Recently, Tesla CEO Musk said on social platforms that the range of electric vehicles is too high to make sense, tesla could have a model S with a single charge range of 960 kilometers, but finally gave up.
The reason for not pursuing industry-leading metrics is that it will reduce the processing power, efficiency and overall performance of Tesla models, is this really the case?
Disappearing 1,000 km endurance
For many people, the biggest concern about electric vehicles is the problem of battery life. Especially whenever the National Day and Spring Festival require long-distance inter-provincial travel, the various problems of "electric dad" are exposed, and even driving on the highway in the middle of summer, they dare not turn on the air conditioner in order to save electricity.
If there is an electric car with a range of 1,000 kilometers in front of you, these concerns may be swept away, right? For example, during the Guangzhou Auto Show last year, GAC Aeon announced the world premiere of AION LX Plus models with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.
This is indeed exciting news! But what is interesting is that although car companies are tirelessly improving the endurance, there are not many long-lasting electric vehicles with a range of 1,000 kilometers. In this regard, car companies also have their own words.
Musk said that a year ago, it could build a Model S with a range of 600 miles (about 900 kilometers). But it immediately took a sharp turn, saying that it would make the product worse because the vehicle would carry more and heavier battery packs, which would make the product much less efficient, in terms of acceleration, handling and efficiency. And he is very convinced that Tesla's range of more than 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) meets the needs of almost everyone.
Immediately after that, Shen Hui, the founder of WM, also mentioned on Weibo that it will launch a model with a mileage of 800+ kilometers in the future, but it will not do 1000+ kilometers."
"It's not that it can't be done, it's that it's really unnecessary." Shen Hui further explained that if all the cars were running on the road carrying a large battery pack, to some extent, it would be a waste.
Coincidentally, Volkswagen China CEO Feng Sihan has also had a similar view. "There is no plan to launch a 1,000 km endurance electric vehicle, because in the absence of a breakthrough in battery technology, high-endurance models are 'stacked batteries', and reducing body weight means a big increase in cost."
Musk "abacus" played well
Tesla's range of more than 400 miles is enough, is this really the case? Behind this, there is a little bit of Musk's careful thinking.
First of all, do we really not need long battery life? Not really. At present, many new energy vehicles have a "false standard" for endurance, and car owners still have "mileage anxiety". If you encounter extremely cold weather, the power will immediately be reduced by half; turn on an air conditioner, the power will drop again, making people inevitably "panic".
Second, the optimization of the cost of car purchase. Saving money is very important for car owners, but for car companies, why not? At present, the power battery raw materials are in short supply, and the power battery production capacity is basically "grabbed", who still has the heart to pile the battery together? Isn't that a drop in production of at least two or three?
Third, long battery life is no longer Tesla's unique advantage. When domestic electric vehicles jumped up, Tesla was no longer a "leader" in endurance, and car companies gradually gave up the competition for mileage. Maybe the "endurance first" that has just been obtained will be broken by the next car in the blink of an eye. In fact, everyone tacitly agrees that with similar batteries, who can be much better than whom?
Finally, Musk has another concern - the way to replenish energy is no longer single. What if the hard work of long battery life is replaced by another way of replenishment? Nowadays, energy replenishment methods such as fast charging and power replacement have been developed rapidly, which has well solved the shortcomings of insufficient battery life and eliminated the travel anxiety of car owners.
But in fact, there are not many scenes of long-distance inter-provincial travel for users, in order to occasionally travel once or twice a year, buy a "large charging treasure", this account is not cost-effective! In other words, if most electric vehicles are just for commuting, the current battery life is indeed enough. For example, in the online car market with the most electric vehicle applications, the number of times per car is mostly charged twice a day, and each charge takes about 2 hours, eating a meal and taking a break, this rhythm is also accepted by most people.
The "arms race" of electric vehicles
For new energy vehicles, the level of performance does not represent the level of technology, and the "comprehensive quality" of multi-dimensional products is the concentrated embodiment of the strength behind the enterprise.
Tan Benhong, executive vice president of Changan Automobile and chairman and CEO of Avita Technology, has a clear understanding of this. He took the first product Avita Technology 11 as an example, saying that although each function of the product is not "the world's first", it reflects the first-class comprehensive strength. "Maybe the range of electric vehicles in the future can reach 1,000 kilometers, or even 2,000 kilometers, but for Avita, what needs to be polished more is the relationship between efficiency, balancing cost and user experience."
In fact, a single champion does not necessarily mean that the best is achieved. For example, the acceleration capacity of 100 kilometers is compressed to 3 seconds and 2 seconds, although the parameters are better, but for the driver and occupant, it will not feel more comfortable. For another example, although high-voltage fast charging saves time, it also puts forward higher requirements for the carrying capacity of the grid load.
Love reviews
Honda, which bought an engine to send a car, the Mercedes-Benz that knows the most about luxury and elegance, and the BMW that knows the most about performance control... In the past, traditional brands had significant brand characteristics and became their own unique memories. However, in the era of new energy vehicles, the brand has collectively "lost its voice". The screen ranges from 7 inches to 10 inches to 15 inches, and more exaggerated to 50 inches, and the competition of products is crazy to be measured by "stacking materials", and the industry has become homogeneous because of "inner coils".
However, if a luxury car has no personality, how can it talk about charm?
Similarly, the development of the smartphone industry has also been experienced. When a car does not talk about design, does not talk about the difference in function and use experience, nor does it talk about power energy consumption, but only compares the level of computing power, the number of radar, and the length of endurance, the charm of the car as a travel tool has disappeared. "iPad on four wheels" may be a cliché.