GAC's online technology day was very "dry" and "impulsive": from intelligent driving to graphene technology

Back to 3 years ago, on July 28, 2017, Panyu, GAC New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially registered and established. This young company located in the suburbs of Guangzhou will carry the future of GAC Group's new energy vehicle business. Earlier on July 21, GAC's first pure electric vehicle, Trumpchi GE3, was officially launched. At the same time, it is also the first pure electric vehicle built by GAC Trumpchi based on the new energy platform .

At that time, there were already a large number of electric vehicles on the market, as well as many new energy products that were advertised as smart. On the surface, Trumpchi GE3 was late to the party; but in fact, GAC people knew that only by accumulating experience can one achieve success. The performance indicators of GE3 far exceeded those of other products of the same period. It can be said that this was not a hasty answer, but a clarion call to the future.

Three years later, on July 28, 2020, the 2020 GAC Technology Day was successfully held online. Compared with the low-key press conference three years ago, this time the press conference was exceptionally brilliant, with a number of industry-leading "black" technologies being unveiled, such as the super-fast charging technology that charges 80% in 8 minutes, the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, and the GEP 2.0 pure electric exclusive platform that will be able to achieve an ultra-long range of 1,000 kilometers. In addition, more down-to-earth and future-oriented scientific and technological achievements have also been promoted, such as the GPMA architecture and the ADiGO intelligent driving interconnection ecosystem, all of which demonstrate the spirit of "GAC without technology".

Feeling the present: GAC's strong technical strength

First is the GPMA architecture. This platform architecture marks that GAC Trumpchi has entered a new era of platform-based and modularized car manufacturing. It includes a variety of models and a variety of power systems. Among them, the power system not only has fuel engines, but also hybrid power (hybrid, plug-in hybrid) and so on.

Under the platform architecture, first of all, the consistency of quality can be guaranteed. Therefore, the reliability of the product will become better. Secondly, relying on the platform, more efficient and powerful power can be developed. For example, the third-generation engine with a liter power of 100kW/L and the fourth-generation engine with a thermal efficiency of 42%.

The second is the GEP 2.0 new energy pure electric exclusive platform. Don't underestimate this platform, it has undergone years of technological evolution and has been fully launched on GAC New Energy's AION series products since 2019. Relying on such an excellent pure electric platform, GAC New Energy's sales have currently ranked high in the sales ranking of independent brand new energy passenger cars.

Sales ranking of domestic brand new energy passenger vehicles in the first half of 2020

So, why should we develop such a new pure electric exclusive platform?

The answer is simple, because GAC's core concept for developing pure electric models is "centered on user value experience", that is, it is not enough to just provide consumers with products that meet their daily needs, but it is necessary to develop products that surpass the same level in order to allow consumers to have the ultimate experience. These experiences that surpass the same level include high efficiency and high performance. If balancing high efficiency and high performance is the core problem that the product needs to solve, it is also what consumers care about most.

In terms of high performance, the four-dimensional energy and long-range battery system, which is built by applying high-energy-density battery cells, highly integrated module-free architecture, high-precision battery management control, and high-capacity battery pack structure, will enable the vehicle to achieve an ultra-low power consumption of less than 12 kWh per 100 kilometers and an ultra-long range of 1,000 kilometers.

In terms of high performance, with the help of this platform, the all-aluminum structure, ultra-low wind resistance, full-time four-wheel drive, dual motors with a peak power of 540kw, etc. that consumers yearn for can all be realized together, achieving a supercar-like performance of 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds.

In addition, the platform will also integrate the most advanced technologies in the chassis field, such as inverted McPherson suspension, SDC adaptive system, rear wheel active steering, intelligent electronic control power, etc., which can bring us supercar-like control. The ultimate travel experience, in addition to the driving control and battery life mentioned above, also includes the intelligence that is currently receiving much attention.

In this regard, GAC also launched the ADiGO intelligent driving interconnection ecosystem at this Technology Day. Relying on this system with significant progress in autonomous driving, intelligent Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, it can achieve a completely hands-free L3 autonomous driving experience on highways.

At low speeds, long-distance, cross-floor (from ground to elevated) L4-level low-speed autonomous driving can be achieved. In addition to autonomous driving, AR-HUD real-time navigation is also the focus of GAC Technology Day, where driving assistance technology, real-time navigation, driving information and road environment can be deeply integrated.

What is even more futuristic and technological is that the instrument panel can display an ultra-wide viewing angle image covering three lanes. The projected image can be clearly displayed in all-weather environments, allowing consumers to always focus on the road and immerse themselves in driving.

Creating the Future: There are plots from science fiction movies?

As a geeky GAC Technology Day, in addition to the above-mentioned technologies, mysterious black technologies also attracted our attention. Among them, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 3DG graphene preparation technology were particularly attractive.

As the ultimate energy solution for a zero-emission society, hydrogen energy has always been highly anticipated. In the automotive field, the application of hydrogen energy is hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. At this Technology Day, GAC's answer is the Aion LX FUEL CELL, which will be put into demonstration operation within the year.

This car has many highlights: first of all, the refueling time and endurance. It only takes 3-5 minutes to refuel with hydrogen once, and the NEDC operating range exceeds 650 kilometers, reaching the international advanced level.

In addition, for the word hydrogen energy, everyone is also very concerned about collision safety. Don't worry, Aion LX FUEL CELL, based on the five-star safety of the original Aion LX, has also added and passed the tests of 32km/h side column collision and 80km/h rear collision, which are difficult projects.

Finally, it is the old-fashioned environmental protection, which also goes back to the zero-emission society vision we mentioned at the beginning: Obviously, the only product emitted by hydrogen energy vehicles is pure water. Not only that, the filter it carries can filter 99% of inhalable particulate matter. In other words, the more Aion LX FUEL CELLs there are on the road in the future, the better the air quality will be.

Graphene technology is not unfamiliar to everyone. It is the thinnest, strongest, and most conductive and thermally conductive new nanomaterial discovered so far, and is known as the "king of materials in the 21st century." However, traditional preparation methods have limitations and are not easy to mass-produce, so it has not been able to meet users in terms of application.

GAC Group has been researching the large-scale preparation of graphene since 2014. At present, it has mastered the 3DG graphene preparation technology with independent intellectual property rights, and the production cost is only 1/10 of the conventional method. After overcoming the manufacturing problems, graphene materials can be more quickly applied in many fields such as fast-charging lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, lithium-sulfur batteries and lightweight body materials.

At this Technology Day, GAC demonstrated a super-fast charging battery based on graphene materials, which can be fully charged to 80% in 8 minutes. At present, GAC has preliminarily verified it from multiple levels, including battery cells, modules, and vehicle installation. In the near future, after the mass production test and installation of batteries are completed, a new era of electric vehicles will come.

Summary: Domestic brands have long passed the barbaric era of using low prices to gain market share. If they want to become the "new wave" of the industry, they can only gain a firm foothold in the market if they have strong technical strength. As one of the fastest-growing domestic brands in recent years, GAC Group's progress in technology and design is obvious to all. Through this Technology Day, we have more reason to believe that GAC Group can rely on technology to make continuous breakthroughs and have stronger competitiveness in the stock market.