Li Xiang's prediction has come true, "technologically backward" extended-range vehicles are sweeping the Chinese auto market
2024-08-26
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Perhaps we don’t have to wait until 2025 for one of Li Xiang’s predictions to come true.
On November 8, 2023, Li Xiang, chairman of Ideal Auto, posted on Weibo that Chinese independent brands that are still insisting on multi-speed PHEVs will switch to extended-range technology in the next one or two years. This judgment can be verified by 2025. At that time, Li Xiang also cue Geely and Great Wall, saying that Geely's British taxi is an extended-range model, and after seeing the proportion of Blue Mountain large battery hybrid users, Mr. Wei will also agree with the extended-range model.
August 23, 2024, Beijing HICOOL2024 Global Entrepreneurs Summit, Ideal MEGA family technology flagship MPV.
The recent frequent launch of extended-range models by car companies seems to have verified Li Xiang’s prediction.
Recently, Zeekr executive Lin Jinwen revealed in a Weibo post that Zeekr will release a large SUV in 2025, with power options including pure electric and super electric hybrid, of which the super electric hybrid supports both extended-range and plug-in hybrid modes.
In fact, An Conghui, president of Geely Holding Group, said in an interview at the launch of Zeekr 001 that the company does not rule out the possibility of producing extended-range hybrid vehicles in the future.
Great Wall Motors has already "surrendered". Liu Yanzhao, then General Manager of Great Wall Motors Weipai, said that the extended range is about one-third of the hybrid when facing Li Xiang's remarks, and Weipai firmly rejected the extended range technology. On the new Blue Mountain released last week, Weipai has added the extended range mode to the Hi4 power system.
Traditional car companies' embrace of extended-range vehicles can be said to be "actively embracing electrification", but what is strange is that this year more new forces that originated from pure electric vehicles have also turned to extended-range vehicles, showing a "reverse electrification" trend.
Recently, Avita held a press conference on Kunlun's extended-range technology. Hu Chengtai, vice president of Avita Technology, said at the press conference: "We believe that a good extended-range vehicle is one that provides an experience that is infinitely close to pure electric, without any mileage anxiety. Avita is a high-end new energy brand that started out as a pure electric brand. Since we are going to do extended-range vehicles, we must use the pure electric experience as the standard." This is a typical example of being honest with one's body but not giving in with one's words.
Moreover, although Avita is not the first to do range extension, it believes that it cannot be mediocre, but should "lead the generational leap of range extension technology from traditional range extension to smart range extension". Just listen to the communication skills.
Xiaomi Motors also clearly stated in its recently released model planning that the third model will be powered by an extended-range model. In addition, Zhiji and Haobo have also recently released plans for extended-range vehicles.
He Xiaopeng, chairman of Xpeng Motors, has also softened his tone. He recently said in public: "Extended-range vehicles have many problems in the current high-speed experience. For Xpeng, what will the next generation of extended-range vehicles look like? This is what we are thinking more about."
From being condemned by everyone to defecting, the extended-range technology has fully proved that the so-called persistence is wishful thinking in the face of the trend of the times. There is only the most suitable technology, not the best technology.
Public market data shows that the wholesale volume of new energy vehicles in July this year was: pure electric 53%, narrow plug-in hybrid 34%, and extended-range 13%. The proportions in the same period last year were: pure electric 68%, narrow plug-in hybrid 25%, and extended-range 8%. It can be seen that the sales of pure electric vehicles are slowing down, while the share of plug-in hybrid and extended-range hybrid vehicles is increasing. Among them, the growth rate of extended-range vehicles is higher than that of plug-in hybrids.
In fact, the reason why plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles are so popular is because of cost. This year's price competition is too fierce. Compared with pure electric vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles do not require large-sized battery packs, saving a lot of costs.
From a technical point of view, compared with plug-in hybrid technologies such as multi-speed DHT, the control logic of the range extender is simpler, and it can also save a lot of effort in the design of the power system. In the past, the torque request of the engine ECU of fuel vehicles was almost directly from the pedal signal of the accelerator, but now the processing of the accelerator pedal signal of the range extender or other hybrid engines has been moved to the VCU (vehicle control unit), because the hybrid system has multiple power sources. After the driver steps on the accelerator, the VCU has to determine whether to use oil, electricity, or both.
For extended-range vehicles, the logic at this time is not complicated. Since the engine does not participate in providing power but only supplies energy, the vehicle's power response only needs to focus on the speed of the motor. In systems such as multi-speed DHT, the control logic based on the perspective of the entire vehicle is adopted. When the clutch is engaged in different gears, it is necessary to simultaneously monitor and measure the input and output models of multiple power sources such as the motor and engine, and connect and switch between various control logics, which increases the control difficulty exponentially.
In today's era, the fast fish eats the slow fish. Car companies develop new cars from "years" to "months". Instead of spending time polishing complex control logic, it is better to directly use extended range to solve all problems. Although it is not the most efficient way to drive, it is cost-effective. The manpower and material resources saved can be spent on "refrigerators, color TVs, and sofas" that consumers are more aware of.
There is no single standard for the quality of a car. Ideal focuses on comfortable cockpits and does not pursue extreme power performance, so the extended-range car is the right choice. However, some users still have a demand for overtaking in the middle and late stages of highways, and the multi-speed DHT that can output more efficiently is obviously more suitable. However, at present, under the dual effects of consumption downgrade and the involution of the auto market, the extended-range car is the one with the highest score in terms of the sum of the two values of "cost" and "experience".
The Paper reporter Zhou Chunlin
(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)
