The electrification transformation of the automobile industry will have a long transition period in the middle. According to the "Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0", the proportion of new energy vehicles and hybrid vehicles is planned to account for 50% in 2035, which also implies that hybrid vehicles with flexible use conditions are still the best solution for energy conservation and emission reduction before there is a major breakthrough in battery energy density, material cost and recycling system.
There are many types of hybrid systems today, including: 48V light hybrid, unplugged hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and extender hybrid. The recently widely watched AITO Q&I M5 is based on the Xelis pure electric drive range extender platform (DE-i), which has both long endurance and high performance, and is known as another dark horse in the field of extenders! What is the strength of this system? How is it different from other hybrid systems? What are the prospects?
The editors believe there are three keys worth pondering: value leadership, performance leadership, and logical leadership.
More than the price, more than the value
At present, the subsidized price of AITO Q&I M5 is 249,800-319,800 yuan, and the models of the same level that are close to its price include Toyota Highlander (guide price: 25.88-34.88 million), Volkswagen Tiguan L (guide price: 21.58-28.18 million), Honda Guandao (guide price: 22.00-33.28 million) and Ford Ruijie (guidance price: 22.98-30.98 million).
Although Highlander has the advantage of energy-saving brand, it is not exempt from purchase tax and vehicle and boat tax, and the landing price of its two-wheel drive premium 7-seater model is about 360,000 yuan without price increases, while the landing price of the AITO Q&I M5 four-wheel drive flagship version (top matching) is only about 330,000. In contrast, the landing price of the remaining models without license plates is even less cost-effective.
Even compared with the ideal ONE (338,000 yuan, raised to 349,800 yuan from April 1) of the same extended-range model, the AITO Inquisition M5 equipped with a four-cylinder 1.5T engine and dual motors still has a clear price advantage. Spending less on less budget for more power, lower fuel consumption, and more flexible drive methods is already an easy trade-off for budget-conscious consumers.
Extended-range electric vehicles to enter thousands of households, in addition to the advantages of electric refueling, no electricity refueling, and solving mileage anxiety, it must have the cost performance of comparable or surpassing the same level of fuel vehicles. Under the premise of more batteries, motors and electronic control systems than fuel vehicles, the price is more affordable, which is the best embodiment of Xilix's technological innovation, process optimization and strong spare parts bargaining power.
In addition to the intuitive difference in numbers, AITO M5 has a product strength comparable to that of million-level luxury cars, especially in the chassis performance and quiet cockpit, providing users with a high-quality car experience. In addition, the high-end Nappa leather-wrapped seats in the car are luxurious to the touch and look, and the front seats support 12-way electric adjustment, seat massage and ventilation/heating; The rear has heated seats and privacy glass for a private first-class space. In addition to the 128-color RGB steplessly adjustable intelligent induction atmosphere light, the AITO Inquisition M5 is also equipped with a 1000+ watt 19-unit HUAWEI SOUND professional audio, which is comparable to the audiovisual enjoyment of million-level models.
Long endurance, low energy consumption, leading performance
AITO Q&I M5 is based on Cyrus' new pure electric drive range extended range platform (DE-i), which can intelligently coordinate the mutual cooperation of engine, generator, drive motor, kinetic energy recovery and other components to achieve the driving advantages of strong power, low energy consumption and low noise in the full speed domain.
AITO Q&I M5 4WD Flagship Edition has a total power of 365kW, 4.4 seconds acceleration from 100 km/h, and 315 kWD performance edition with 4.8 seconds of acceleration from 100 km/h, which is faster than the ideal ONE (6.5 seconds); The rear-drive standard version accelerates by 7.1 seconds from 100 kilometers, which is also much stronger than the same level of fuel vehicles, and such a power level can be completely at the first-line level of family cars.
The AITO Inquisition M5 is equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder engine dedicated to the extended range, with a maximum compression ratio of 15:1 and an ultra-high thermal efficiency of 41%, and the system can maximize the conversion of the work done by the engine into electrical energy, and achieve ultra-high efficiency and ultra-low fuel consumption with a maximum power generation efficiency of 3.2kW·h/L. "The strongest range extender on the surface" makes the WLTC working condition endurance of 1100+ kilometers under the full oil and full power state of the vehicle.
In addition, the 40kWh ternary lithium battery pack equipped with AITO Q&J M5 supports fast charging, 45 minutes can make the power from 20% to 80%, slow charging 5 hours can make the power from 20% to 90%, WLTC pure electric endurance of 150 kilometers, pure electric mode commuting does not need to "daily charging".
In order to improve the handling and safety, aito M5 adopts the all-aluminum alloy chassis commonly used in Million Luxury cars, which can bring about a lightweight effect of the whole vehicle compared to the traditional steel chassis, while high corrosion resistance, small vibration deformation, and more stable and safe handling performance. In addition, the car is also equipped with front double wishbones and rear trapezoidal multi-link independent suspension, Pirelli P-zero high-performance silent tires and Bosch iBooster intelligent braking system, this "armed to the teeth" chassis is enough to bring luxury car comfort and sports car-level handling.
Logic leads, the prospects are unlimited
The hybrid system can be classified according to the degree of mixing: micro-hybrid system, light hybrid system, medium-sized hybrid system and complete hybrid system. Among them, the 48V light hybrid belongs to the micro-hybrid system, and the Toyota hybrid belongs to the light hybrid system, both of which are the simplest and most elementary hybrids, which are very limited in energy saving and power improvement. Honda's i-MMD and Volkswagen's PHEV are medium-sized hybrid systems with significantly reduced fuel consumption. However, compared with medium-sized hybrid systems, the hybridity of full hybrid systems can reach or even exceed 50%, and the development of technology has also driven complete hybrid systems to gradually become the main development direction of hybrid technology.
At present, Cyrus's DE-i extended range electric can be logically classified as a complete hybrid system, compared with hybrid models with transmissions, the "de-transmission" full hybrid system is the future trend, because it is better in transmission efficiency, manufacturing costs and maintenance costs. There is no doubt that in order to achieve high performance and low fuel consumption, the Cyrus Pure Electric Drive Range Extended Range Platform (DE-i) is indeed superior in technical logic.
Xilis is positioned as the "self-sustainer of new energy technology", with more than 1,000 new energy-related technology patents, the newly released Xilis pure electric drive range extension platform (DE-i), with the industry's first multi-scenario recognition of intelligent range control system, can be coordinated with the third generation of range extender, drive system, battery PACK and other core components for the best match. The system can independently identify 864 travel scenarios to achieve accurate matching and achieve global and all-season adaptability, while the system can also continuously upgrade OTA to improve AI learning capabilities. In addition, Xilis also has a smart factory based on Industry 4.0 standards, an extremely stringent experimental verification system and a world-class supply chain ecosystem partner, thus preventing the problem of "stuck neck" of key software and hardware.
In addition, Xilis and Huawei joined hands to create a leading edge, and took the lead in matching the new HarmonyOS intelligent cockpit on the AITO Q&I M5, breaking through the three pain points of "few applications, slow upgrades, and poor experience" of traditional vehicles and machines, and achieving easier interactive operation, more comfortable interactive experience, easier access to content resources, smarter functional experience, and more convenient cross-device connection and control capabilities, so that the intelligent level of the vehicle has achieved industry leadership.
At last
With the continuous update and iteration of technology, battery + motor + engine is no longer simply for the green card, and the extended range electric system with optimized performance, minimized energy consumption and maximum value has gradually become the mainstream. 2022 will be a year of hybrid and range-extended models, which will have a lot of muddy waters, gimmicks, and stock market profits, but we can still choose the AITO M5 because of "technology". (Photo: Network/Text: Feng)