Abstract: Fuel consumption is really provincial, the power is really strong, and the price is really rising
Text | Guo Yu
Edited by Li Haoyin
▲ Emgrand L Thor Hi · X
On April 26, Geely's Emgrand L Thor Hi · X Super Electric Hybrid was officially launched, and the price of the three models was 129,800 yuan to 145,800 yuan after comprehensive subsidies. Oilable, mixable, electric, and extendable range are the best interpretations of the four words of "super electric mixing".
Emgrand L Thor Hi · The launch of X is an important step in Geely's electrification layout, according to Geely's 2022 plan, Geely will launch five Thor super hybrid models, Emgrand L Thor Hi · X is the first in planning.
Earlier, in October 2021, the "Smart Geely 2025" strategy was officially released. Within five years, Geely Automobile Group's brands will launch more than 25 new intelligent new energy products, leading Chinese brands into the era of intelligent terminals.
The model is a specific landing product, and behind it is the word "Thor", which frequently appears in the planning. This is a hybrid system developed by Geely, the full name is Thor Hi · X。 The highlights of the hybrid system are that the thermal efficiency reaches 43.32%, the fuel saving rate exceeds 40%, and the dynamic 100 km/h acceleration is 7.9 seconds, which not only achieves the dynamic, but also achieves the effect of fuel saving.
Thor Hi · X is an important part of the "Smart Geely 2025" strategy, marking Geely's full entry into a new era of "Power 4.0" for the electrification of Power Technology. Currently, it is equipped with Thor Hi · X hybrid system in addition to the Emgrand L Thor Hi · X, and The Lucky Star-Over L Thor Hi · X, but the difference is that the latter is a hybrid version of oil and electricity, which can only be on the fuel vehicle license plate, and the former can be on the new energy license (except in Beijing).
After understanding the above background, I asked you 3 questions about this car and its hybrid system:
1. Ace and competitor of this car?
2. Why are car companies launching hybrid models?
3. Will the car be applauded and seated?
1. The ace and competitor of this car?
Power foot and low fuel consumption, is the Emgrand L Thor Hi · X's trump card.
Zero hundred accelerated at a speed of 6.9s, breaking everyone's perception of the weak power of hybrid models. This is mainly due to improvements in the engine, which is equipped with a four-cylinder 1.5TD turbocharged in-cylinder direct injection engine that can output 133kW maximum power and 290N·m maximum torque.
In terms of low fuel consumption, it is reflected in the fuel consumption of 3.8L and the comprehensive endurance of 1300km (of which the pure electric endurance is about 100km).
This is due to the Thor Hi · X Hybrid system implemented. An important part of the system is the 3-speed hybrid electric drive DHT Pro. With DHT Pro, you can achieve four different effects when driving, which can be oilable, electric, extendable, and hybrid. In the hybrid mode, the engine and the motor are driven together, which is fast and powerful; the extended range mode means that the engine only generates electricity and does not drive, becoming the charging treasure of the car.
▲ 3-speed hybrid electric drive DHT Pro
It is worth mentioning that these oilable, electric, extendable range, and hybrid driving modes will be intelligently switched according to the different situations used by the driver. For example, when driving in the daily congested road section, the user will automatically switch to ev (pure electric) mode during the low-speed and frequent start-stop process to match the power output of different gears; in the case of rapid acceleration, the system can quickly switch the parallel mode (hybrid), so that the engine always works in the most economical mode and improves economy.
In the hybrid market at the same price point, Emgrand L Thor Hi · X competitors have both Japanese hybrid vehicles and domestic independent brands. The former such as Honda, Toyota, the latter such as BYD Qin PLUS DM-i.
2. Why are car companies launching hybrid models?
If you search for "hybrid first year" on a search engine, you'll find that the search results are either 2021 or 2022. In the past two years, hybrid models have sold more, and car companies have launched more.
According to the data of the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the retail sales of new energy vehicles reached 2.989 million units in 2021, of which 2.444 million were pure electric vehicles, an increase of 168.6% year-on-year; the sales of plug-in hybrid models, including range extenders, reached 545,000 units, an increase of 171.2% year-on-year, and the growth rate was slightly higher than that of pure electric vehicles.
The industry attributes this to the influence of domestic car companies such as BYD and Ideal. Under the influence of these car companies, plug-in hybrid vehicles, including range extenders, have achieved rapid sales growth. In terms of hybrid technology, BYD has DM-i super hybrid, Great Wall has lemon DHT, Chery has Kunpeng hybrid, Changan has IDD hybrid, and Geely has Thor hybrid.
In the face of many competitors, Geely is very confident in its Thor hybrid technology. "As far as the hybrid system on the market is concerned, there is no concept of three gears (3-speed hybrid electric drive DHT Pro). Based on the original intention of low fuel consumption, low price, high performance and strong power, Geely created a three-stop structure and became the only one in the market. In November 2021, Wang Ruiping, senior vice president of Geely Automobile Group, told Caijingqiche (ID: caijingqiche).
In the process of switching from fuel vehicles to pure electric vehicles, the future is bright, but the road is tortuous. Hybrid models, including plug-in hybrids and range extended range hybrids, became the hottest products in the transition period. Higher sales will further push car companies to launch more hybrid models.
In addition, there are factors in the layout of pure electrical products. The domestic pure electric vehicle market basically occupies the high-end market and the low-end market. The former is represented by brands such as Weilai, Tesla, and Xiaopeng, and the latter is represented by Hongguang MINI. In the price zone between 50,000 and 200,000 yuan between the two, although there are pure electric brands such as Nezha and GAC Aean, the overall model is less and the brand influence is not enough to occupy the price market. The largest market for domestic fuel vehicles, in the absence of pure electric products, has left opportunities for hybrid routes.
3. Will this car be applauded and seated?
▲ Emgrand L Thor Hi · X
For a long time, Geely Emgrand series products have been Geely's volume models. Since the launch of the first Emgrand EC718 in 2009, the cumulative sales of the Emgrand family have exceeded 3 million vehicles. At present, the Emgrand family has spanned two major segments of cars and SUVs, including Emgrand, Emgrand S, Emgrand GL and other models. According to march sales data, Geely brand sales were 75,699 vehicles, of which the Emgrand family sold 24,818 vehicles.
Will Thor Hi · The X hybrid system is installed on the Emgrand L, which also shows geely's high hopes for its sales.
Although this car has a small fuel consumption and strong power, there are also small regrets. For example, the internal space is insufficient, and for larger people, both the distance between the top of the head and the roof of the car, or the distance between the knee and the seat, are somewhat compact. The front-drive platform model makes the rear middle floor have a lot of bulges, which affects the riding experience. In addition, the charging port of the car is a slow charging port, which is not convenient enough when charging.
Another issue that should not be ignored is that Geely Emgrand, which has launched models priced at 60,000 or 70,000 yuan, has now sold its car for nearly 130,000 yuan. Can the Emgrand series achieve brand upwards?
The rise in bicycle prices is something Geely is trying to do. According to the financial report, Geely sold 1.328 million vehicles in 2021, and its bicycle revenue increased to HK$88,000, an increase of 9.0% year-on-year.
However, specific to a certain model, whether consumers have enough willingness to buy is still doubtful. Before the announcement of the price, some media had already expressed their interest in Emgrand L Thor Hi· X had a hands-on experience. When randomly browsing these test drive videos, the reporter of Caijingqiche found that the previous price of some people was expected to be about 100,000 yuan, and the 100,000 yuan sedan would also be noted in the title of the video. After announcing the price, the comment on the bullet screen became "There is still a big difference between 100,000 and 130,000." "Relatively fuel-efficient, the rising price will discourage me." A user who was ready to buy a car saw emgrand L Thor Hi · X said after the price.