Text/Civil
According to the operation monitoring report of the new energy automobile industry released by the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology from January to February 2022. In February, the penetration rate of the mainland new energy vehicle market reached a new high. In February, the penetration rate of the new energy vehicle market reached 19.2% in the month, and the total penetration rate in January-February reached 17.9%, and since January 2021, the cumulative market penetration rate has increased to 14%.
Among them, the production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles continued to be strong. From January to February, production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles totaled 168,000 units and 161,000 units, up 2.8 times and 2.5 times year-on-year, respectively, and production and sales remained at a high level for four consecutive months. It can be seen that hybrid vehicles, as the intermediate link between fuel vehicles and pure electric vehicles, still maintain a good development trend. So what is the current status of hybrid vehicles? Is the technology mature enough? Can the hybrid model perfectly handle the fuel model?
The current status of hybrid vehicles
With the development of electrification, major car companies have successively issued plans to completely stop the production of fuel models, and even BYD has taken the lead in announcing the complete suspension of fuel vehicles from March 2022. However, the so-called discontinued fuel vehicles are only for pure fuel vehicles, not all models equipped with internal combustion engines, so in order to complete the electrification transformation as soon as possible, the development of hybrid models will inevitably be more rapid.
Starting from the carbon neutrality target and industrial upgrading, the "Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0" proposes that by 2025 and 2030, the proportion of hybrids will reach more than 50% and 75% respectively, and by 2035 it will reach 100%, compared with 1.0, the proportion of hybrids will increase to 20% and 25% by 2025 and 2030, respectively, and the target of 2.0 pairs of hybrid penetration will be greatly improved, until 100% replacement of fuel vehicles will be achieved in 2035.
At the same time, according to the Global EV Outlook 2021 released by the IEA, the global electric vehicle has entered a rapid development channel in an all-round way. At present, there are 10.8 million electric vehicles in the global stock, and the penetration rate is 4.6%. It is estimated that in the next decade, the global stock of electric vehicles will reach at least 145 million, with a penetration rate of not less than 10%.
Electrification is a wave of globalization, one-size-fits-all abandonment of fuel vehicles is impossible and unrealistic, the development of pure electric vehicles is also unstoppable, then hybrid vehicles are consumers and traditional car companies to adapt to the new era, the important bearer of the transition, we should also face up to the positive role it plays, give it support and expectations.
Two general directions of the hybrid model
The current hybrid models can be mainly divided into two main directions: hybrid vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) two categories. The P of PHEV represents Plug-in, which can be charged by an external power supply for the battery; while the battery of HEV can only accept the energy generated by the car's own power system or kinetic energy recovery, and cannot obtain electrical energy from the outside. So what are the specific differences between the two?
First of all, in terms of batteries:
The battery capacity of HEV models is relatively small, generally less than 1.5kWh, usually using power-type batteries, the important feature is that it can be charged and released quickly, usually within a few minutes to fill or discharge the battery, but the energy density is small.
The battery capacity of THE PHEV model will be significantly improved, generally 5-30kWh are covered. The battery cell of PHEV must have a certain fast charging and fast release capability, but also to ensure the pure electric mileage of tens of kilometers, and it is necessary to use a power and energy balance battery.
Then there is the difference in pure electric mileage:
To be precise, heV models do not have pure electric mileage, HEV models can not charge themselves, the battery can only rely on the engine and kinetic energy recovery system for reverse charging, and then release the power output when the vehicle accelerates and starts. The motor only acts as an auxiliary in the entire system, and will only be driven purely electrically for a period of time if it is driven at a low speed and the power is sufficient.
PHEV models can provide pure electric mileage, because it is equipped with a larger battery pack and supports external charging, so the pure electric mileage is relatively longer, similar to BYD's DM-i hybrid pure electric mileage can even exceed 200km, in the urban daily commuting and convenient charging situation can be used as a pure tram. When traveling long distances, you can switch to hybrid mode.
The two differ in terms of powertrain design/operating mechanism:
1. Most of the products of HEV models are developed with fuel economy as the core appeal, and the hybrid structure is formed by equipping a small-displacement naturally aspirated Atkinson cycle engine and a gearbox such as "E-CVT" to achieve the purpose of reducing comprehensive fuel consumption. There are fewer cases of motor intervention, and most of them are simple auxiliaries, so the power is weak.
2, PHEV models because of the larger battery, can form a variety of drive combinations through the intervention algorithm of the motor and the engine. For example, pure electric mode, engine direct drive mode, motor plus engine hybrid mode, etc., try to achieve high comprehensive fuel economy. At the same time, when the PHEV is convenient to charge and the power is sufficient, it can drive in a pure electric way, saving energy and reducing emissions, and reducing the cost of the car. Fuel driving can also be performed when the battery is low and it is inconvenient to charge.
It is not difficult to see that the main difference between the two is actually the actual contribution of electricity to the entire powertrain, although the HEV model has improved fuel economy, but the PHEV model is obviously more capable of transitioning to the era of electrification.
Third, the current problems of hybrid models
1, HEV models: energy saving and emission reduction is the most basic demand for the development of the electrification era, then although the HEV model can greatly reduce fuel consumption and increase fuel economy, but it can not provide pure electric endurance, it will make it more and more incompatible with the electrification era. At the same time, because of the pursuit of fuel economy, the heV model is weak in power and the driving texture is poor, which will significantly reduce the driving experience.
2, PHEV models: the battery power is sufficient and the fuel consumption performance in the case of battery power loss is quite different, if the energy supply conditions are not good, the fuel consumption is even in line with the fuel model; the current price of PHEV models on the market is generally higher than that of the same level of fuel models, how to reduce the threshold is also what car companies need to seriously consider.
The purpose and selling point of the HEV model from birth are lower fuel consumption, better fuel economy, it seems to be more like a transition between fuel vehicles and PHEV, in the era of electrification the significance is greater than the role. Although there are still some constraints on PHEV, it is not hidden, it is the optimal solution for the current hybrid models.
Fourth, the development direction of hybrid models
1. Engine technology
Until the advent of full electrification, especially in this transitional era, the engine is still an area worth investing in, especially for PHEV models. How to achieve higher performance, higher fuel economy and thermal efficiency can promote the development of the automotive industry. Like the domestic independent brands BYD, Great Wall, Geely, Changan have launched their own hybrid systems, the thermal efficiency of the hybrid special engine has been broken through, have reached more than 40%, while the ordinary fuel models are basically below 40%, which can be seen that the engine technology is still with room for development.
2. Battery technology
The development of battery technology is also the inevitable direction of this era, not only the development requirements of hybrid models, but also the core of pure electric models. Its development is also obvious to all, high system-level volume energy density / high safety lithium iron phosphate blade battery pack, based on the medium nickel high voltage battery system level safety improvement of non-ignition ternary battery pack and other technologies, are of great significance.
The development of battery technology is obviously a benefit for all parties, relatively speaking, then the hybrid model pays more attention to higher battery energy density, after all, it can achieve a smaller volume under the same battery capacity, which can get more room for hybrid models.
3. Hybrid system
Since the engine and battery still have great room for development, then the hybrid technology that integrates and coordinates them also needs to be developed, how to maximize the advantages of the two, how to further improve the fuel economy, are worth studying and developing. It is worth saying that at present, the hybrid technology of our own brand is also very competitive. BYD's DM-i, Great Wall's lemon DHT, Chery's Kunpeng DHT, Changan's iDD, etc., all have very good technical strength.
Although the field of pure electricity is in full swing, but including the battery there are still many constraints, the era of complete electrification is not far but not near, hybrid models as the most powerful successor of fuel vehicles, before the era of electrification is fully coming, it is worth constantly studying and progressing, it is the link between the two eras.
summary:
Hybrid vehicles are an inevitable product of the current era, which shoulders the mission of undertaking fuel vehicles and also carries the future of pure electric vehicles. The penetration rate of new energy models has become higher and higher, before the advent of more perfect electrification, it is bound to require hybrid vehicles to have a better ability to do a good job in this link between the past and the future, although the current hybrid technology is enough to cope with the current market demand, but there are obviously many places that can be improved. But hybrid cars, and more to put it further , plug-in hybrid cars , it remains the most comprehensive answer to this transitional era.