The biggest feature of China’s new energy automobile industry is diversification. Driven by the market and policy, the technical route of new energy vehicles presents the characteristics of multi-headed and blooming, and various explosive models such as pure electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cells are constantly emerging. Backed by China’s huge market demand and technical tolerance, various new energy vehicle technical routes compete on stage to compete for the mainstream. In the experience and cleansing of big waves, China’s automobile industry has also entered a period of strategic opportunities of transformation and upgrading, from big to strong.
Strong competitiveness attracts players to enter the hybrid car
Affected by rising prices of raw materials and declining subsidies, hybrid cars, once regarded as "transitional products" in the past, have shown strong market competitiveness and attracted more players to enter the competition because of their lack of mileage anxiety and good economy.
Hybrid models have emerged in large numbers.
In March, hybrid vehicles in the new energy auto market have mushroomed.
On March 12, BYD’s 2022 Song MAX DM-i was officially launched, and five versions were launched. After comprehensive subsidies, the price was 145,800 yuan to 172,800 yuan. As a plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Song MAX DM-i has a fuel consumption of 4.4L per 100 km, a battery life of over 1,090 km and an acceleration of only 67.9 seconds per 100 km.
Subsequently, BYD launched the first model of Ocean Net warship series — — Destroyer 05, the price range is 119,800 yuan to 155,800 yuan. It is understood that destroyer 05 is also equipped with DM-i super hybrid system, and still uses the combination of Xiaoyun plug-in special 1.5L high-efficiency engine, EHS electric hybrid system and super hybrid blade battery. The comprehensive cruising range is more than 1200km when full of oil and electricity. It is worth mentioning that the 120km version of destroyer 05 has also added functions such as VTOL mobile power station and 17kW DC fast charging port, which unlocked more car scenes.
Then, BYD’s most important super-mixed flagship model, Han DM series, officially opened for pre-sale on March 19. Among them, Han DM-i, which focuses on the ultimate energy saving, has a pure battery life of 242km under NEDC working conditions, a fuel consumption of 4.2L per 100 km, and a comprehensive battery life of 1300km；; Han DM-p, which focuses on excellent performance, takes only 3.7 seconds to accelerate in one hundred kilometers. Under NEDC working conditions, the pure battery life is 202km, and the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is only 5.2L.
Driven by BYD, Great Wall, Geely and Chery have also joined the development of hybrid vehicles.
On March 1st, the hybrid model Wei Mocha DHT-PHEV under Great Wall Motor was officially launched, and two models were launched, with the price range of 295,000 yuan to 315,000 yuan. In terms of power, Moka DHT-PHEV is equipped with a DHT plug-in hybrid system consisting of "1.5T gasoline direct injection engine +130KW front drive motor +135KW rear drive motor", which can achieve an ultra-long pure electric cruising range of more than 200km and a comprehensive cruising range of more than 1000km, and the fuel consumption per 100km is only 5.55L, showing the good strength of lemon hybrid DHT platform.
Chery’s hybrid model Star Road Chasing Wind ET-i was also pre-sold on March 2nd. This car is equipped with Chery’s newly-developed Star Core ET-i full-engine super hybrid technology, which is composed of a 1.5T four-cylinder turbocharged engine and dual motors. The maximum torque can reach 230N·m, the official acceleration is 6.8 seconds, and the comprehensive battery life is as high as 1000km.
Geely Group also officially listed the hybrid version of Xingyue L Raytheon Hi·X on March 30, and the official guide price was 171,700 yuan to 183,700 yuan. The biggest highlight of the car is that it is equipped with the Geely Lei Shenqing Hi·X hybrid system for the first time, with a comprehensive fuel consumption of 4.3L per 100 kilometers and a maximum cruising range of 1300km.
Obviously, the hybrid version of Xingyue L Raytheon Hi·X has reached a better balance point in terms of power performance and fuel economy. Its arrival will not only further enrich the car series of Xingyue L, but also help Geely Automobile seize the hybrid market.
Technology platforms have their own advantages.
Behind the emergence of a large number of hybrid vehicles, the technological breakthrough of independent brands in the field of new energy vehicles has emerged.
In the past, the hybrid field has always been dominated by Toyota and Honda in Japan, and other brands are more like "bystanders". Nowadays, with the growing strength of China’s head car enterprises, more and more independent brands begin to show their technological achievements in the hybrid field.
At the beginning of 2021, BYD officially released the DM-i super hybrid system. As the first domestic hybrid system, it is different from the "oil hybrid" route centered on the engine in structure. BYD DM-i super hybrid system has chosen the "electric hybrid" route with electric drive as the main part, which has made an essential breakthrough in technology.
Different from most people’s traditional hybrid mode, BYD DM-i super hybrid system is based on super-safe large-capacity battery and high-performance high-power flat-wire motor, which changes the traditional hybrid technology mainly relying on engine and oil, thus greatly reducing fuel consumption. In daily use, when the power is sufficient, this DM-i super hybrid system is mainly driven by high-power and high-efficiency motors, and the main function of the gasoline engine is to generate electricity in the high-efficiency rotating speed region, so as to realize the characteristics of using more electricity, using less oil and using oil efficiently; When the power is insufficient, the DM-i super hybrid becomes a hybrid system with ultra-low fuel consumption.
At present, BYD’s DM-i super hybrid system has achieved full coverage from cars to SUVs, and almost all of them are "explosive models", which has become a "textbook-level" sales model in the new energy market.
The lemon hybrid DHT technology introduced by Great Wall Motor at the end of 2020 fully takes into account China’s national conditions, which not only continues the excellent performance of Japanese brands at low speed, but also strengthens the power output at high speed.
From the structural principle, compared with the single-speed hybrid of Honda i-MMD (when driving at high speed, the engine can only directly drive the vehicle through a fixed gear), the Great Wall lemon hybrid DHT system pioneered the introduction of multi-gear direct drive technology, which can realize two-speed hybrid at high speed. When power is needed, the engine can amplify torque by downshifting to ensure power output, while when cruising is resumed, upshifting will reduce the speed and ensure good economy.
Compared with lemon hybrid DHT, the official explanation of Chery Kunpeng DHT is more straightforward, which is called "Dedicated Hybrid Transmission", which is also a special gearbox for hybrid power.
According to the information disclosed at present, the hybrid platform has the first dual-motor driven DHT gearbox in China. Combined with Chery’s FIO fixed-point injection oil-cooled motor technology, TEM ultra-efficient dual-motor power distribution technology, ultra-smooth TSD dual-shaft drive design and other hybrid integrated technologies, even in the low-power mode, the fuel saving rate is still more than 50%, and the energy saving effect is quite eye-catching.
Different from other brands, Geely has gone in another direction on the road of mixing. In order to pursue the ultimate fuel consumption performance, the Hi·X system of Geely Ray Shenqing did not directly choose the series-parallel hybrid technology, but used the planetary gear system for high-efficiency power splitting.
First of all, Geely specially developed the DHE15(1.5TD) engine for this hybrid system, and its thermal efficiency reached 43.32%. Secondly, Lei Shenqing Hi·X also owns the world’s first mass-produced 3-speed hybrid transmission — — DHT Pro makes the engine have more chances to be in an efficient working area; In addition, Lei Shenqing Hi X also has a big point of view, that is, its full-speed parallel connection. According to the manufacturer, the model equipped with Lei Shenqing Hi X power can enter the parallel mode when the speed is above 20km/h, realizing the ejection start, which is much lower than the parallel speed of Japanese hybrid cars at least 70km, and the system efficiency is improved by 20%.
Show strong market competitiveness
With the blowout of the new energy vehicle market, the hybrid vehicle once considered as a "transitional product" has become one of the main forces in the new energy vehicle market because of the lack of mileage anxiety, good driving experience and policy dividends in some regions.
According to the data released by China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2021, the sales volume of new energy passenger cars in China reached 3.334 million, up 120.6% year-on-year. Among them, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) reached 600,000, with a growth rate of 121.6%, even slightly exceeding the growth rate of pure electric vehicles.
After entering 2022, the plug-in hybrid vehicle market is experiencing explosive growth. According to the data of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to February this year, 160,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles were sold, a year-on-year increase of 2.5 times. Among them, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles in February was 75,000, a year-on-year increase of 3.4 times.
In the industry’s view, under the background that pure electric vehicles can’t completely solve the mileage anxiety and face the problems of rising battery cost and tight supply, the "transitional product" of hybrid vehicles has attracted more players to enter the competition and presented a scene of "letting a hundred flowers blossom".
It is understood that in addition to BYD, Great Wall Motor and Geely, Changan Automobile also launched its own blue whale iDD hybrid system, and on March 10, it listed the plug-in hybrid model Changan UNI-K iDD；; Nezha Auto also announced that it will mass-produce the first extended-range model; The new car jointly launched by Xiaokang and Huawei not long ago — — AITO Wenjie M5 is also an extended-range medium-sized SUV.
According to industry analysts, although the sales of pure electric vehicles are increasing day by day, due to imperfect supporting facilities and imperfect power battery material system, pure electric vehicles cannot completely replace traditional fuel vehicles in a short time, which gives opportunities for the development of hybrid vehicles. At the same time, car companies have recently launched many explosive hybrid models. While opening up the hybrid car market, they have also undertaken the heavy responsibility of fuel vehicle transformation.
In this regard, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Association, said recently that "in 2022, there will be more than 500,000 A-class plug-in hybrid vehicles, and plug-in hybrid products of independent brands are worth looking forward to." In his view, plug-in hybrid vehicles will usher in explosive growth in the A-class new energy market: on the one hand, due to rising raw material prices and the impact of subsidies, pure electric vehicles have begun to increase prices, but plug-in hybrid vehicles have been less affected; On the other hand, the rise in oil prices has also caused many consumers to turn to plug-in hybrid vehicles with lower fuel consumption.
Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of China Automobile Association, predicted that "in the next decade, the hybrid market will have a lot of room for growth to make up for the shortcomings of pure electric vehicles in terms of mileage anxiety, insufficient charging convenience and declining battery life in winter." (Fu Yong)
Market demand for electric technology for heating and extending range
China’s new energy automobile industry has entered the stage of "two-wheel drive" in market and policy, and many technical lines show the characteristics of multi-head progress and blooming flowers. According to the insiders, the long-term parallel operation of extended-range electric, hybrid and pure electric is the best route combination to accelerate the large-scale replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy sources and realize China brand surpassing overseas brands. Among them, the extended-range electric provides the solution of "urban electricity consumption and long-distance power generation", which meets the diversified car demand of users and is increasingly valued and recognized by the market.
Many car companies have laid out extended-range electric vehicles.
According to public data, in 2021, the sales volume of new energy vehicles in China was 3.521 million, a year-on-year increase of 160%, ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years. It is particularly worth mentioning that compared with the initial period of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, the proportion of private consumption of new energy vehicles has increased from 47% to 78%, and the proportion of private consumption in non-restricted cities has increased from 40% to 70%.
Driven by market and policy, the technical lines of new energy vehicles show the characteristics of multi-head and multi-flowers. Technical lines such as charging and replacing pure electric vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel vehicles and methanol vehicles have blossomed in an all-round way, achieving good social and economic benefits, and a number of head brands with excellent technology and market recognition have emerged.
Regarding the energy utilization line of passenger cars, Li Xiang, chairman of LI, said at the 2022 China Electric Vehicle committee of 100 Forum on March 26: "Today, so many people are willing to buy new energy vehicles because new energy vehicles meet their needs." In Li Xiang’s view, the demand of new energy owners is mainly concentrated in three aspects: first, the convenience of energy acquisition; The second is the cost of energy acquisition; The third is environmental protection.
Li Xiang calculated an account: "The cost of charging an extended-range electric vehicle at home can be as low as less than a dime per kilometer; The cost of using public charging facilities is about 2 to 4 cents per kilometer; In contrast, the use cost of fuel vehicles reaches 6 to 8 cents per kilometer. If it is combined with the convenience of charging, the advantages of electric vehicles are more obvious. "
In fact, as an important force in the technical circuit of new energy vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles not only retain the excellent driving performance, low use cost and low-carbon environmental protection characteristics of electric vehicles, but also realize the advantages of endurance and recharge comparable to fuel vehicles, which is getting more and more attention and recognition from the market.
At present, in addition to LI, Dongfeng, Huawei and other enterprises have laid out the field of extended-range intelligent electric vehicles, such as Li ONE, Lantu FREE, AITO Wenjie M5 and Mocha DHT-PHEV.
Give the option to the market
From a policy perspective, supporting the diversification of new energy technology routes has always been the meaning of various industry guidance documents. For example, the "Technology Roadmap 2.0 for Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicles" released not long ago particularly emphasized that the choice of technology route should be given to the market.
The industry generally believes that technologies such as extended range, pure electricity and plug-in hybrid will coexist for a long time in the future.
Xu Lin, chief technology officer of Xiaokang Group and president of Celeste (rotating), said: "Pure electric vehicles are more suitable for users who commute mainly in cities, while for users who often have to run long distances, electric vehicles with oil and electricity will be more suitable. We should leave the choice to consumers."
Liu Hanru, the chief scientist of Geely Commercial Vehicle Group, also said that the new generation of commercial vehicles with green and intelligent technologies as the core will gradually replace traditional fuel vehicle products. As one of the core three-electric systems of electric-driven commercial vehicles, the cost of power battery directly affects the selling price of market terminals. Therefore, commercial vehicle enterprises should also consider more possibilities besides pure electric drive and attach importance to the diversified development of energy technology routes in the process of new energy transformation.
In this respect, LI has determined several key points since its establishment: firstly, it firmly adopts the technical scheme of pure electric drive and extended-range electric drive; secondly, considering solving users’ mileage anxiety and the convenience of replenishing energy, and effectively reducing carbon emissions, LI has provided a solution of "using electricity in cities and generating electricity for a long distance" to reflect the important characteristics and advantages of extended-range electric technical lines.
"In the past, the traditional PHEV had a big problem. Its pure battery life was generally only over 50 kilometers, which could not meet the needs of urban use. And when the power is exhausted, the energy consumption of the vehicle will become higher. " Li Xiang explained that through the investigation of urban users, it was found that if the cruising range of pure electricity can exceed 150 kilometers, it can cover all major cities in the world. "So, LI has set its goal to be an extended-range electric vehicle of more than 150 kilometers."
Based on the success of Li ONE, more and more China automobile brands began to follow the extended-range electric technology, and have determined higher pure electric cruising range. At present, the pure electric cruising range of a large number of PHEV models has reached 150 kilometers or even more than 200 kilometers.
Extended range electric technology is beneficial to carbon reduction.
For the extended-range electric technology, some people have also raised questions: Is the extended-range electric vehicle to cater to the "compromise line" of users without charging conditions? How significant is it for reducing carbon emissions?
In this regard, Li Xiang said that 70% of users in LI have installed home charging piles, and more than 90% have fixed charging conditions. The actual results of operation in the past two years show that in major cities such as Beishangguangshen and Shenzhen, the average mileage of LI car owners is 70%, and the total driving time is over 80%.
The data is the best proof. According to Li Xiang, in terms of energy conservation and emission reduction, Li ONE’s carbon emissions can be reduced by 65% compared with the same level of fuel vehicles; If you focus on cities like Beijing, carbon emissions can be reduced by 76%.
It is reported that during this year’s Beijing Auto Show, LI will release its new product Ideal L9. "Through technical optimization, our battery life has reached more than 200 kilometers and the thermal efficiency has increased by 15%." Li Xiang said: "In the future, through a new generation of people’s extended-range technology and a new intelligent operation mode, we are very confident that we can reduce the carbon emission target in cities from the current 76% to more than 90%."
Li Xiang believes that at present, China’s automobile industry has entered a strategic opportunity period of transformation and upgrading, from large to strong. Driven by strong domestic demand, central electric energy and distributed liquid energy will coexist for a long time in the future, and jointly promote the realization of the "double carbon" goal. (Li Tangning)