Since the start of pure electric vehicles in China, car companies with pursuits have locked the imaginary enemy as Tesla. Especially after the advent of the Model 3 manufactured in Shanghai, the model 3 dominates the sales ranking, and the Model 3 is the target that mainstream car companies hope to catch up with.
Why are we bringing up the topic of catching up with the Model 3 again?
On April 21, Changan Deep Blue released more model information about the new model C385, which was full of highlights.
Previously, we only knew that the C385 was a brand new mid-size sedan, and we probably saw the promotional pictures of the new car. However, after the press conference, we learned that in addition to the two mainstream power forms of pure electric and extended range, C385 will also become the first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell passenger car in China.
(Remarks: C385 is the model code, not the final model name; in addition, for convenience, the Changan Navy C385 is referred to as C385 below)
In addition, new cars will also meet users at a rapid pace, and the C385 is expected to be available in June-July and delivered in the Q3 quarter. What is important is that the new cars in the three power forms of pure electricity, extended range and hydrogen fuel will be broadcast at one time, and the users of Changan Deep Blue do not have to wait for a year and a half like the users of the new power brand.
Next, we will expand on the important information about the C385 in all aspects.
■ New cars, starting from a new platform created after five years of grinding
The C385 is positioned as a medium-sized sedan with a body length, width and height of 4820/1890/1480mm and a wheelbase of 2900mm.
Slip-on sedans don't usually get boring, and neither does the C385. In addition to the dynamic slipback style with its cool feeling, the C385 also adopts a tough waistline and corner design, combined with a petal-shaped 19-inch low wind resistance wheel, its wind resistance coefficient is only 0.23Cd.
Nowadays, new energy models are moving closer to the style of big streamline + "small eyes", although C385 is not a player with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but this headlight is full of details and cold eyes, which also gives the whole vehicle a design concept that is not conventional.
Compared to the appearance that is not bad, the core of the C385 is more noteworthy.
C385 is based on Changan Deep Blue All-Electric Digital Platform "EPA1", which has a highly integrated super-collector electric drive system, an intelligent substrate based on domain-controlled electronic and electrical architecture, and a high-safety structure with three layers of protection for core car clouds.
Deng Chenghao, CEO of Changan New Energy Vehicle, said in an exclusive interview: In the development stage of EPA1, the technical direction clearly points to the back drive. After 2017, the R & D team made a "super collector electric drive" plan, all the motors, motor controllers are all concentrated together, and this electric drive system can also be placed in the rear. Subsequently, the platform can have an "empty front cabin", which can fully support pure electricity, extended range, hydrogen fuel and other power forms.
In addition to the rear-drive gene, the EPA1 platform also supports the H-arm multi-link independent suspension system, and the model's motion gene has been further enhanced.
The C385, in a variety of power forms, all point to high performance and long endurance:
The pure electric version will adopt the form of single motor rear drive, the comprehensive endurance can reach more than 700km, the maximum power can reach 190kW, the comprehensive power consumption can be as low as 12.3kWh/100km or less, and the official measured 0-100km/h acceleration is only 5.9 seconds;
The extended range version has a comprehensive endurance of more than 1200km, a pure electric endurance of more than 200km, and a lost fuel consumption of less than 4.5L/100km;
The hydrogen fuel cell version has a comprehensive endurance of more than 700km, the loss of power hydrogen consumption is as low as 0.65kg/100km or less, and the vehicle supports rapid hydrogenation in 3 minutes.
Winter has always been the pain point of electric vehicle models, of course, this is not only the pain point of pure electric models, but also the same pain for models that are also driven by electric power, such as extended range/hydrogen fuel, but the degree of pain is different.
The EPA1 platform adopts the "micro-core high-frequency pulse heating" technology with random frequency conversion IGBT opening and closing control, high frequency pulse and NVH balance algorithm as the main technical paths.
This self-developed pulse heating technology can increase the low temperature dynamics of the vehicle by 50%, shorten the low temperature charging time by 15%, reduce the battery temperature rise to 4 °C / min, and increase the low temperature dynamics by 50% in the environment of -30 °C.
The so-called "platform technology", that is, technology is directed to all models. For example, this set of pulse heating technology will be suitable for models equipped with various types of batteries under the platform, and this technology alone has taken many years and has been honed countless times.
The domain control architecture of the EPA1 platform also belongs to the platform technology, which contains 3 "domains":
Vehicle control domain: involving electric drive, battery management, door and seat control and other parts;
Chassis domain: involving the chassis control by wire control, steering system and other parts;
Intelligent cockpit domain: involving vehicle and machine systems, instrument information, cameras, intelligent driver assistance systems and other parts.
The centralized domain control architecture is the foundation of smart cars, and will also lay the foundation for subsequent OTA upgrades, functional evolution, and experience upgrades.
The C385 will be equipped with a qualcomm 8155 chip-based car-machine system, in addition to the system OTA, the vehicle will also support vehicle OTA upgrades.
The bandwidth of the EPA1 platform supports L2-L4 level intelligent driving, and at present, Changan Deep Blue's planning for C385 is already at the L3+ level. The C385 is equipped with 27 sensing components, on the basis of which the system can continue to grow through OTAs.
In addition to functions such as adaptive cruise and lane keeping, the C385 model will also support the "automatic parking of the last 1km" function to make intelligent driving more continuous.
■ Chang'an dark blue that is about to hit the road
Although the grinding of the platform and the model has lasted for a long time, when the time comes, Changan Deep Blue does not intend to do anything to hang its appetite. As mentioned in the aforementioned synopsis, the C385 will be launched in three powertrains at the same time from June to July, and will be delivered in the Q3 quarter.
For pure electric and extended range models, we are not too worried, after all, now the mainstream start-ups are playing the route of pure electricity + increased range, such as Lantu, Nezha and other brands. But will the hydrogen fuel cell model "go wrong"?
Taking the Beijing area as an example, the Beijing Municipal Urban Management Commission has formulated the "Interim Measures for the Administration of the Construction of Hydrogen Refueling Stations for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in Beijing (Draft for Comment)", and since April 18, 2022, it has begun to solicit relevant opinions from the public. The "Opinion Draft" said: During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Beijing will strive to build and put into operation 74 hydrogen refueling stations, of which 37 hydrogen refueling stations will be built and opened for operation by 2023.
As for whether the C385 hydrogen fuel cell model will be listed, Deng Chenghao, CEO of Changan New Energy Vehicle, clearly said that he can be sure. In addition, Deng Chenghao also said that the cost of hydrogen fuel is rapidly declining, hydrogen energy is the only decarbonized energy source, and the future is promising.
In the future, Chang'an Deep Blue does not rule out the possibility of doing "hydrogen increased range".
Many cutting-edge new energy brands are playing the "enclosure movement", that is, building the charging network under the brand on a large scale. In the interview, we asked whether Chang'an would do this, and Deng Chenghao said" "We will not."
However, Changan Deep Blue will reach cooperation with top charging service providers, and will also open up car machines and mobile phone data to achieve more than 95% of the domestic energy coverage rate and avoid the trouble of users going everywhere to get off the App.
Compared with the hard coverage of the charging pile, this idea is to achieve soft coverage by opening up the software, and the effect may be the same, but the hardware laying cost and subsequent management costs are significantly reduced.
Changan Deep Blue will focus on electric models and build models based on the EPA1 platform and the future advanced platform SDA. In the future, Deep Blue will enter a separate sales channel, and users can order new cars through the 600+ platform center.
In addition to platform technology, comprehensive strength of models, and driving forms, Changan Deep Blue also has mature considerations for sales channels and energy replenishment strategies. To use an official quote to express, that is, "quiet as a virgin, moving like a rabbit".
■ Bang reviews
At present, there is no real sense of success in sniping tesla Model 3 new energy models in China, and there are still models with this potential, such as Weilai ET5, or The Changan Deep Blue C385 that has not yet been listed.
The uniqueness of the C385 stems from the profound platform technology, and the uniqueness of the EPA1 platform comes from the clear thinking of Changan Automobile Group. In terms of multi-drive form, independent sales, "soft coverage" energy system, etc., the beautiful and dynamic C385 is obviously a quasi-newborn with a golden key, which is why we are looking forward to it, and it is also the reason why we evaluate it as "Model 3 in line with the national conditions".