[Technical Stream Watching Auto Show] Hybrid is the mainstream pure electric multi-achievement project

For those who are keen on technology, there are no luxury cars or beauties at the auto show. Only the slightly deserted technology display area on the booth is our favorite corner. This article will focus on the real new energy - plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicle technology. Reflect on which one has more advantages, hybrid or pure electric vehicles, in the current market environment? Why are there so many pure electric vehicles launched in China? Let's first compare the several highlight models introduced in this article from this table.

Guangzhou Auto Show Highlights New Energy Vehicle Technology Comparison Table

Range Rover Range_e plug-in diesel-electric hybrid

Technical difficulty: ★★

R&D cost: ★★

Energy saving effect:★

Similar technology: Peugeot Hybrid4

The Range Rover Range_e is derived from the Range Rover Sport and is equipped with a latest 245PS 3.0-liter TDV6 diesel engine, an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and a 69-kW motor. It is equipped with a parallel hybrid system, including a 14.2kW/h lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged by an external 240-volt AC power supply. The Range Rover Range_e can travel more than 32 kilometers in pure electric mode and does not emit any harmful exhaust gas.

Range Rover Range e

Like the standard Range Rover Sport, the Range Rover Range_e also has full-function four-wheel drive capability. It is equipped with a high and low range transfer case, front and rear differentials and a mechanical locking center differential. Depending on the driver's request, the car's intelligent system can determine the most efficient way to provide the required power - including electric, diesel and diesel-electric hybrid methods. The Range Rover Range_e also has regenerative braking, which can capture energy lost in the form of heat when braking. This energy can be reused to drive the vehicle, further reducing fuel consumption.

Author's comment: The hybrid design of the Range Rover Range_e is somewhat similar to the diesel-electric hybrid system of the Peugeot Hybrid4 mentioned in the previous article. After the combination of diesel and electricity, the original clean and environmentally friendly characteristics of diesel vehicles are further magnified. The introduction of the EV mode does make Land Rover look much more "environmentally friendly". The Range Rover Range_e is indeed too prominent in the parameter design of new energy vehicles. First, its total power ranks first, and second, its cruising range ranks first. The reason is that the powerful diesel engine is a major reason. Secondly, it has not made much change to the previous model because of the installation of the hybrid system. Therefore, we can understand it as the Range Rover diesel version with an electric motor. However, in general, in the 1,100km cruising range of the hybrid, the pure electric system can only drive it 32km, which is only a fraction. Therefore, the far-reaching significance of the diesel-electric hybrid is to reduce carbon emissions and meet the new stage of Europe's carbon dioxide emission policy. Of course, in the Chinese market where even diesel vehicles are banned, Land Rover has a greater significance in bringing such a car to fill the facade.

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid PHEV

Technical difficulty: ★★

R&D cost: ★★

Energy saving effect: ★★★

Toyota is one of the few automakers that has always insisted on using a complex full hybrid system. The new Prius, now in its third generation, still uses the improved Toyota THS-II parallel-parallel hybrid system consisting of an Atkinson cycle engine, an electric motor, a small-capacity lithium-ion battery and a power control unit.

Prius PHEV

Among them, the engine system of Prius has undergone major changes. In order to change the situation of insufficient power and high fuel consumption of the old Prius at high speed, the new Prius has targetedly upgraded the original 1.5-liter engine to a 1.8-liter engine. The maximum power of the engine has increased from 77 horsepower to 99 horsepower. While the power performance has been improved, the fuel consumption under high-speed conditions has been reduced by about 10% compared with the old model.

Overall structural anatomy

In the circuit of the THS-II system, Toyota further increased the voltage in the circuit to improve efficiency, using a voltage boost circuit to increase the battery voltage to 500V, and driving the motor and generator with high voltage to achieve high output power of the motor and effectively reduce losses. In addition, the application of permanent magnet AC motors also increased the output power by 1.5 times, making the maximum power of the motor reach 80 horsepower, and when the motor and engine work together, the maximum output power reaches 134 horsepower, which is already a very impressive number.

Engine assembly

Not only that, the new Prius has further increased the capacity of the lithium-ion battery pack, and the battery capacity has reached 4.4kWh in the plug-in hybrid vehicle. This is conducive to improving power and making fuel-saving performance better than the current model. At the same time, solar panels have become an optional device for Prius models for the first time, which can provide electricity for the air conditioning and electric power steering in the car. Based on the above many improvements, the official fuel consumption of the new Prius is 4.7L per 100 kilometers, while the fuel consumption of the plug-in version of the Prius is even lower to 3.6L.

Battery Pack

Author's comment: Prius is the new energy vehicle that I am most optimistic about and my favorite new energy vehicle, no doubt about it. PHEV can achieve fast charging from charging piles, getting rid of the situation that Prius can only generate weak electricity through engine power generation or kinetic energy recovery in the past. This also allows Prius PHEV to go further like EV. Although the cruising range of 23km is too short compared to EV, its comprehensive cruising range can be as high as 764km, which is a height that no EV can reach at present. We can have optimistic expectations for Prius from the starting price of just over 270,000 of Lexus CT200h, which is the same as Prius. Therefore, Prius PHEV has become the new energy vehicle with the highest comprehensive cost performance and the easiest to popularize in China, no doubt about it.

Trumpchi plug-in hybrid

Technical difficulty: ★★

R&D cost: ★★

Energy saving effect: ★★

On GAC Group's booth of thousands of square meters, Trumpchi plug-in hybrid and Trumpchi four-wheel drive hybrid together form the GAC Trumpchi new energy camp.

In the technical parameter comparison table, we can clearly see that none of the parameters of GAC Trumpchi plug-in hybrid are outstanding, which does not mean that it is backward in theoretical data. In terms of structure, the design ideas of these two new energy Trumpchi are basically the same. They are all based on the original Trumpchi sedan, and the rear-wheel drive motor and ISG automatic start-stop motor are added. The battery pack placed in the trunk is used to power the two models. Both models can be driven by gasoline engines alone. The electric motor driving the rear wheels as an auxiliary power source can produce the special effect of four-wheel drive. This hybrid structure is somewhat similar to the "fake four-wheel drive" structure of Lexus RX400h. The only difference is that the battery pack capacity of the two is far different, so the plug-in Trumpchi has an EV mode, while the four-wheel drive hybrid Trumpchi only uses the recycled electricity to assist the four-wheel drive through the motor stroke, which is quite similar to Honda's IMA technology.

Author's comment: GAC has used the same car as its base to learn Honda's mild hybrid and Toyota's strong hybrid technologies. This is a smart move, but when I asked if there was any detailed information about these two cars, I got a negative answer. And in the limited information on the display board, I did not find any information about the endurance of these two cars, which further confirmed my guess that Trumpchi's new energy vehicles are still far from being able to be mass-produced. But why is it still being launched? The answer is simple. No matter how fancy the decoration is or how professional the packaging is, it cannot get rid of the shadow of its political achievement project.

Chevrolet Volt Extended Range Electric Vehicle

Technical Difficulty: ★★★

R&D cost: ★★★

Energy saving effect: ★★

This was once a controversial model due to its definition. On the one hand, General Motors once defined it as an extended-range pure electric vehicle in order to obtain more US financial subsidies, but the actual mechanical structure of the Volt betrayed it. In the end, the label of extended-range hybrid vehicle was given to the Volt. After using it for a while, GM also frankly accepted the definition given by SAE.

The Volt reflects the typical American pragmatic car-making concept, even in a new energy vehicle. The concept of "range extension" may be unfamiliar to everyone, but when you imagine a pure electric vehicle equipped with a gasoline generator, the impression in your mind may be much deeper. This 1.4L gasoline generator can also play the role of an engine at a critical moment, directly driving the vehicle forward through the planetary gear, avoiding the secondary loss caused by oil generating electricity and then driving the wheels.

In hidden mode, the engine is directly connected to the axle to drive the wheels

The 16kWh lithium battery can ensure that the Volt can achieve a pure electric range of about 56km when fully charged. That is to say, when the driver's daily travel range is within 56km, the gasoline generator will never need to be started, and the Volt is an out-and-out plug-in pure electric vehicle. When the driver needs to drive long distances, the Volt's superiority over ordinary pure electric vehicles plays an important role. With the power of the gasoline engine, the Volt can achieve a range of about 610km, which is no different from an ordinary family car, and it takes much less time to fill a tank of gasoline than to fill a battery.

The Volt uses a 16kWh lithium-ion battery pack

Author's comment: If it weren't for the high price of 498,000 yuan, Volt might have a wider market in China. But under the current conditions, Chinese consumers would rather buy a car with a small portion of 490,000 yuan, spend another 100,000 yuan on gas, and still save 300,000 yuan, giving them good reasons to reject these new energy vehicles that are good in every way except that they are too expensive.

BYD E6 Pioneer

Technical difficulty: ★★

R&D cost:★

Energy saving effect: ★★★★

BYD E6 Pioneer is actually the civilian version of BYD E6. Compared with the E6 that has been used as a pilot taxi in Shenzhen, E6 Pioneer is more like a facelift, sold to the first batch of "pioneers". BYD E6 Pioneer is priced at 369,800 yuan, which is not cheap, even comparable to new energy vehicles of joint venture brands. According to the national subsidy policy for new energy vehicles, the car will be able to receive a 60,000 yuan electric vehicle purchase subsidy, and if purchased in the first batch of pilot cities such as Shenzhen, it can also receive a 60,000 yuan subsidy from the Shenzhen Municipal Government, equivalent to 249,800 yuan, but it is still too expensive.

The 300km driving range has always been the most proud point of BYD E6, but considering that it uses a 48kWh super-large battery pack, this achievement is not surprising. The driving range is only achieved through extensive growth, not the intensive growth imagined. And the so-called "iron power" of lithium iron phosphate is just a publicity gimmick. The core is still lithium battery, but it can highlight the word "iron" to make people think that the cost is very low. It is undeniable that BYD, as the world's largest mobile phone battery OEM, has technical and cost advantages in the battery manufacturing process that all car manufacturers in the world can only sigh.

Fortunately, the E6 Pioneer has taken into full consideration the current ununified national charging standards and is equipped with two charging ports. Even in the reality where it is difficult to find grid charging piles, it can achieve self-sufficiency by building its own civilian charging piles. The 300km range has been fully verified in taxis, and the battery reliability issue that the public has been worried about has not occurred, so the market prospects of the E6 Pioneer are still worth looking forward to.

Author's comment: Beijing, the city with the strongest economic capacity and market environment to accept new energy vehicles, is not among the subsidy pilot cities. That is to say, Beijing consumers cannot get the additional subsidies that Shenzhen car owners can enjoy for the time being. This is not a decisive factor, but it has determined that at least before the subsidy is introduced, we may not be able to see the E6 Pioneer running on the road.

Luxgen Neora pure electric

Technical Difficulty: ★★★

R&D cost: ★★★

Energy saving effect: ★★★★

Similar technologies: Huatai B11 pure electric vehicle, Trumpchi E-Linker concept car

The design concept of Luxgen Neora is exactly the same as that of BYD E6, but relying on the R&D strength of local Taiwanese companies, the Luxgen Neora, which was still a concept car at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, has now been transformed into a plug-in electric vehicle and is now at the Guangzhou Auto Show. More technical parameters have also been revealed. From the table at the beginning of the article, we can see that Neora's electric motor power is as high as 150kW, which is no wonder that its acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 7.9 seconds, which is the best among all models, and its nominal cruising range of 397km even exceeds that of BYD E6 by nearly 100km, and all this is achieved with only a 42.2kW battery pack.

Author's comment: If the data is correct, the energy efficiency of the Luxgen Neora must be much higher than that of the BYD E6 to achieve such an impressive result. However, this data is still lacking in actual verification, so we have to put a big question mark on it.

Nissan Leaf

Technical Difficulty: ★★★

R&D cost: ★★★★

Energy saving effect: ★★★

Nissan Leaf is the best-selling new energy vehicle besides Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. Although Nissan has not officially introduced it to China, it is only a matter of time before Nissan Leaf enters ordinary people's homes according to the current development speed and momentum. As a pure electric vehicle, Nissan Leaf is smart in that its low-key appearance and innovative artificial noise make it look and sound the same as traditional power vehicles, which has solved the knot of some consumers. What is even more eye-catching is the wireless charging technology display that appeared with Leaf. The wireless charger similar to three leaves can charge electric vehicles in the most decent way. Although it is not a new thing, it is just electromagnetic induction, but at least it shows a future scene full of technology for electric vehicles.

Author's comment: Leaf is neither the most expensive new energy vehicle, nor the fastest new energy vehicle, nor the new energy vehicle with the longest driving range, but it is the most balanced. The 80kW electric motor power does not make the driver feel that it lacks driving pleasure, and the 175km driving range does not make it easy to lose power during daily commuting. The 24kWh battery capacity basically takes into account the weight and capacity of the battery. It can be said that the design concept of Leaf is similar to the previous Volanda design, that is, not seeking the best, but seeking the right fit.