Deli's charging piles have quietly launched. Is it just admirable courage for the stationery giant to cross over into the new energy field?
During an online shopping spree, Dianchetong discovered that Deli has launched home charging piles! That's right, it's the same Deli that specializes in stationery.
It is understood that Deli's first - generation home new - energy charging pile is priced between 979 and 1869 yuan. Currently, it only supports a rated power of 7kW (220V/32A), and the only differences between products are in configuration and cable length.
Screenshot: JD APP
A rated power of 7kW falls into the category of home slow - charging. The selling point of Deli's charging pile might be its relatively low price. After all, the mainstream home slow - charging piles on the market (with a rated power of 7 - 11kW) are generally priced between 1500 and 5000 yuan, and the original charging piles from car manufacturers can cost between 5000 and 8000 yuan.
What seems somewhat appealing is that Deli's home slow - charging pile is compatible with many mainstream new - energy vehicles, such as those under brands like Xiaomi, Tesla, ZEEKR, BYD, AITO, and XPeng.
Screenshot: Deli Charging Pile Mini - Program
To be honest, many users consider the original charging piles provided by car manufacturers mainly because when a new car is launched, the official may offer free installation or a free charging pile. Even without this benefit, the integrated experience of the car and the charging pile is difficult for third - party charging pile brands to fully replicate.
Moreover, new - energy vehicle owners can also choose from well - known brands such as Nengxiao Electric, Bull, TELD, Zhida Technology, and Punuode. Why would Deli, a company that has been in the stationery business for so many years, suddenly want to get a share of the new - energy market?
Can low price guarantee high sales? Making charging piles is not that simple
Dianchetong's research shows that Deli has been quite active in the new - energy field in recent years, mainly focusing on the application of green energy. Since July 2023, with the help of digital accounting tools and a new management framework, Deli Group has reduced carbon emissions by over 5000 tons.
However, this is just an effort to promote energy conservation and emission reduction. In Dianchetong's view, what really promotes the launch of Deli's charging pile products is more likely its precision manufacturing capabilities, support from safety patents, and experience in intelligent interaction.
Deli's main products are stationery, but it has relatively mature technologies in printer nozzles, power adapters, and intelligent networked office equipment. In particular, the safety technology of charging piles can fully borrow from the fire - prevention design and overload - protection technology of Deli's existing electrical products.
Of course, a home charging pile with a starting price of less than 1000 yuan is indeed very attractive. Moreover, Deli can keep the price of the charging pile so low without cutting hardware costs.
Image source: pixabay
It's true that Deli is entering the new - energy charging field for the first time, but it has its own ways to save costs:
Firstly, as a leading company in the stationery industry, Deli has a well - established large - scale production and procurement management system. A large volume of procurement can reduce the cost of charging piles by 10% - 20%.
Secondly, as a newcomer in the new - energy vehicle charging pile field, Deli needs to adopt a high - cost - performance "stationery - level" strategy to quickly enter the home slow - charging pile market.
Thirdly, judging from the pricing strategy of its first - generation home charging pile, Deli adopts a product model of "low - cost hardware + value - added services", which can lower the purchase threshold while ensuring the company's profitability.
However, the problem for Deli is that although the prices of other high - volume charging piles generally exceed 1500 yuan, there are still home charging piles priced around 1000 yuan.
Image source: NIO official
Take the 7kW home charging pile as an example. The subsidized price of Baseus Nebula Pro 4G with 30 - meter installation included is 1299 yuan; the subsidized price of Redion home charging pile is 990 yuan. Even more surprisingly, BYD's 5 - meter charging gun pile has a bare - machine price of only 458 yuan, and the price for 30 - meter installation with materials included is only 1249 yuan.
In other words, other charging pile brands also have rich experience in sharpening the sword of high cost - performance. There are even budget products on the market that only focus on cost - performance and safety. Therefore, it's difficult for Deli to stand out.
More importantly, the best - selling products in the current home charging pile market are not cheap.
Screenshot: JD APP
According to the hot - selling list of AC charging piles released by JD, the top - three best - selling charging piles, including those from Xiaomi and Bull, are priced between 1800 and 2000 yuan. The more expensive 11kW Tesla charging pile and the 7kW Wanbang Xingxing charging pile follow closely.
Due to the inability to highlight the cost - performance advantage and the relatively narrow market demand, Dianchetong is not optimistic about Deli's entry into the charging pile industry.
Safety and experience are essential. High cost - performance is associated with big brands
According to the news released by Cui Dongshu, the secretary - general of the Passenger Car Association, as of May 2025, the total number of public charging piles in China has reached 4.08 million, and the total number of private charging piles has reached 10.32 million, an increase of 245,000 compared with April, with a growth rate of 3%.
The private charging pile market is in a steady growth state. Presumably, this is the main reason why Deli is willing to enter this field. However, it's really difficult for Deli to gain a foothold in this field.
First, let's think about why consumers are willing to pay a high price for home charging piles. The answer is obvious: it all boils down to safety and experience.
Image source: XPeng official
Friends who pay a little attention to electric vehicles may have heard news about new - energy vehicles emitting white smoke or catching fire during charging. Once such a phenomenon occurs, it can be a minor scare at best or lead to a spreading fire and even irreparable consequences at worst.
Therefore, when choosing a home charging pile, consumers will directly consider the original charging piles from car manufacturers with better compatibility, and then high - quality third - party charging piles. Moreover, this concept is difficult to change in the short term.
However, Dianchetong has learned that Deli's active pursuit of transformation may be due to the difficulties it faces in the stationery industry.
Deli Group is not listed and has not released financial report data. However, the financial report data of M&G, another stationery industry giant, is worrying. In the first quarter of this year, M&G's revenue was 5.245 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 4.39%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders was 318 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 16.23%.
From the financial report data, the decline in the stationery and office direct - sales businesses is the direct cause of M&G's simultaneous decline in revenue and profit. Moreover, the gross profit margins of these two businesses are very low, making M&G's performance less impressive. Deli, which also has these two businesses as its main sales segments, is very likely to be affected by the general environment.
Nevertheless, it's hard for anyone to have a sense of technical recognition for Deli, a company that has shifted from making pencils to making charging piles.
Image source: NIO official
Moreover, Deli's focus on 7kW basic slow - charging piles is a bit lacking. Currently, the home charging pile industry is moving towards higher - power charging piles of over 11kW.
Dianchetong has noticed that new - energy vehicles under mainstream brands such as Tesla, BYD, and NIO are starting to be equipped with 11kW three - phase on - board chargers. Obviously, a 7kW charging pile cannot fully utilize the charging capabilities of these vehicles. Although it's called a "home slow - charging pile", as the on - board battery capacity increases, the ability of a 7kW charging pile to fully charge a vehicle overnight also decreases. Such an inefficient charging experience will definitely discourage some car owners.
In the short term, consumers may be attracted by the high cost - performance of Deli's 7kW home charging pile. However, from an experience perspective, it does not represent the future technological trend. Higher - power and more interconnected charging piles are more likely to become the energy hub of a household.
How to choose a reliable home charging pile?
After all that has been said, at the end of this article, Dianchetong will share with you how to choose a reliable third - party brand home charging pile.
Confirm the power of the on - board charger and try to choose a charging pile with the upper - limit power of the on - board charger. This can avoid waste and provide a better charging experience.
Give priority to big brands. It's best to choose a brand that offers "charging pile liability insurance", has a warranty period of at least three years, and supports on - site repair within 48 hours. Be wary of the "free installation" trap. Confirm how many meters of cable are included in the package and what the so - called "free" scope is.
The charging pile must have CQC/CNAS marks, functions such as over - current protection, leakage protection, and gun - head temperature control, as well as IP55 waterproof and dust - proof technology. Be cautious when choosing a charging pile with an ABS shell that is prone to aging and cracking.
Finally, consider the intelligent interconnection functions of the charging pile, such as 4G networking and APP control.
By following these four points, we can basically choose a home charging pile that meets our needs. Of course, before choosing a charging pile, many property management companies do not allow owners to install charging piles in the name of safety. Overcoming the installation difficulties of charging piles requires the cooperation of car manufacturers, battery companies, and the power grid.
(Cover image source: pixabay)
This article is from the WeChat official account "Dianchetong", author: Dianchetong, published by 36Kr with permission.