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car stuff author | sr64
editor: zhihao

extended-range technology is unifying chinese automakers, and li xiang’s prediction is coming true!

according to a report from autothings on september 11, just yesterday, huawei launched another extended-range model at its press conference - the m9 five-seater version, continuing to deepen its expertise in the extended-range technology route.

▲wenjie m9

in fact, it is not just the car industry that is insisting on the extended-range technology route. more and more car companies are also beginning to deploy extended-range technology.

recently, avita announced its kunlun extended-range technology, and zeekr also announced that its flagship large suv to be released next year will adopt extended-range technology.

spy photos of the extended-range version of xiangjie s9, a car company jointly developed by baic and huawei, were also exposed, and it should not be far from its launch.

▲spy photos of the exhaust part of the extended-range version of the xingjie s9

xiaopeng also revealed after the launch of mona m03 that it will announce a new power form on 1024. previously, many industry insiders speculated that xiaopeng might adopt the extended-range power mode, but he xiaopeng kept it a secret and said that it might be different from what everyone thinks.

but what is certain is that xiaopeng has also begun to explore more power forms.

xiaomi motors, currently the most popular automaker in the automotive industry, has already started recruiting personnel with extended-range related technologies, and is expected to launch extended-range models in the future.

in addition, more and more traditional car companies have begun to deploy extended-range technology, and extended-range models of car companies such as changan, geely, and byd have already been put on sale.

▲table of domestic car companies deploying extended-range technology

currently, nio is almost the only leading player that still insists on pure electric vehicles. as for traditional car companies, great wall motors is mainly focusing on plug-in hybrid systems.

as early as november 2023,ideal autoCEOli xiangin a post on a social media platform, he said: "chinese independent brands that are still insisting on multi-speed phevs will switch to the extended-range technology route in the next one or two years. this judgment can be verified in 2025."

▲li xiang made a prediction on the social platform

now it seems that li xiang’s prediction is becoming a reality ahead of schedule.

1. the extended-range camp leads in sales, with avita and zeekr joining

judging from the current sales situation in the market, new energy vehicle companies that adopt the extended-range hybrid technology route can basically achieve better sales performance.

among the top three emerging car companies in terms of sales in recent times, ideal, q4 and leapmotor, all of them currently sell extended-range hybrid models.

▲recent sales of automakers in 2024

at the same time, the sales of extended-range hybrid models also account for the vast majority of ideal and wenjie's sales.

mega, the only pure electric model currently on sale by ideal, has recent monthly sales of less than 1,000 units, accounting for a small proportion of ideal's monthly sales of nearly 50,000 units.

▲recent sales of ideal mega

in terms of the industry, its main sales modelsqjm7only the extended-range version is available, and the extended-range version accounts for the majority of m9 sales.

▲wenjie m7

from the perspective of the entire new energy vehicle market, according to data from the china passenger car association, the wholesale sales of pure electric vehicles in july this year reached 505,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 0.9% and a month-on-month decrease of 9.0%.

in july, the sales volume of narrow plug-in hybrid models reached 318,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 73% and a month-on-month increase of 3%; in july, the wholesale volume of extended-range models reached 122,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 115% and a month-on-month increase of 5%.

in the wholesale structure of new energy vehicles in july 2024: pure electric 53%, narrow plug-in hybrid 34%, and extended-range 13%, while in july 2023, it was pure electric 68%, narrow plug-in hybrid 25%, and extended-range 8%.

comparing the wholesale structure of new energy vehicles in july 2023, we can see that hybrid models, especially extended-range models, have increased significantly, while pure electric models have decreased month-on-month.

some analysts previously believed that by around 2030, the sales of hybrid, pure electric and fuel vehicles would form a 1:1:1 market structure.

in response to this, many automakers that previously only sold pure electric models have begun to launch extended-range models.

recently, avita launched the avita 07 model, which will have a version with avita kunlun extended-range technology. at the same time, avita announced that the previously launchedavita 11the avita 12 will also be available in hybrid versions.

▲avita 07

zeekr also recently stated that it will launch a hybrid system and will use a hybrid power system on its flagship large suv products next year.

at the same time, yang xueliang, senior vice president of geely holding group, said on the social platform that zeekr's "super hybrid system" is not a range extender in the traditional sense. in the range extender mode, it can ensure a pure electric driving experience (with charging function), and the engine can be directly driven when driving at high speed. ​​​

▲yang xueliang introduces zeekr's "super electric hybrid system"

xiaomi motors has also posted positions related to extended-range technology for new energy vehicles on its official recruitment website. previously, many media outlets reported that the first xiaomi car equipped with extended-range technology may debut in 2025 or 2026.

▲positions related to new energy vehicle range extension technology on xiaomi’s official recruitment website

in addition, in an interview with the media after the launch of the xiaopeng mona m03, xiaopeng motors ceo he xiaopeng also stated that xiaopeng will share with everyone xiaopeng's views on extended-range products at xiaopeng 1024, and said that xiaopeng's views are not exactly the same as those on the market now.

from the above information, it can be seen that among the new energy vehicle companies in the domestic market, only nio has no news about the launch of extended-range models.

2. traditional car companies actively enter the extended-range market, while great wall motors insists on plug-in hybrid

in addition to new car companies, traditional car companies are also actively entering the extended-range market.

among traditional automakers, changan has always been a staunch supporter of extended-range technology.

not only have changan's brands such as shenlan, changan qiyuan and avita entered the extended-range market, but changan's own models such as the changan hunter pickup have also been equipped with changan's "blue whale extended-range" extended-range technology.

▲changan's "blue whale extended range" range extender

dongfeng is also one of the car companies that entered the extended-range technology market very early. for example, the recently launched dongfeng yipai 007 extended-range version is equipped with dongfeng mach power 1.5l hybrid dedicated engine. dongfeng said that the oil-to-electricity conversion efficiency of its range extender can reach 3.55kwh/l.

▲dongfeng yipai 007 extended range edition

byd, which currently holds a leading position in the new energy vehicle market, mainly pursues pure electric and plug-in hybrid power options.

however, byd uses extended-range technology in its high-end brand yangwang. yangwang's first suv, yangwang u8, uses extended-range power, which is equipped with a power system consisting of a 2.0t range extender and four front and rear motors.

▲looking up at u8

in summary, great wall motors is perhaps the only traditional car company in china that has not yet entered the extended-range vehicle market.

3. technology is easier to achieve, combining the advantages of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles

why are more and more car companies joining the extended-range hybrid camp?

from a technical point of view, the range-extended technology is equivalent to adding a fuel charger to a pure electric vehicle, so most people believe that among all hybrid technology routes, the range-extended technology is easier to implement.

this has also led some people to believe that extended-range technology is a transitional technology.

however, if we not only focus on the extended-range technology itself, but also look at it from the market perspective, we can see that hybrid models are currently very popular in china. the main reason is that hybrid models combine the advantages of fuel vehicles without range anxiety and the user experience of electric vehicles.

▲ ideal l6

at present, domestic plug-in hybrid vehicles generally have a longer pure electric range and can be driven in pure electric mode under most working conditions, bringing a user experience similar to that of pure electric vehicles.

at the same time, with the improvement of charging speed of hybrid models, users can carry no gasoline in the car during daily commuting and use it as a pure electric model.

when the battery is low, hybrid models do not have range anxiety like pure electric models. at the same time, thanks to the improved energy management capabilities of hybrid technology, the energy consumption cost of hybrid models is currently lower than that of fuel vehicles. this is one of the reasons why hybrid models are popular with consumers.

in addition, the main cost of pure electric vehicles is currently concentrated on the battery pack, while the battery pack of hybrid vehicles is relatively small. compared with the relatively high price of pure electric vehicles, their relatively low price is also more easily accepted by consumers.

▲leapmotor c11

conclusion: more car companies join the extended-range hybrid camp

with the continuous development of the new energy vehicle market and the diversification of consumer demand, extended-range hybrid technology is gradually gaining favor among more and more consumers and car companies because it combines the advantages of fuel vehicles without range anxiety and electric vehicles with the user experience.

from the participation of brands such as avita and zeekr to the recruitment trends of xiaomi auto, this trend is evident.

not only is the range-extended technology relatively easy to implement from a technical perspective, it also demonstrates its advantages in terms of battery life, cost and user experience, meeting the market's diverse demands for new energy vehicles.

in the future, with the continuous advancement of technology and the further maturity of the market, extended-range hybrid models are expected to occupy a more important position in the new energy vehicle market.