In today's era of "megatrends" and emission reduction is king, whether under the pressure of environmental protection credit laws in various countries or due to changes in the automobile consumer market, from small steel cannons and Roadsters to GT, which was once at the tip of the sports car pyramid, more and more cars that exceed the attributes of transportation itself and have a playful nature are rapidly disappearing from our vision. Among them, there is one type of model that has become an exception, that is, the OFF-road Vehicle (Off-road Vehicle) led by hard-core SUVs and pickup trucks. Unlike many performance cars that represent the aesthetics of the era of the internal combustion engine and face the political incorrectness of today's environment, it seems that without waiting for environmentalists to accuse, hardcore off-road vehicles have quietly completed their gorgeous transformation in the era of electrification.
At the Munich Motor Show in September 2021, Mercedes-Benz announced to the world with a very cyberpunk-style EQG concept car that no matter how the power source of the future driving car changes, the legendary story of the "King of Off-Road" will be continued.
Coincidentally, in January this year, among the 15 pure electric concept cars launched by Toyota in one go, a concept car called the Compact Cruiser EV successfully attracted the attention of off-road vehicle enthusiasts.
Although the technical details of the new car have not yet been officially disclosed, whether it is the classic TOYOTA text logo or the compact and capable body proportions, it is easy to recall the FJ40, Land Cruiser 70 Light and other brands in the history of classic off-road vehicles. Just as Toyota plans to launch the Compact Cruiser EV production model in 2024, GM has taken the lead, and the Hummer HUMMER EV model resurrected on the Aoteneng pure electric platform has completed the first delivery.
As early as September 2021, the pure electric pickup truck R1T of Rivian, the "new car-making force" in North America, has been off the production line and subsequently delivered to the first owners, from the debut in 2019 to the delivery of new cars, the progress bar of R1T has thrown off the sworn enemy Tesla Cyberteruck two streets.
This makes people wonder, in the electric age, why is there a renaissance of hardcore off-road vehicles?
9 years up 6 times SUV global hot sales continue
According to the data released by Statista, the global authoritative data statistics agency, the total sales of SUV models in the world soared from 35 million in 2010 to 200 million in 2019, an increase of nearly 6 times in 9 years. Among them, in 2021, SUV models of all levels in the Chinese market have accounted for 48% of the annual sales of new passenger cars. A list of the top 10 best-selling cars in the US market in 2021 shows that SUVs and pickup trucks occupy a total of 8 seats. Even the European market, which once had the lowest favorability for SUVs, has undergone a fundamental shift in recent years. According to the German new car sales data in 2020, the largest European single car market has exceeded 1 million SUV sales in the whole year, accounting for almost one-third of all new car sales, which is still the sales performance in the context of the overall decline of the automobile market under the influence of the epidemic. According to statistics, in 2020, the global sales of pure electric SUVs reached a staggering 1.1 million.
In addition to the sales data that makes car companies smile, since 2020, the continuation of the NEW CROWN epidemic around the world has also completely changed the way people travel and play in their leisure time. Harsh travel restrictions and uncertainty about the future in a sluggish economic environment have awakened more people's sense of freedom, and people in cities are eager to temporarily escape from reality and embrace nature, which is why outdoor sports, camping culture and other popularity around the world.
The popularity of lifestyles such as camping and outdoor sports has made hard-core SUVs and pickup trucks that emphasize passability surpass the attributes of their own vehicles, and then become props to highlight the attitude of life.
Why traditional car manufacturers stuck to Off-Roader in the electric age
There is no doubt that the revolution brought by electrification to the automotive industry is far from being as simple as a change in the form of drive. With the development of in-vehicle interconnection technology and the popularization of high-level driver assistance systems, the judgment criteria accumulated in the automotive industry for more than 100 years since its birth have changed dramatically.
What was once aesthetically dominated by automotive design is now forced to make way for the aerodynamics that are more focused on passive safety and all-electric models.
The elegant and luxurious leather solid wood selection in the car is not only extremely "politically incorrect" today, but also far less attractive to young car consumers than a large central control screen and the rich interconnection functions behind it.
For traditional car manufacturers, a more severe test comes from the transformation of electric vehicle performance, and the power parameters and 0-100km/h acceleration results that once required V8 and V12 engines may only be the conventional level of today's economic pure electric models. As a result, for many car companies, especially luxury brands, the brand aura accumulated over tens of hundreds of years and the premium ability represented behind it have disappeared. If you want to continue to maintain the profitability of the brand and the single model, there are only two roads in front of traditional car companies, or catch up, so that the brand's pure electric models reach or exceed the current top level of new energy, but this is a product life cycle of at least 1-2 generation models for traditional manufacturers who have always been cautious and the new product development process is strict and complex. What's more, in the foreseeable future, a considerable number of traditional manufacturers must take into account the existing fuel vehicle product lines while transforming electrification, which will undoubtedly further slow down the speed of these brands to catch up with the "new forces".
In contrast, the second way is exactly what traditional manufacturers are willing and good at – using brand history or existing models to create a "brand totem" in the era of electrification. In this regard, the Mercedes-Benz EQG and the Hummer HUMMER EV resurrected by GMC are classic examples.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class from iran's Pahlavi dynasty military orders, the successful "military to civilian" into today's Internet celebrity "local tycoon car", in addition to the proud off-road circle of the "three locks" structure, in its more than 40 years of history is full of countless interesting anecdotes.
Although HUMMER has been discontinued for more than 12 years since 2010, it has always been shrouded in the aura of "the strongest military vehicle on the surface" and still has countless fans in the North American market and even the world.
Therefore, the introduction of these high-value-added models at the beginning of the brand's overall shift to electrification is the best solution for traditional manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and GM to maximize the profitability of bicycles.
Efficient and reliable, is electrification the ultimate form of an off-road vehicle?
In addition to the cultural and market support for the revival of pure electric off-road vehicles, the characteristics of the electric drive itself seem to provide more imagination space for off-road vehicles.
Since the development of Willy's MB, one of the major challenges facing off-road vehicles has been how to transfer engine power to each wheel simply and efficiently, while also considering the fuel economy and handling of daily driving.
To this end, the engineers designed a wide range of four-wheel drive systems, torque amplification devices and differential lock mechanisms that suppress wheel slippage and complete torque vectoring at the limit state.
As a result, off-road vehicles are becoming more complex.
In addition to the above-mentioned mechanical structure, even a hard-core primitive model like the Jeep Wrangler has added an electronic control system to the transmission and suspension components such as front and rear axle differentials and stability senses.
If you put aside emotional factors such as mechanical beauty, for off-road driving where stability is king, complex mechanical structures undoubtedly increase the risk of failure, which is definitely more harmful than beneficial.
In contrast, the vehicle drivetrain under the all-electric architecture is greatly simplified. Since the electric motor can be directly arranged on the front and rear axles, the wheels can be directly driven after deceleration and torque through the main reducer, and the power conduction path is greatly simplified.
Even with a three-motor powertrain like the Hummer HUMMER EV, an electronic differential lock is only required on the front axle.
Even with the maturity and popularization of wheel motor technology, future pure electric off-road vehicles equipped with this technology can accurately control the torque output of each wheel through VCU (vehicle controller), thereby eliminating transmission components including differentials. The simplification of the structure not only reduces the risk of failure, but also greatly improves the transmission efficiency.
Not only that, but the electric motor can output maximum torque in the rated working speed range, without waiting for the speed to climb to the "torque sweet zone" like an internal combustion engine. This "zero-start characteristic" also gives it a performance that is unmatched by internal combustion engines in terms of power response speed and torque output.
The high-performance Rivian R1T, for example, is equipped with four rim motors that not only produce up to 562 kW (764 hp) of maximum power, but also have a peak torque of 1120 Nm.
For comparison, even with the 6.4L V8 HEMI engine, the Jeep Wrangler 392 has a maximum power of 350 kW (477 hp) and a peak torque of 637 Nm.
In addition to the winning power parameters, a video taken by foreign netizens also fully proved the car's low torsional performance and traction ability: on the slippery road, an enthusiastic Rivian R1T owner easily rescued a heavy Kenworth dragging head stuck in the mud...
Even if the advantages compared with the internal combustion engine power are obvious, under today's technical conditions, the pure electric power system is not the golden oil of off-road vehicles, and its biggest obstacle is the limited cruising range. Still taking the Rivian R1T as an example, even if it is equipped with a flagship model with a capacity of up to 180kW battery pack, its comprehensive cruising range is only 643km. Such a range may be able to cope with the daily fun nature of off-roading, but it is still not satisfied for long-distance crossing. In addition, in the face of harsh external environments such as low temperatures and high altitudes often encountered by off-road, it may have a further negative impact on the endurance, and the twisting or dragging of the body under the limit state also puts forward higher safety requirements for the battery packs arranged on the chassis.
Therefore, at a time when battery technology has not made breakthrough progress, the additive electric drive system may be a more stable solution for future off-road vehicles.
Take, for example, Audi's RS Q e-tron (parameter | inquiry) for the Dakar Rally, which features a full-time all-wheel drive system with dual motors in front and rear axles, with a total power of 500 kW (680 hp). At the same time, the 2.0TFSI engine located at the rear of the cockpit always operates efficiently in the 4500-6000 rpm speed range and is powered by a separate generator for the 52 kWh battery pack.
The successful completion of all three Audi cars also proves the feasibility of the additive electric drive system to cope with high-intensity long-distance off-road scenes.
Editor's comments: It is true that at the current level of technology, the electric drive system is not perfect for hardcore off-road vehicles, whether it is endurance, energy replenishment or even safety There is still a lot of room for improvement. But it is undeniable that the off-road vehicle with the blessing of electric drive allows us to see more possibilities. Whether it is a stronger ability to pass, or with the simplification of the transmission structure, the stability of the whole vehicle improves, it is precisely these that take us to explore the original charm of the big toy of "poetry and distance".
Since electrification is already an unstoppable trend for the automotive industry, instead of nostalgic, it is better to let go of the inherent aesthetics and prejudices of the old era and look forward to the imaginative automobile world of the future.