On January 1, 2021, the latest version of the "Passenger Vehicle Fuel Consumption Evaluation Methods and Indicators" was implemented, which stipulates the calculation method of "average fuel consumption credit" in the "double credit policy". The latest version of the calculation method is more stringent and aims to reduce the average fuel consumption of passenger cars on the mainland to around 4L/100km by 2025.
This is a very harsh goal for pure fuel vehicles, even if the use of turbocharging, closed cylinder, variable compression ratio and other technologies are difficult to achieve, if the car companies put it aside, they will spend a lot of money to fill the pit for negative points, and must vigorously develop new energy to balance the points.
Although the momentum of electric vehicles is very strong, but the fuel vehicles that account for 90% of the market share will still be the absolute main force of the automotive market for a period of time in the future, so many brands choose the two routes of all-electric and hybrid to promote synchronously, one is the future and the other is reality, of which hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) are the most mainstream technical solutions.
In the past one or two years, independent brands have invariably shown great moves in the field of hybrid technology, and 2022 will be a year of blossoming flowers. Next, let's look at what big moves our own brands have made.
BYD DM-i Super Hybrid
BYD sold more than 600,000 new energy vehicles in 2021, an increase of 218%, and the sales growth rate of PHEV models reached a staggering 467%! The most important driving force is, of course, the DM-i super hybrid that debuted last year. DM-i after the listing of the orders in short supply almost squeezed BYD's production capacity dry, pick up the car often have to wait for several months, the first time to see BYD so fierce!
IN BYD's existing hybrid system, the DM positioning of the three-engine drive is higher and the performance is stronger, while the DM-i pays more attention to economy. Hardware, dm-i has one less 6-speed dual-clutch transmission than the DM, and most models are not equipped with rear axle drive motors, simplifying the structure and cost.
The structure of DM-i is relatively simple, and the core components include the EHS dual motor electromix system, and the dual motors of the series structure are used as starters/generators and drive motors for driving vehicles. The engine is a Special Snap cloud 1.5L/1.5T engine for plug-in and hybridization, with a thermal efficiency of 43.04% after applying Atkinson cycle and 15.5:1 ultra-high compression ratio, and the transmission system is an E-CVT gearbox composed of multi-plate clutch and single-stage gear, and is equipped with different capacities of plug-and-mix special blade batteries according to the model level.
The secret of DM-i fuel saving is that the proportion of electric drive is very large, and the engine is mostly just a range extender and does not directly drive the vehicle, such as driving the vehicle directly when cruising at high speed. This allows the engine to continue to operate in the efficient zone, and the fuel consumption is naturally beautiful. Doesn't that sound familiar? Yes, the operating logic of electric drive-oriented and engine-supplemented is very similar to that of the Honda i-MMD.
Although the performance of DM-i is not as good as DM, but in the performance and fuel consumption to achieve a perfect balance, but also more in line with the needs of consumers with the car, and has a very good practical effect, our Song PLUS DM-i test drive actually measured 4.8L / 100km feed fuel consumption. BYD will further expand the LINEUP of the DM-i family, the Song MAX DM-i and Han DM-i will be launched in 2022, and the new model destroyer will also be powered by DM-i. The original DM became DM-p, and DM-i became two plug-and-mix series, and Han and Tang would launch a revised DM-p version.
Gilli Ray Divine Intelligence Hi · X
In October 2021, Geely released a new technology brand: Raytheon Power, covering pure fuel, pure electric and hybrid power. Among them, the hybrid assembly was named Thor's Hygroscope Hi· X, mainly composed of DHE15, DHE20 two hybrid special engines and DHT Pro, DHT two hybrid special gearboxes, can meet the power needs of small cars to medium and large vehicles, while supporting the three power forms of oil-electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid and extended range hybrid.
Ray's Mind Hi · The core of X is a hybrid special engine, the official "face-to-face" DHE15 engine is actually a 1.5TD three-cylinder engine, on this basis engineers racked their brains to improve the efficiency of the engine, such as the use of Miller cycle to make the compression ratio reach 13:1, and the application of 350bar high-pressure in-cylinder direct injection, low-pressure EGR, electric air conditioning compressor, electric water pump and other technologies, the official claim that the thermal efficiency of the DHE15 engine can reach 43.32%, It set a new record for BYD's Snap Cloud engine and achieved a maximum output of 110kW/225Nm.
Another focus is on the hybrid-specific transmission, which is paired with the DHT Pro three-speed transmission with the DH15 engine. The gearbox also integrates two motors, each of which has a similar role to that in BYD DM-i, that is, one power generation and one drive. The difference is that the power of the engine and motor can be coupled together by a two-row planetary gear set similar to the Toyota THS, which can both act as a power shunt and provide three hybrid transmission ratios.
This hybrid system has three driving modes of pure electricity, series and parallel connection, that is, the engine charges the battery through the generator, drives the motor to drive the vehicle, and the parallel connection is directly driven by the engine, and the auxiliary output of the drive motor is driven by the engine. Thanks to the DHT Pro three-speed gearbox, the hybrid system has a more flexible adjustment, e.g. 20 km/h can enter parallel mode, making maximum use of the efficient zone of the engine.
Hoshikoshi L Thor Hi · X is Thor's Mind Hero X's first mass production model, which is a gasoline-electric hybrid (HEV) model, officially said that its comprehensive fuel consumption is as low as 4.3L, the cruising range can reach 1300km, while accelerating 100 km in 7.9 seconds, the data can be fully aligned with the Japanese hybrid strong hand. The new car is only the head cannon of the recent release of Thor power, and there will definitely be greater action in the new year, we will wait and see.
Great Wall Lemon Hybrid DHT
At the end of 2020, the Great Wall also caught fire because of the release of lemon hybrid DHT. As the head independent brand that came up with hybrid solutions earlier, what are the characteristics of this system of the Great Wall?
This is a hybrid system that emphasizes high integration, and currently includes two power forms of HEV and PHEV, as well as three powertrains of 1.5L+DHT100, 1.5T+DHT130, 1.5T+DHT130+P4 motors. Lemon Hybrid also has two hybrid special engines of 1.5L and 1.5T, the former using Atkinson cycle, with a maximum output of 102Ps/135Nm; the latter using Miller cycle, with a maximum output of 156Ps/235Nm, one is heavier and more fuel-efficient, and one takes into account performance.
In addition, there are DHT100 and DHT130 two hybrid special gearboxes that integrate dual motors, the maximum output of the motor is 100kW/250Nm and 130kW/300Nm, respectively, and a single-clutch two-speed transmission mechanism is added to achieve 2-speed physical transmission, and also has several drive modes such as pure electricity, series and engine direct drive. It should be noted in particular that when the engine is used as a range extender, it is connected to the generator by the 1st gear of the transmission mechanism, and when the engine is directly driven, the power is directly transmitted to the differential through the 2nd gear, which improves the efficiency of the engine in different working scenarios.
Of the three powertrains, the 1.5L+DHT100 is mainly used in compact cars, while the 1.5T+DHT130 is used in medium-sized cars, and is equipped with battery packs of different capacities depending on whether it is a HEV or PHEV. The highest positioning OF PHEV four-wheel drive is based on a rear axle motor based on 1.5T+ DHT130, so that the comprehensive output of the system reaches 320kW, which will be applied to medium and large vehicles of various brands under the Great Wall in the future.
The Lemon Hybrid will continue to land on the new cars on the Lemon platform, such as haval chi rabbit/H6S, WEY macchiato/latte has launched HEV or PHEV versions, while the hybrid versions of the tank 300 and 500 are also in the works.
Changan Blue Whale iDD Hybrid
In the hybrid competition of its own brands, Changan is relatively low-key but not far behind, and it has released a new Blue Whale iDD hybrid system at the Chongqing Auto Show in June 2021, which includes a Blue Whale engine, a Blue Whale gearbox and a large-capacity battery control system.
Supporting the iDD hybrid system is the hybrid 1.5T blue whale engine with a maximum output of 126kW/260Nm, which is supported by 350bar high-pressure cylinder direct injection and a high degree of electronic control (electric cam VVT, twin-scroll tube electronically controlled turbine), which already has good efficiency, and will usher in a large degree of upgrading after the efficiency-oriented hybrid system, such as the addition of variable valve lift and variable section electronic turbine technology.
However, this hybrid special engine still needs time to upgrade, the engine equipped with the UNI-K iDD that has been pre-sold is not yet a "complete body", and the official said that the thermal efficiency of this engine will exceed 45% in 5 years, surpassing the previous Geely and BYD.
In the Blue Whale iDD hybrid, Changan proposed a "three-clutch" scheme, that is, to integrate a drive motor on the basis of a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission, and then configure the motor with a clutch, that is, a Blue Whale electric drive transmission. This setting has obvious advantages, that is, the structure is relatively simple, you can transition from pure fuel to hybrid at low cost; but the disadvantage is that it is more like an upgraded version of the existing P2 plug-in hybrid, only equipped with a motor, the motor needs to shoulder the three jobs of power generation, drive and energy recovery, so basically only pure electricity or parallel two drive modes can be realized, the fuel consumption when feeding will be relatively high, and Changan's solution is to carry a larger capacity battery pack to increase the pure electric mileage and reduce the opportunity of feeding.
The first new car equipped with the Blue Whale iDD hybrid system, the UNI-K iDD, has been pre-sold on January 6, but as mentioned earlier, this is not the complete body of the system, and only one form of power, PHEV, has been proposed. The author understands that Changan's idea is to improve the comprehensive fuel consumption performance by pressing the thermal efficiency of the engine and increasing the battery, and the structure of the P2 hybrid does not seem to have changed much from the previous PHEV.
Chery Kunpeng hybrid DHT
In the past few years, Chery has been paying more attention to the engine, and it can be said that Chery's investment in core technology is more positive. Our impression of Kunpeng power is not bad, the test drive of the 2.0T Tiggo 8 Kunpeng version of the performance is good and fuel-saving, but don't forget, Kunpeng power is including HEV, PHEV and other hybrids.
At last year's Shanghai Auto Show, Chery released a new Kunpeng power architecture, the first hybrid model Tiggo 8 PLUS Kunpeng e+ was unveiled at the Chengdu Auto Show a few months later, there are three-engine two-wheel drive and four-engine four-wheel drive two-wheel drive versions, the total power of the engine + motor (non-actual output) reached 240kW and 338kW, and the 100-kilometer acceleration was 7.2 seconds and 4.9 seconds, which looked a bit of a thing.
The so-called "three engines", that is, the engine and dual motors. Youshang's hybrid system also has dual motors, but often one is only used for power generation, and the real drive motor is only one. According to the information provided by Chery, the DHT hybrid transmission integrates 55kW + 70kW dual motors, and can "participate in the drive, energy recovery or power generation at the same time", which is obviously different from other hybrid systems, no wonder the two-wheel drive version has such a good performance. The "four engines" are to add a drive motor to the rear axle to enhance performance and achieve the effect of four-wheel drive.
The engine is a 1.5T hybrid special engine with a maximum output of 115kW/230Nm, 2.0T GDI will also have a hybrid version, DHT hybrid transmission is also set up with 3 physical gears - the current hybrid system with the most physical gears, to achieve up to 11 gear combinations and single motor electric drive, dual motor electric drive, engine direct drive, parallel drive and other 9 driving modes, Chery said kunpeng hybrid DHT 100 km fuel consumption energy as low as 1L, feed fuel consumption of 4.8L, pure electric endurance of 105 kilometers.
Kunpeng Hybrid DHT's first new car, the Tiggo 8 PLUS Kunpeng e+, will soon open pre-sale, and will also be launched in Chery's brands, such as the just-released Jietu T-X off-road vehicle will have a hybrid version. By the way, Kunpeng Hybrid DHT also has a vest, that is, Chery's high-end sub-brand Xingtu's "Star Core Power ET-i Full Engine Super hybrid", and the new model Xingtu Wind Chasing ET-i is also about to be launched.
If you say HEV hybrid, Japanese brands have been a monopoly trend, the use experience is indeed very good, Toyota, Honda last year sold a total of more than 400,000 hybrid models, if there are more policies to take care of I am afraid that more than this number; and PHEV because it is easier to achieve, coupled with policy support, many brands have launched plug-in hybrid models, but the actual experience is not good, such as the surge in fuel consumption. Now, several major independent brands have proposed the latest solutions, each of which is a different technology genre but the same destination - to experience the best hybrid. 2021 is just a warm-up, 2022 is the real "independent brand hybrid first year", we will see more and more domestic hybrid new cars in the market, this market will join more competitors, which is also the proof of the continuous progress of independent brands.
Another important document that guides the development of the mainland automobile industry and issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, "Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0", points out that in 2035, all traditional energy passenger cars will be hybrid, and the sales of energy-saving vehicles and new energy vehicles will account for 50% each. The target is already there, and it's up to you who comes ashore first.