DC Pile Behind the Price War: Industry Chaos and Quality Traps Revealed

Last year, 120kw DC charging station but also 30,000 to 40,000, this year, directly cut to 20,000, there are manufacturers directly shouted 16,800, which makes everyone curious, this price is not even affordable module, this manufacturer in the end how to do. Is cutting corners to a new height, or really strong cost control.

1. 16,800 yuan “cabbage price” mystery: cost and profit of the fatal gap
According to industry public data, a standard 120kW dual gun DC charging pile core costs, including charging module (about 10,000 yuan), brand gun line (3,000 yuan), the motherboard (1,000 yuan) and sheet metal, fuses and other components (thousands of yuan), the total material cost of at least 1,000 yuan. ), the total material cost is at least 17,000-19,000 RMB.

If the selling price of 16,800 yuan is calculated, the enterprise not only has no profit margin, but may even be upside down. There are two possibilities hidden behind this:
- downgrading core components: adopting non-mainstream brand modules (such as domestic low-end alternatives), or reducing the number of modules (e.g., only configuring four 20kW charging modules at the expense of the charging speed);
- shrinking safety configurations: omitting the AC contactor, cutting down on the heat dissipation system, or even using non-flame-retardant cable, resulting in a soaring failure rate. soaring failure rates.

Comparison case
The 120kW charging pile of the head brands such as china beihai power is priced at about 25,000-30,000 RMB, adopting mainstream modules such as Infineon and YouYouGreen, and equipped with intelligent monitoring and overload protection as standard; a certain low-priced brand is exposed to use second-hand refurbished modules, with a failure rate as high as 27% (the average of the industry is 8%-12%). Certain charging pile enterprises, but also cut corners, not to install a separate meter, but the use of on-board metering, not only low cost, but also can be adjusted to the meter, so that these piles in cahoots with the operator, but also infringes on the interests of consumers.

2. the pushers of the price war: vicious competition and industry disorder
1: overcapacity and policy arbitrage:
2020 “new infrastructure” policy stimulus, low-end production capacity duplication of construction, part of the enterprise in order to obtain subsidies to lower the cost of poor-quality piles flooded into the market; 2025 before the implementation of the new national standard, some manufacturers are eager to clear the inventory, at the expense of the loss of money dumping.
2: “assembly plant” mode proliferation:
small manufacturers lack of core technology, rely on the procurement of low-end components assembly, eliminating R & D, testing, cost compression of 30% -40%; a low-priced pile enterprise did not pass the national standard EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) test, resulting in charging interference with the surrounding power grid equipment.
3: operators’ short-sighted choice:
Some small and medium-sized operators choose low-priced piles in order to reduce the initial investment, but the subsequent maintenance and fines (such as grid fines) lead to the comprehensive cost of branded piles.

3. “invisible gap” between big brands and low-priced piles 

Typical case: Shenzhen, a charging station using low-priced pile, the average annual maintenance cost of a single pile of more than 5,000 yuan, while the brand pile only 800 yuan.

4. Industry warning: the crisis of bad coins driving out good coins
1 User risk:
- Charging speed is false (actual power is less than 100kW), prolonging the waiting time of the user;
- Increase in fire hazards, a low-priced pile triggered a fire in a parking lot due to poor heat dissipation.
2 Industry ecological damage:
- R&D investment of leading enterprises is squeezed, and R&D expense of Teco will drop 15% year-on-year in 2024;
- Operators fall into loss due to low-price competition, and charging service fee will increase 87% in Q1 2025, which will be passed on to users.

Expert appeal: the Northern Polytechnic University pointed out that the need to establish a “quality white list” system, the module brand, safety certification into the bidding standards, to eliminate the poor quality pile into the market.

5. Rational choice: long-term value > short-term cost
- Operators: need to calculate the full life cycle cost (LCC), brand pile 10 years total cost is 20% -30% lower than the low-priced pile;
- Users: give priority to choose equipped with liquid-cooled gun line, intelligent scheduling of the big brand site, to avoid the risk of charging interruption.

Conclusion: The price war exposes not only the technical jerry-building, but also the deep crisis of the lack of industry standards. The only way to make the EV charger industry return to the essence of “safety is king” is to take a three-pronged approach from policy regulation, technology certification and market education.
Finally, please choose charging pile equipment, must not only look at the low price, to figure out where they actually save money, charging pile manufacturers are also to make money, a 120kw equipment, the lowest material cost of 17,000 to 18,000 yuan or so, plus a reasonable profit of about 20,000 is almost the lowest price, and then low on the very abnormal, they are likely to save the cost of the place where it should not be! Save the cost in the place that should not be.