factor. The two are also described as "egg chicken" or "chicken eggs".On July 28th, State Grid officially established a joint venture with Evergrande Group, “State Grid Evergrande Smart Energy Service Company” (hereinafter referred to as State Grid Evergrande), followed by four leading houses including Country Garden, Vanke, Sunac and Evergrande. The company signed a service cooperation agreement.
Then, the cooperation between the four giants of “Hengbi Wanrong” real estate enterprises will bring a little hope to “difficulty in charging”, breaking the philosophical problem of developing “eating chickens” or “chickens and eggs” for new energy vehicles. ? Is this a signal that the state has “organized” the new energy package?
Breaking the development dilemma of "a hard-to-find" new energy vehicle
According to data released by the China Charging Alliance, the number of charging infrastructure in 2018 is 808,000 units, while in 2018, new energy vehicles are sold at 1.25 million units, with a holding capacity of nearly 3 million units and a car-to-pile ratio of 3.7:1.
The pile-to-pillar ratio is too high, and the new energy vehicle charging facilities are in short supply. On the one hand, the charging pile facilities are unevenly distributed, and the charging demand is concentrated in the city center. On the other hand, due to the high cost and operating cost of the charging pile, it is difficult for operators to expand the “layout”.
According to Kung Fu Automobile, the construction cost of an ordinary charging pile is about 20,000 yuan, while the construction cost of fast charging and charging pile is more than 100,000 yuan, and the construction cost is high.
And its later security maintenance, operation, etc. all require costs, which leads to a longer return period for this industry, which requires strong financial support.In addition, because charging pile operators face operational problems such as different specifications and difficult maintenance, most of them are still in the stage of profit model exploration, resulting in the inability to quickly popularize charging piles.
Therefore, the charging problem has begun to become the ceiling that restricts the development of new energy vehicles.In an environment where the charging infrastructure is imperfect, some new energy vehicle companies choose to deploy charging infrastructure, establish dedicated charging piles, solve the problem of “difficult charging” for consumers, solve the worries of car owners, and promote their new energy products.
The cooperation between the State Grid and Evergrande, and even the hands of the “Big Heng Wanrong” four giants, is the epitome of a new energy automobile industry.
From the State Grid Group, first of all, because it already has the capacity to build a charging pile foundation, the State Grid Corporation's subordinate car networking platform has been interconnected with 17 charging operators such as Putian New Energy, special calls, and star charging. The total number of charging piles entered exceeded 167,000, and the daily charging capacity exceeded 1 million kWh.
This means that China has built a smart car network with the widest coverage, the most access equipment and the highest level of technology.
At the same time, 5,526 charging and replacement stations and more than 45,000 charging piles have been built, forming a fast charging network of “six vertical, six horizontal and two rings” highways covering 16 provinces and 121 cities.
The arrival of Evergrande and other housing giants is more like "everything is in place, only owing to the east wind."
This time, State Grid Evergrande and four leading car companies will cooperate to improve the situation of charging piles significantly behind, bringing a new wave of construction explosions for domestic charging piles.
It is undeniable that the cooperation between the giants can further unify the market charging standards, break the "blood tears history" of the charging piles installed in the consumer community, and constitute a reasonable ecological system, which is conducive to the sequential development of the charging pile market.
The financial strength of these real estate giants is also more able to withstand the "profitability" problem in the initial stage of charging pile operations.
Kung Fu Motors speculated that in the project of “Heng Bi Wan Rong”, the construction of residential charging piles will only be the “first step”.
Next, they may “radiate” the charging network into a larger area outside the community, and use it as an extension of the basic layout of the new energy-making field.
From "replacement" to "filling the pile", it is good news for consumers.
In March of this year, the four ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles", and determined that the transition period from March 26 to June 25 will be subsidized. After the transition period, no subsidies will be granted for new energy vehicles. It was used to support the construction of charging infrastructure short-board and supporting operation services.Subsequently, Hainan, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Tianjin and other places successively issued policies to clarify the implementation rules for the subsidy transfer.
From “replenishing the car” to “replenishing the pile”, it is the starting point for the development of new energy in the national level at the macro level, and the leading housing enterprises are exerting their strength in the community, which is more like a starting point from the “point to the surface” at the micro level.
Whether it is for consumers, or from the perspective of the healthy development of the entire new energy market, this is undoubtedly good news.
For a long time, the new energy market has been mixed, and many local governments have formulated a number of local subsidies and development plans for the local new energy vehicle industry for the development of the local new energy industry.
Although the original intention is good, this initiative has spawned many inferior new energy products that are specially subsidized, resulting in the quality of new energy vehicles.
From the development of the charging pile market, this approach is more mature, and this will also stimulate the charging pile market to usher in a new round of growth.
The further popularization of charging piles will also solve the problem of the endurance anxiety of new energy vehicles, making it easier for new energy vehicles to enter people's lives, and the demand of the two will be transformed into each other, thus forming a benign situation in which the piles are mutually promoted.
The layout of the country's four major housing companies in the charging pile market marks the beginning of the country's "last mile" to overcome the development of new energy vehicles.


AND ANOTHER ARTICLE

Subsidy policy shifts to the future of the charging pile industry
Source: Jinan Daily 2019-07-18 13:39
Shanghai
The short driving range and charging anxiety have always been an urgent problem to be solved in the development of new energy vehicles. As the charging piles continue to increase, this problem is being solved. According to the latest data, as of June, the total number of public charging and private charging piles in the country was 1.02 million units, a year-on-year increase of 69.3%.
SMM News: The short driving range and charging anxiety have always been an urgent problem in the development of new energy vehicles. As the charging piles continue to increase, this problem is being solved. According to the latest data, as of June, the total number of public charging and private charging piles in the country was 1.02 million units, a year-on-year increase of 69.3%.
In March this year, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles", and determined that the transition period from March 26 to June 25 will be the subsidy. After the transition period, new energy vehicles will no longer be subsidized for purchase, and will be used to support the construction of short-board infrastructure for charging (hydrogenation) and supporting operation services. Subsequently, Hainan, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Tianjin and other places successively issued policies to clarify the implementation rules for the subsidy transfer.
The analysis believes that the local subsidy policy in 2019 has turned to the feasibility of charging piles. Under the effect of subsidies, the charging pile industry will welcome the boom cycle. At the same time, the number of new energy vehicles in the country has increased significantly, the number of real-operated vehicles has increased substantially, the profitability of charging pile operations has increased, and the industrial cycle has been significantly lengthened.

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