Known as the "savior" of fuel, why are more and more brands choosing 48V?

If you happen to be following or participating in the Shanghai Auto Show these days, you will notice that pure electric vehicles have taken the center stage at the booths of major brands.

For example  , Mercedes  -   Benz  EQS , BMW IX, Audi RS e  -rton GT, Cadillac LYRIQ, Volkswagen ID·6, etc., in addition to those new brands that focus on pure electric models, the traditional brands we are familiar with have also become pure electric vehicles as their main models at this auto show.

Therefore, the trend of electrification is irreversible, and the new era will belong to pure electric.

However, before the brand is completely transformed, fuel vehicles that have existed for a hundred years will not disappear immediately, and they are even being innovated in line with the development of the new era.

Especially in the face of increasingly stringent emission regulations, many traditional brands will choose hybrid technology to extend the life of fuel vehicles, and the more mainstream and mature among them should be the use of 48V motors.

Compared with hybrid technologies such as Honda i-MMD and Toyota THS, 48V motor is a more convenient and cost-effective hybrid method because it does not require a dedicated hybrid engine and gearbox, and only requires adding a 48V motor, a matching controller and a lithium battery to the power system of a traditional fuel vehicle.

Although it cannot achieve pure electric driving like i-mmd or THS, models equipped with 48V motors can achieve functions such as starting with the motor, recovering kinetic energy while coasting, shutting down the engine during low loads such as cruising or low speed, providing additional power from the motor during acceleration, driving the turbine, driving electrical equipment in the vehicle, and adjusting the engine to the most economical speed range, which help improve the vehicle's fuel economy or enhance the driving experience.

The current mainstream 48V mild hybrid technology can be divided into two categories: BSG and ISG.

The former replaces the traditional generator and is directly installed on the engine, with little change to the engine structure. It is mainly used to drive the vehicle at the start stage, recover kinetic energy and power the vehicle's electrical equipment. It is the most common 48V motor technology and can save about 5% to 10% of the vehicle's fuel.

The latter places the 48V motor between the engine and the gearbox, cancels the flywheel design and replaces it with a coaxial motor. Compared with BSG, ISG has a greater change in the power system structure. And because it can be disconnected from the engine, it can achieve the cylinder-off coasting function, and the fuel saving rate can reach up to 20%.

At the same time, because the ISG's motor power is relatively larger, the improvement in vehicle performance will be more obvious.

In fact, the popularity of 48V technology was led by German car companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. For example, Mercedes-Benz uses 48V mild hybrid technology from the four-cylinder 1.5T engine on the C-Class to the six-cylinder 2.5T engine on the GLE, replacing the previous 2.0T or 3.0T engines.

Audi has even installed 48V motors on the RS series, which represents the highest performance, and the 4.0T eight-cylinder model. With the support of 48V motors, medium and large performance cars such as RS7 and RS Q8 can not only achieve four-cylinder mode when cruising, but also rely on motors at the start stage, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

Therefore, for fuel vehicles, 48V motors may be the best "savior" to adapt to the times and regulations. While retaining the driving experience of fuel vehicles to the maximum extent, 48V mild hybrid can effectively reduce fuel consumption. And it can achieve rapid matching with almost all fuel vehicles, thereby reducing the investment cost of car companies and the impact on vehicle prices.

At the same time, because the electric motor can be used for driving at starting or low speed, the driving experience of models equipped with 48V motors will be more comfortable than that of pure electric vehicles, reducing the problems of traditional fuel vehicles such as gear shifting or insufficient starting power.

Of course, in addition to the luxury brands mentioned above, we are also slowly seeing 48V mild hybrid technology in some other brands. For example, the Ford Territory S is a model equipped with 48V mild hybrid technology.

In fact, as early as 2019, when the Territory was launched, Ford added a 48V motor to the top-of-the-line Prius PLUS. And to this day, the Territory S is also the only joint venture compact SUV equipped with a 48V motor.

During the Shanghai Auto Show, Ford launched a 2021 Intelligent Light Hybrid model with a limited edition of 1,500 units. Compared with the previous Ford Honor PLUS model, this Intelligent Light Hybrid model is also equipped with a 48V mild hybrid system and has a limited edition price of 141,800 yuan. 

From the configuration point of view, this Zhiling mild hybrid version of Lingjie S should be based on the second-top-end Zunling version with the addition of a 48V mild hybrid system. Compared with the pure fuel version, the comprehensive fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is reduced to 6.3L, and the comprehensive fuel saving rate can reach 10%.

Compared with other models of the same level, the Lingjie S Zhiling mild hybrid model, while equipped with a more powerful turbo engine, can still maintain similar fuel economy as Japanese cars of the same level equipped with naturally aspirated engines. This is the advantage brought by hybrid technology.

Generally speaking, with the same configuration, the cost of the 48V version will increase by about 5,000 yuan. However, compared with the Zunling model, the price of the Lingjie S Zhiling mild hybrid model has not increased, and the limited edition model is priced at 141,800 yuan, which can be said to be an "additional configuration without price increase" operation.

Of course, there is also a word "smart" in the name of this model, which shows that Lingjie S also has good configuration in terms of intelligence.

The main intelligent experience is the Tencent TAI car intelligent system, which not only has convenient and practical software such as Tencent Maps, QQ Music, Aiquting, Yunxiaowei, etc., but also the addition of in-car WeChat can help you operate WeChat blindly without taking your hands off the steering wheel, ensuring that you do not miss any important information.

If you pay attention to the Ford Territory, you will find that the Territory has launched a pure electric version, the Territory EV, since its launch in 2019, becoming the first model in its class to launch a pure electric version. The models equipped with 48V motors have been continued to the Territory S, and this time the Zhiling mild hybrid model with 48V mild hybrid technology has been launched.

Therefore, in the process of electrification, whether it is pure electric or hybrid, Lingjie is the earliest entrant in the same class. For consumers, we can also choose to buy fuel or pure electric models according to our own needs, which increases the choice when buying a car.

Coupled with the intelligent experience brought by the cooperation with Tencent, Lingjie not only has a layout in electrification, but also, from the perspective of intelligence, can bring truly convenient experience and functions to consumers.

Electrification and intelligence go hand in hand, which may be the biggest advantage of the Ford Territory S.