At present, the domestic new energy vehicle market is gradually growing, and the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicle wholesale sales reached 25.1% in March this year, which doubled the penetration rate of 11.1% in March last year. Of course, this is not only reflected in the transformation of the huge scale and share of the new energy market, but also presents the layout of multi-line development.
Judging from the current trend, the industry's recognition of the development route of hybrid technology has indeed reached consistency. And the mainstream car companies in the market have also made rapid changes in hybrid technology innovation, and the market response is to prove the superiority of their technologies and products.
Hybrids still have market potential
It is undeniable that the current independent brands are still the pillar force in the domestic new energy vehicle market. However, if we distinguish the current new energy vehicle market according to the technical route, in addition to the relatively simple 48V and REEV (extended range hybrid), these two technologies are still subject to the characteristics of products and difficult to scale the market, and many other technical routes of new energy are in full development.
It is obvious to all that new energy pure electric vehicles are definitely the main body in the current new energy vehicle market, but in addition to pure electric vehicles, the domestic hybrid market performance is more eye-catching. In the past two years, compared with the pure electric market, the explosive growth rate of the plug-in hybrid market is more obvious.
According to data released by the Association of Multipliers, the sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles in mainland China in March this year were 84,000 units, an increase of 151.3% year-on-year. In addition, the market for hybrids like the common oil-electric hybrid is also slowly expanding, with 75,000 units sold in batches in March this year, an increase of 62% year-on-year.
Whenever we talk about hybrids, the topic is definitely inseparable from the Japanese representatives represented by Toyota and Honda. However, in addition to these old predecessors, more and more independent brand car companies have also begun to lay out the oil-electric hybrid track, such as Geely, BYD, GAC Passenger Car and other independent brands have entered the game, and oil-electric hybrid is also becoming a new market hotspot.
At the earliest, when the PHEV model first appeared in the domestic market, it can probably be traced back to BYD's F3DM. In the past ten years, Chinese brands have continuously accumulated and developed in hybrid technology, and now the target consumer groups of PHEV due to market demand have also changed several times.
In the early days of the market, one type of hybrid product was born purely for the policy green card orientation, while the other type was real practicality. But slowly in the face of more and more policies, in the eyes of some PHEV car owners, the pure electric endurance brought by the PHEV model is more like a "gift", and the vehicle can be charged with conditions, even if there is no charging condition, it can be used with pure oil.
Independent brands take the lead
Even in the absence of license plate restrictions, many people will still spend a lot of money to buy pure electric models, rather than choosing the same price range of fuel vehicles or PHEV models. Why? Quite simply, with the development of pure electric technology, the current pure electric models do have a unique charm in many aspects. However, in the face of the problem of pure electric vehicle type energy replenishment, charging cannot be as convenient and fast as "refueling energy".
Rely on BYD to release a dual-platform strategy of dual-mode (DM) technology, including DM-p and DM-i platforms. Last year, BYD sold more than 700,000 vehicles in the whole year, of which the sales of new energy vehicles reached 604,000 units, an increase of 144.95% year-on-year. Among them, the market demand for plug-in hybrid vehicles is fierce, with 273,000 units sold in the whole year, a year-on-year surge of 467.62%, and the strong market demand also stimulates the gradual expansion of the BYD DM family.
In addition, great wall motors released a lemon hybrid DHT system with two power architectures, HEV and PHEV, and successively launched a number of models equipped with lemon hybrid DHT system. This year, Gilly Ray's mind is in the air. The release of X covers a variety of technical routes such as HEV, PHEV and REEV. According to the plan for the next three years, Geely Group's models equipped with the LeiShenzhiqing hybrid system will reach more than 20 models, demonstrating its determination to fully develop the field of new energy vehicle hybrid.
Another car company, GAC Trumpchi, has also officially defined 2022 as the first year of hybridization, and developed the Julang power hybrid system, and the second model equipped with this technology, EMKOO Yingku, has also ushered in the debut. According to the planning of GAC Trumpchi, Trumpchi put forward the development strategy of "hybridization + intelligence" dual-core drive, and the brand level will fully move closer to the field of hybridization, and it is planned to achieve the hybridization of all models in 2025.
In this way, the independent brands represented by BYD at present have not only achieved catch-up in the field of pure electricity in the industry, but also realized the "curve overtaking" of the technical level of the industry. Compared with the competitors of the same level of fuel models, consumers are also more willing to choose PHEV products with lower fuel consumption, better performance, more linear and smooth power output, and less vibration and noise.
Behind the reality of car companies embracing hybridization
So why in the process of the market shifting to new energy, from last year to this year in just one year, the domestic hybrid market ushered in unprecedented changes. Obviously, the market size is growing rapidly, the number of players on the track has become crowded, and the weight in the product camp is also increasing day by day, and the demand of the terminal market is particularly important.
The hybrid travel experience is more in line with the actual car scene needs of domestic consumers, and greatly solves the mileage problem of pure electric due to temperature and applicability in terms of technology. From a technical point of view alone, long-endurance PHEV is definitely better than the extender, so there is a certain market demand. It can be said that oil-electric hybrid is a solution that consumers are more willing to choose in the process of industry transformation, at least in the next few years, hybrid products and technologies have better room for development in the future.
Of course, the hybrid technology route is already in a situation of a hundred flowers, under this premise, in the long run, the development of pure electricity business is definitely the optimal solution, but also the general trend. However, back to reality, as consumers, we are often faced with key problems such as insufficient endurance of pure electric models and charging anxiety, and the development of multi-technical routes of natural car companies has become a reasonable thing.
The performance of companies such as Toyota, Honda and BYD in the market has also stimulated the enthusiasm of other car companies to increase the mixed market. How hot the demand for the domestic plug and mix led by BYD is, everyone can see how hot it is, which fully confirms the huge potential of the domestic plug and mix market. To be sure, in the face of BYD's current position in the plug-in and mixed market, it is certainly indispensable to the important market goals of car companies in the next period of time.
Will PHEV become the next mainstream battlefield in the auto market?
Looking at the entire auto market, the auto market in 2022 is still difficult. However, it is believed that in the future, with the multi-line development of hybrid new energy, the oil-electric hybrid market will also usher in their own era. And from the perspective of policy and actual market demand, the development of hybrid technology may be a necessary way to fully embrace electrification in the future.
Moreover, the market performance of oil-electric hybrid last year has fully verified the first step of market recognition, and the consumer group of new energy vehicles is also changing, and the prospect of the oil-electricity hybrid market will gradually awaken. Then, the next competition is that among the many catch-ups, car companies with this technology can stand out by virtue of their formation of new market competitiveness.