Text | Number Seven - Song
If you count Great Wall Motor's 2014 3.0T L6 gasoline engine that was not produced in energy, after seven years, we finally ushered in their completely independent production of 3.0T engines earlier this month. The model that rolled off the production line in Yongchuan, Chongqing this time was a HY6Z30 (twin-turbo V6 gasoline engine) and matched with a 9AT gearbox.
Great Wall Motors has long wanted to have a large-displacement engine. In 2014, we developed an inline six-cylinder 3.0T engine, and although it was not mass-produced for various reasons, some of its achievements were retained and continued to be further developed, and a new product was finally made
From the perspective of manufacturers, this is another milestone in the high-end market of the Great Wall, which is gratifying and congratulatory. But what users think is another matter. You see, attracted by the new energy wave, have we not been enthusiastically discussing the power of a fuel vehicle for a long time?
Therefore, under the general trend of high-end fuel vehicles reducing cylinder emissions, and even towards pure electricity and hybrid transformation, a very realistic question is: will the Great Wall 3.0T V6+9AT fall into the quagmire of "abandonment and pity"?
It is certain that the Great Wall has no intention of selling the 3.0T V6+9AT in a large area, and its scope of use will be very targeted. Therefore, in analyzing whether it will fall into the quagmire of "abandonment pity", it is necessary to follow the following steps for analysis:
Where will this powertrain be used? Is there still room for the market?
Technology is the foundation of life, compared to the same level of model, what is the technical level of this powertrain?
1. Where will this powertrain be used? Is there still room for the market?
Some friends may say, isn't it good that consumers like it? Why discuss market space. You should know that sometimes it is not that the technical level of a product is not good, but that it is not timely. When the wind blows, the pig can go to the sky, the wind should be quiet, and the kite must stay on the ground.
For example, the EV1 electric model launched by GM in 1996 has shown modern electric vehicle design concepts such as ultra-low wind resistance coefficient, kinetic energy recovery, wireless charging, etc., but because it is very different from the energy use concept at that time, and is constrained by the industry's main fuel vehicle, it is helpless to encounter cheap sales.
EV1 wind resistance coefficient of 0.19cd, the use of 220V magnetic induction system charging, full charge takes about 2-3 hours. But under the resistance of major automakers at that time, even GM's last battlefield, California, had no choice but to abandon the bill requiring the manufacture of zero-emission vehicles
Returning to the truth, the powertrain of the Great Wall will be installed in the Haval H9, Tank 300, Tank 500, Tank 900 and other follow-up high-end models, as well as the Great Wall Gun series pickup truck models. The latest situation is that the first to pick up this powertrain is the tank 500, positioned as a medium and large SUV, the expected price range of 300,000-400,000 yuan.
The Tank 500 was approved as a haval H9 upgrade project
Excluding the tank 300, the ownership of this powertrain has become relatively clear. Considering the overall cost, placing it on the mid-sized and large SUVs in the hardcore style, as well as the pickup truck field that performs very well in the Great Wall market, is the most suitable strategy at this stage.
According to the statistics of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2020, the Great Wall sold 225,000 pickup trucks, accounting for 45.7% of the market share, and the Great Wall Cannon achieved sales of more than 10,000 for 8 consecutive months
Why remove the Tank 300, I think the probability of the Tank 300 carrying it is very low until the wind rating and the volume of the store are clear. Because the comprehensive price and performance balance of this car is now good, the Great Wall is unlikely to let a major sales model test the market response of the new powertrain.
In short, roughly knowing the direction of the product layout, let's make a prejudgment: I think the 3.0T V6+9AT does not need to worry about no market space, but it can not be relaxed at all.
Why there is no need to worry about no market space, is because when the Wrangler is still using the PLUG-and-mix mode of PHEV, it is relatively gentle to break into the off-road / cross-user circle, and the pure electric SUV / pickup model is still too early to really break in.
In order to break the consumer's mustard, the Wrangler PHEV appearance continues the fuel vehicle design, emphasizing low-torsion lifting rather than fuel saving. And in terms of publicity, it has been emphasized that it has met Jeep's Trail Rated off-road evaluation system standards
In addition, the Great Wall has a good market foundation in the tank series and the Great Wall Gun series, the success of the Tank 300, and everyone's expectations for the high-power version of the Haval H9 for many years, which is just like the "China Partner" said, a company is not listed, and everyone must push it forward, so public opinion must also push the Great Wall to carry a higher-level powertrain.
However, the Great Wall should be vigilant that the change of the market is often faster than the change of face. For example, in foreign markets, the popularity of electric pickup trucks has begun to see the beginning, and even General Motors, which has occupied the top three in sales of pickup trucks in the United States for many years, has also been complained by some media that the electrification model is too slow to advance.
And the strength of the new faction also makes people shout surprises. Take Ford, as the big brother of pickup trucks in North America, from 2019, he began to pay and contribute, intending to support the "little brother" Rivian, Rivian's R1T strength is obvious to all, and he has obtained more than 40,000 reservations from the opening of the reservation. But just before dawn, Ford abandoned plans to develop it in conjunction with Rivian, raising suspicions that the R1T would overwhelm the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup.
R1T adopts the foreign very popular "skateboard chassis" design, about 100 kilometers and three seconds, and has a range of more than 500km. It has been rolled off the production line in September this year, and the starting price is 470,300 yuan, is it very attractive?
2. What is the technical level of the Great Wall's powertrain?
If you want not to fall into the quagmire of "abandonment and pity", the first meaning is that "technology is the foundation of life", and the second meaning is "to adapt to the needs of the current era". Summed up in one sentence is - the performance of advanced technology that adapts to the times.
Therefore, I think that the characteristics that the Great Wall 3.0T V6+9AT needs to show should be the following:
1) The power level is high enough
The Great Wall HY6Z30 V6 engine has a maximum power of 260kW (6000rpm) and 500N·m (1500-4500rpm) respectively under the support of dual injection and dual VGT variable-section turbocharging. From the book data, it is relatively close to the EA839-V6 2.9T engine on the Porsche Macan, and its low-power version can reach a maximum power of 280 kW (5200 ~ 6000 rpm) and 520 N·m (1750 ~ 5000 rpm).
Probably everyone thinks the same, these two engines are planned to have a 48V light mix system. With the help of the advantages of the motor in terms of power response, the torque of the Great Wall can reach 340N·m at 1000r/min. In short, both engines have a wide plain of high torque, and there is no need to worry about driving in the field.
The EA839-V6 2.9T engine was developed under the auspices of Audi
However, strictly speaking, the Great Wall engine is not a strong power orientation, its power performance in the same level belongs to the reasonable performance range, to know that the EA839-V6 2.9T high-power version equipped with the Audi RS5 can achieve 331kW (5700 ~ 6700rpm), 600N ·m (1900 ~ 5000 rpm), the new Ford Bronco equipped with the 2.7T V6 engine can also achieve 542 N·m maximum torque. Therefore, the competitive pressure of the Great Wall HY6Z30 V6 engine is not low, and the follow-up must not lose the cost performance.
Brand new Ford Bronco
2) Excellent driving pleasure
The Great Wall HY6Z30 V6 engine uses a relatively traditional 60-degree angle, the advantage is that the shear force of the crankshaft by the engine is smaller than the 90-degree angle design, and the stability is relatively more reliable, but because the engine height is high, it will pull up the center of gravity, and there are some sacrifices for high-speed handling. This is one of the reasons why the EA839-V6 2.9T engine uses 90 degrees. However, considering the model layout strategy of the Great Wall engine, the impact will be relatively small.
In addition, it is not only the engine that determines the driving pleasure of a car, and the Great Wall's 9AT gearbox has a high degree of playability. This gearbox is worth paying attention to two points - 1, with more than 20 driving modes, can be customized; 2, through the FOTA system, to achieve full-cycle synchronization. This set of combination skills is basically absent in the market, and I believe it is very attractive to players. I'm looking forward to the follow-up performance.
3) Excellent energy saving effect
In the past, medium and large SUV/pickup models were very tolerant of fuel consumption, but now they must also be developed with the times. In terms of combustion mode, the Great Wall HY6Z30 and the Audi EA839-V6 2.9T, like the Miller cycle, are used, which has direct benefits for energy saving and consumption reduction.
In addition, the Great Wall also prepared a backhand - on the basis of the 9AT, launched the 9HAT gearbox. It adds a high-power P2 hybrid motor and a C0 clutch structure for disconnecting or combining the transmission from the engine power, which can realize the pure electric or hybrid drive mode of the whole vehicle. In this way, the Great Wall has a good technical reserve in the face of a new competitive environment.
summary
Under the popularity of 2.0T and the fierce momentum of new energy, why does the Great Wall go in the opposite direction and enter the field of large-displacement engines? This is a belief, "as long as the user's needs are there, I will do my best to meet", which has a similar original intention to the type of manual gear we wrote before (originally thought that the Honda manual block was going to sing, but the type of box killed back the carbine). Since the start, then stick to the end, in terms of technical level, the Great Wall 3.0T V6 + 9AT comprehensive performance is outstanding, has the strength of a war.
However, in the face of pressure from all sides, how far it can go is still unknown. If this powertrain has the right product planning, there is still room for survival. In the face of the narrower and narrower market space for large-displacement engines, they must now establish a good reputation for off-road/cross-circle, and pay attention to the "soft and hard" of pure electric models in real time.
And at present, the country adopts a point system for high fuel consumption, either buying points or accepting fines, or launching low fuel consumption or low energy consumption products at the same time, so the sales performance of the Euler brand is also indirectly related to the vitality of this powertrain. From this point of view, whether this powertrain will fall into the quagmire of "abandonment and pity" really needs to be paid continuous attention to.