"Given the small number of electric vehicles, operating charging stations is absolutely unprofitable. While equipment manufacturers certainly agree that the primary market will be overseas, we shouldn't overlook the value of the Taiwanese market," said the general manager of eTreego, which originated at the Industrial Technology Research Institute and has been researching electric vehicle (EV) systems for over a decade.
The charging market is a vibrant one, with numerous new entrants. However, for established players in Taiwan, such as Yes-charging and FET, most still focus on charging operations.
As for companies that have the ability to develop, design, and manufacture complete charging equipment, Delta Electronics, Phihong, and eTreego have a relatively strong international competitive advantage.
After ten years of hard work, Delta and Phihong have now successfully shipped their products overseas. Their main customers include European and American automakers, charging operators, and major oil companies with field and transformation needs. New startups such as eTreego have taken the lead with a market share of nearly 60% in Taiwan's charging pile equipment. In this regard, the general manager of eTreego stated that currently, cooperation with Taiwanese car manufacturers accounts for about 40% of its revenue. Four-wheeled imported vehicles include Volvo, Hyundai, and Nissan, and their brand charging stations all use eTreego's equipment. As for two-wheeled vehicles, Kymco, Sanyang, and Yamaha are all its customers. In addition, other international two-wheeled vehicle brands have already started cooperation with eTreego, and it is expected that in 2022, they will cooperate with them to build more than 100 two-wheeled vehicle charging piles in 6 countries. All of them have been shipped and are awaiting local acceptance and subsequent construction.
To compete with large manufacturers, eTreego, in addition to maintaining its domestic market share, is also known for its highly flexible design and manufacturing solutions. The general manager stated that eTreego outsources manufacturing to its investors, Shiling Electric, CWT, and LEADER. Shiling Electric has extensive experience in large-scale cabinets, large-scale electromechanical integration, and manufacturing, while CWT and LEADER offer superior bargaining power for power supplies, electronic components, and other electronic parts. This demonstrates the company's flexibility from product design to manufacturing, enabling it to better meet customer needs.
In addition to selling charging equipment for two-wheelers, four-wheelers, and buses, eTreego has also partnered with Yes-charging to enter the 5G smart pole market. Furthermore, eTreego is also working with Yes-charging to install charging equipment for Lingguang Machinery, Taiwan's largest mechanical parking lot.
In terms of its competitive advantages over major charging equipment manufacturers, the general manager outlined eTreego's three future development paths.
First, we have collaborated with multiple Taipower offices on energy storage, V2G, virtual grids, and power management systems for charging stations. Second, we will collaborate with CPC and FET on vehicle networking and data networking to provide operators with services such as license plate recognition, cloud-based scheduling, and guaranteed parking spaces to enhance the user experience, and will also develop a profit-sharing mechanism with them. Third, we will focus on breakthroughs in fast-charging technology below 360kW. Fourth, we will offer a variety of charging station specifications, including those for buses, two-wheeled vehicles, energy storage cabinets, 5G smart poles, mechanical parking towers, agricultural vehicles, special-purpose vehicles, and ATVs. Beyond the standard products provided by major manufacturers, we will provide customized services with maximum flexibility.
Compared to 2020, Qierxing Green Energy saw revenue growth of over 40% in 2021. Material shortages were the primary barrier to revenue growth over the past year. Consequently, despite a threefold increase in orders in 2021, actual shipments fell short of expectations. The general manager predicts that as orders and raw materials gradually arrive after 2020, revenue growth in 2022 will be substantial.