Zero running into the game, ideal new, range extension is getting more and more fragrant?

In February this year, new extended-range cars were launched one after another.

For example, Li Auto officially released its first five-seat medium and large range extender SUV - Li L7, which includes three models: Air, Pro and Max.

For another example, the first extended-range model of Leap Motor, the Leap C11 Extended Range Edition, was also officially unveiled, allowing Leap to realize the dual-track mode of "extended range + pure electric". The pre-sale price range is 159,800-200,000 yuan, obviously, compared with the higher price of ideals and boundaries, Zerorun will occupy a market space of around 200,000 yuan. In addition, Zhu Jiangming, founder and chairman of Zerorun Technology, also revealed that another pure electric product, C01, will also launch an extended range version this year.

Range extender track, it seems to be getting more and more fragrant?

For a long time, range extender has been ridiculed by the industry: "Drawing snakes, chicken ribs, and reversing the industry".

The most famous controversy about range extension is the verbal battle between Weipai CEO Li Ruifeng and Huawei Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU CEO Yu Chengdong last year. At that time, in order to support the M7 equipped with the HUAWEI DriveONE pure electric drive range extender platform, Yu Chengdong called the range extender "the most suitable new energy vehicle mode at present", and also publicly stated that the range extender is very suitable as the first car in the family, because the use of internal combustion engines to generate electricity can save half of the fuel than fuel vehicles, and it is recommended to eliminate fuel vehicles as soon as possible.

Source: Weibo @Yu Chengdong

But this caused the dissatisfaction of Li Ruifeng, CEO of Great Wall Weipai - at that time Great Wall was pushing its self-developed DHT hybrid technology - he immediately posted a blog saying that "the backwardness of extended-range hybrid technology is the consensus of the industry, and extended-range electric vehicles are models with low thresholds and outdated technology", and then sent a number of Weibo complaints one after another, saying that "range extension is backward, interlaced like a mountain, don't take casualness as personality" "It's good to make a fortune with a muffled voice of extended range, why say it with a big mouth" and so on, "Weipai CEO tears Huawei Yu Chengdong" The topic immediately appeared on the Weibo hot list. In addition, Volkswagen China CEO Feng Sihan has also publicly called range extension the "worst solution".

Source: Weibo @Weipai Li Ruifeng

Despite the verbal criticism in the public opinion field, the market performance of range extension is indeed different. Not only has the ideal sales not been affected, but the whole camp has become stronger and stronger.

Last year, the ideal of "carrying the handle" delivered a total of 133246 cars, and also became the first new force brand to deliver more than 20,000 yuan per month (the company's record delivery reached 21,233 units in December), and the L9 launched in June exceeded 30,000 orders in three days, and in the first two months of this year, sales also ranked first in the new force list; The "second-in-command" also delivered more than 10,000 vehicles last year, and delivered more than 75,000 vehicles throughout the year, making it the fastest growing new energy brand. In addition, brands such as Lantu, Nezha, and Changan Deep Blue have also launched extended range models.

Source: @AITO Automobile's official Weibo

And the C11 extended version of Zerorun just released is also placed on high hopes by the company - Zhu Jiangming once bluntly said: If Zerorun's sales in 2023 cannot go up, there will be no hope later. It is true that the company's gross profit margin has not been able to turn positive for a long time, and last year's listing was also broken at the opening, and its sales in January this year suffered an "ankle chop", only 1139 vehicles were delivered, a year-on-year decline of more than 80%; Although it recovered slightly in February, reaching 3,198 units, it is still a clear distance from the 10,000 vehicle mark of the new forces. Therefore, it is currently in urgent need of a more competitive product to prove itself, and range extension is its choice.

In addition, BYD's latest launch of the Yangwang U8 is also suspected to have adopted a range extension. Li Xiang previously questioned on Weibo, and then added: "If BYD, Geely, and Changan, the top three car salesmen, all start using range extension electric, a company's marketing plan on range extension can be stopped", echoing the Great Wall that previously attacked range extension.

Source: Weibo @Lixiang

All in all, the car companies that have or are expected to enter the range extension route are: Ideal, Qianjie, Lantu, Nezha, Changan Deep Blue, Geely, Zerorun, plus BYD, which is suspected of entering the game, and the range extension camp is becoming more and more lively.

On the one hand, there is a frenzy in the industry, and on the other hand, there is a sales ecstasy.

Behind the "shouting is not good", is range extension really backward technology?

It must be admitted that if we talk about technology alone, range extension is indeed relatively simple.

We know that hybrid models are an intermediate form of the transition period from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles, with two sets of power systems: electric motors and internal combustion engines. Compared with ordinary plug-in hybrid, the connection structure of the extended range is simpler - it adopts a series mode, and the engine in the car is only responsible for charging the power battery, not directly driving the car. Therefore, compared to pure electric or other types of hybrid, the technical complexity of range extension is indeed lower.

So, the core of the question becomes: is the complexity of technology really the most important thing for a product?

As can be seen from the name range extender, it is a technical solution used to increase cruising range. Although the method of "using oil to generate electricity" is simple, it also means that the endurance of the extended range is at least no less than that of the oil car, as long as there is a gas station, it can last indefinitely, and the core mileage anxiety at the moment will disappear. For example, the CLTC comprehensive cruising range of the ideal L7 can reach 1315 kilometers, and the CLTC comprehensive cruising range of the Zerorun C11 extended version has also reached 1024 kilometers.

Source: Ideal official website

In terms of fuel consumption, range extension also has advantages. We know: for fuel vehicles, frequent stop-and-go is the most fuel-consuming, because the thermal efficiency is unstable; However, for range extenders, no matter how the vehicle speed changes, the internal combustion engine can be stably maintained at the optimal speed and thermal efficiency, and the energy efficiency is high.

On the other hand, for car companies, the low technical difficulty means that there are almost no patent barriers - to equip electric vehicles with a portable "charging treasure". And in this way, it doesn't matter if the battery capacity is smaller, reducing the cost of the battery, it can be said that the technology and cost are "double-low". The ideal gross profit margin has been relatively ahead of the three new forces, and the cost advantage brought by the extended range model is extremely important. Zhu Jiangming, who is zero-running, also said: "The simple mechanical structure (range extension) can indeed save a lot of parts costs. ”

All of the above has created the current market potential of range extension. In the final analysis, range extension has solved the most painful pain points of consumers simply and crudely in a "miracle" way. After all, for car owners, there is no mileage anxiety and cost-effective, why not?

I believe many readers have noticed: the words "current" and "current" have appeared many times in the previous article. Even Yu Chengdong, who supports the extended range, only said that it is the most suitable new energy vehicle model "at present".

Obviously, the biggest advantage of range extension lies in "range extension", and with the advancement of battery technology, the decline in cost and the improvement of infrastructure such as charging piles, the advantage of range extension is destined to fade quickly.

In the second quarter earnings call in August last year, Li Xiang said when talking about the medium and long-term product planning: "Looking back 5 years, range extension is still the best solution for SUVs", which seems to have set a countdown for himself. At the same time, the ideal pure electric vehicle has long been on the agenda, and it is expected to release pure electric MPV this year. On the other hand, for Zero Run, the "range increase" move is just a low-cost slowdown measure, in order to survive first. Zhu Jiangming also said in an interview after the meeting: The general direction of electric vehicles must be pure electricity.

Everyone understands that pure electric vehicles are the trend of the times. Range extenders and even all hybrid vehicles are destined to be only a product of a transitional period.

So, like most debates in life, when it comes to range extenders, it's hard to say exactly who is right and who is wrong – from a technical point of view, it's really simple; But from the point of view of meeting consumer demand, it is undoubtedly advanced. At the end of the day, it's just that people stand from different angles.

Through the various disputes in the range extension, we see the game between technical thinking and product thinking, and we also see the compromise of long-term trends on the current environment. And this is the logic of world progress.