news

Interface News Reporter | Liu Jiaxin

Plug-in hybrid vehicles, which were considered to be in a transitional stage in the past, have been expanding at a rate far exceeding that of pure electric vehicles in the past two years. More and more mainstream domestic automobile companies have increased their investment in the research and development of hybrid technology, and foreign automobile brands have also begun to deploy plug-in hybrid models.

Among them, BYD is one of the most important automakers in the plug-in hybrid market.At the BYD DM Technology Analysis Conference,A senior engineer from BYDIt is said that BYD's plug-in hybrid models currently have a market share of 60%.

In May this year, BYD released its fifth-generation DM-i plug-in hybrid technology, which was first installed on Qin L and Haibao 06, with prices ranging from 99,800 to 139,800 yuan. Soon after, two other models equipped with the technology, Song L and Song PLUS, were also officially launched, with prices ranging from 135,800 to 175,800 yuan.

According to the official introduction, the biggest highlight of the new generation of technology is that the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is 2.9 liters, and the comprehensive range reaches 2,100 kilometers.The engine thermal efficiency is 46.06%.

The above-mentioned BYD senior engineer introduced that the main feature of BYD's DM-i plug-in hybrid technology is that it is mainly powered by electricity and supplemented by the engine, and the electric motor is mainly responsible for driving the vehicle.Compared with engines, the advantage of electric motors is that they can provide very strong torque at very low speeds, bringing extremely strong power performance.

The engine will play a supporting role. When the vehicle reaches the point that matches the engine's thermal efficiency, the engine will intervene to drive the vehicle. This also means that the engine can achieve the highest thermal efficiency in a comfortable range.The thermal efficiency of the hybrid-specific engines of the current mainstream plug-in hybrid systems is over 40%, far exceeding the thermal efficiency of traditional fuel vehicles of around 35%.

In fact, compared with the previous generation, BYD's fifth-generation hybrid technology did not achieve a disruptive change, but rather optimized and improved the details of the entire system, including the electric-based power architecture, the vehicle's thermal management architecture, and the intelligent and electric integrated electronic and electrical architecture.

Taking tire blowout control in actual scenarios as an example of the integration of electrification and intelligence, BYD integrates traditional suspension control, motor control and tire pressure sensors, including vehicle controllers and AI algorithms, which can greatly improve the safety control capabilities of the vehicle after a tire blowout.

The BYD senior engineer said that in the next two years, BYD will package some of the most useful functions for users and sink into the low-end passenger car market. In addition, the next generation of DM-i technology is already under discussion.

Although pure electric vehicles still account for more than half of the current new energy market, the rapid growth of plug-in hybrid vehicles has become one of the protagonists of the new energy market that cannot be ignored.This is closely related to the changes in consumer choices during the development stage of new energy.

In the past, consumers preferred pure electric models for the purpose of trying new things. However, as new energy models become more popular, consumers have begun to realize the problems of pure electric models such as range and charging. Plug-in hybrid models combine the advantages of both fuel vehicles and electric vehicles. They can run in pure electric mode and can also be driven by fuel when the battery is low.

When Jiemian News visited a BYD store, a BYD store salesperson said that after the launch of models equipped with the fifth-generation DM-i technology, such as Qin L and Song L, they attracted a lot of attention from consumers, mainly because of their sufficiently long battery life and fuel economy considerations.

In addition to BYD DM-i, the plug-in hybrid technologies of current mainstream domestic automobile brands also include Chery C-DM, Geely Thor, Great Wall Hi4, Roewe DMH, etc.With the rapid growth of plug-in hybrid models, mainstream foreign automobile brands have also begun to consider increasing investment in plug-in hybrid models.

In May this year, Volkswagen announced that it would expand its product lineup of plug-in hybrid models. Ford also recently announced a major reorganization of its electric vehicle business, reducing investment in all-electric vehicles and instead increasing its research and development efforts in hybrid technology.