Analysis of two typical EV business models based on EV taxi demonstrations in China

Shenzhen and Hangzhou are two demonstration cities for electric taxis applications in China. In this article, the EV taxi business models were introduced and profitability was analysed for battery quick charging in Shenzhen and for battery quick swapping in Hangzhou. The organization patterns of two business models are revealed. The net present value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PP) of the two patterns were calculated by using the value chain analysis method and the cash flow calculation method. The result shows that the NPV and IRR of the two patterns for business models are both negative, payback period are much longer than reference investment, indicating a low profitability even with government subsidies. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the impacts of relevant factors on profitability, which indicates that Shenzhen quick charging model are faced with a profit gap while Hangzhou quick charging model are have strong potential of improving profitability through swapping frequency increase. Therefore, they need to be improved by developing profitable business and by enlarging local EV market scale respectively.