Early issues with private modifications to the range of new energy vehicles shouldn't be solely borne by the car owners.

Byline / Yang Mo (media professional)
Edited by / Ma Xiaolong
Proofread by / Zhao Lin

▲Reference image: New energy vehicles are being charged. Photo/IC

At present, as China’s fleet of new energy vehicles continues to grow, the first batch of large-scale deployments of ride-hailing cars, taxis, and other commercial operating vehicles are entering a period of frequent battery degradation. On one side, the resale value of used cars is “cut in half” and trade-in costs are soaring; on the other, there is a rigid demand to make a living by relying on the vehicle. Faced with this, many owners take a calculated risk and choose to illegally retrofit power batteries or range extenders to “extend” their vehicles’ lives.

According to The Economic Daily, this real-world pain point has given rise to a massive illegal modification and gray-market business: online, people attract customers through short videos and social media platforms; offline, repair and modification workshops take on the work. From parts supply to after-sales repairs, a covert service chain is becoming a regulatory blind spot that is difficult to reach.

The industry of retrofitting new energy vehicle batteries has actually existed for a long time. It’s just that as new energy vehicles enter a “retirement peak” period, this kind of modification demand has been further stimulated. Among all of this, especially the needs of the first batch of large-scale deployed commercial vehicles are the strongest.

On the one hand, compared with private cars, commercial vehicles have higher requirements for driving range. After battery range shrinks in a “cliff-like” manner, if owners do not replace the batteries, normal operations will inevitably be affected. On the other hand, after new energy vehicles lose their warranty, replacing an original factory battery can cost tens of thousands of yuan—sometimes even more than the vehicle’s own residual value—while replacing with a new car costs even more. In this dilemma, retrofitting batteries through gray-market channels has become the choice for many owners.

However, illegally installing a battery not only may violate the law, but also carries a series of hidden risks. For example, it may affect vehicle safety and increase the risk of fires, and owners also face multiple risks such as refusal to provide coverage and failing annual inspections. Therefore, some analysis points out that spending a significant amount of money to obtain around 100 kilometers of additional range is actually not worth it.

In this regard, when facing the temptation of “modification,” vehicle owners indeed need to assess rationally. At the same time, given the swelling influence of the battery-retrofit business operating in gray areas, stronger regulation and standardization efforts should also be increased.

Earlier this year, the State Council General Office issued the “Work Plan for Accelerating the Development of New Growth Points in Services Consumption,” which mentioned, among other things, stimulating the vitality of automobile after-market services and exploring graded and categorized management for car modifications. This means the auto modification market will have more room for development, and it also sends a clear signal that the industry should be further standardized. Relevant measures could be accelerated for formulation and implementation, compressing illegal modification space from the source and also reducing misleading effects on consumers.

In fact, from a development perspective, the rise of illegal new energy vehicle modifications at the current stage has some particularity. One most direct reason is that the first batch of new energy vehicles put into commercial operation generally has relatively low driving range, and coupled with the fact that battery prices are still high, this “dilemma” faced by these owners is especially prominent.

However, as industry experts have pointed out, as battery recycling systems are gradually improved, official battery replacement services become more widespread, mechanisms for circulating used new energy vehicles become more健全 (sound), and commercial vehicles naturally iterate out of service, the gray-market business of illegally adding driving range will gradually shrink.

At the same time, as the auto modification industry becomes even more regulated and the supply of compliant modification services continues to increase, the survival space for illegal modifications will inevitably be squeezed.

Of course, the real predicament faced by owners of the first batch of new energy commercial vehicles at the current stage still needs to draw attention. In practice, relevant policy guidance has already been reflected.

For example, according to the “Implementation Details for Subsidies to Replace Old Vehicles with New Ones for Automobiles in 2026,” for new energy vehicles registered and registered before December 31, 2019, a scrapping subsidy of 12% of the new vehicle sales price (including price and taxes) will be provided, with the maximum subsidy amount capped at 20,000 yuan. This standard is actually higher than that for gasoline-powered vehicles. On that basis, whether new energy manufacturers can also provide more support for replacement demand from the earliest batch of owners is also worth discussing.

Some viewpoints note that China’s new energy vehicle industry has been able to develop rapidly up to now, largely due to the trust and support of the first group of consumers who dared to “try it out” before 2020. Therefore, properly addressing the driving-range issues of older pure electric vehicles and providing more support and care to older owners seeking to replace their vehicles is also, in essence, the proper obligation that car companies should fulfill.

In essence, this is not only about “rewarding” older owners and helping reduce illegal modification behavior, but it also helps tap into larger inventory consumption potential—truly a win-win outcome for owners, society, and car companies. It is worth trying.

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