More than 200,000 yuan, there is a range extender, SUV identity, these keywords together, in the current domestic new energy vehicle market, seems to have a hot sales basis. What if Huawei's family bucket technology for automobiles is superimposed? At the upcoming Beijing Auto Show, the new Wenjie M5 will be launched soon. From a technical point of view, the new Wenjie M5 superimposed with Huawei's family bucket technology is bound to bring stronger competitiveness. Relatively speaking, can low-spec models with a price worth looking forward to also bring more technical surprises?
The potential of pure electric upgrade is greater than that of extended range, and the price will be more expensive?
Let's talk about a less hardcore technology topic first, that is, will the new M5 be lengthened? This may be more of a user vision, but the actual possibility is not very large. Regardless of the rapid pace of the new car facelift, it is difficult to adjust the size. From the point of view of the product line alone, the SUV coverage of the AITO Wenjie series is already high enough. With a body length of nearly 4.8 meters, the M5 is probably the largest variable space, that is, it covers a level of about 4.8 meters.
Equally difficult to change is the familiar H15RT 1.5T range extender. Although it is still an EFI internal combustion engine, and it needs to be filled with high-grade gasoline of 95. However, the application of technologies such as low-pressure EGR, electronic water pumps, and a bore-to-stroke ratio of more than 1.2 show that it is completely an internal combustion engine with a tendency to generate electricity. Therefore, it is not possible to simply compare side-by-side with conventional engines. What's more, this batch assembly of range extenders is not only in use with the M5, and its marginal effect is also beyond the technology and cannot be ignored.
Whether it's a range extender or a pure electric vehicle, it's the electric motor that is really responsible for the drive. This cannot fail to mention Huawei's drive motor with a maximum speed of 25,000 rpm. However, even if it is upgraded to this motor, on the one hand, it is inevitable that there will be certain restrictions on the speed like the Zhijie S7. On the other hand, the upgrade will only cover all-electric models. Of course, even if the speed needs to be limited at this stage, its power output will exceed the performance of the maximum 200kW of the rear motor currently used in the M5.
As for the fact that it can only cover pure electric models, it actually refers to the need to rely on an 800V high-voltage platform. That is to say, if it involves performance upgrades, it means that the pure electric version of the M5 will also upgrade its power battery part. Specifically, that is, Huawei's giant whale battery. From the perspective of the modularity of the battery pack, the battery can be supplied in at least 82 kWh and 100 kWh specifications. Even if it is an 82-degree battery, it is slightly higher than the level of the current M5 pure electric version. In addition, the efficiency advantage of the high-voltage platform and the replacement of the battery cell material with ternary lithium. Its pure electric range and range stability are expected to be improved.
To put it simply, the all-electric version of the new M5 has the potential to bring visible upgrades in terms of performance, energy consumption and battery life. As an all-electric version that is already priced at the front end of the product line, this operation is likely to lead to a further price increase. In addition, compared with the upgrade potential of pure electric vehicles, is the change of range extender too small? It depends on the upgrade strength of the chassis part.
Four-wheel drive only need to be suspended in the air, or refresh the best Huawei SUV
Talking about the chassis technology endorsed by Huawei, it actually refers to the Tuling intelligent chassis technology. So is it possible for the M5 to upgrade the Turing intelligent chassis? At least in the suspension hardware part, there is no pressure. As a medium-sized SUV, the current Wenjie M5 uses the front double wishbone + rear H-arm multi-link suspension structure that is common only for new energy vehicles above the C level. In terms of details, the front suspension adopts a four-ball head virtual kingpin design, which theoretically has better handling potential than the traditional double wishbones. The H-arm multi-link of the rear suspension, on the one hand, finalized the entire set of suspension materials made of aluminum alloy. In addition, the H-arm structure with dual connection points is helpful for the support and rigidity of the rear suspension. Overall, the current M5 already has a set of suspension hardware that favors sporty handling and surpasses its class-level performance in terms of stacking.
Obviously, there is no problem with the basic hardware, but what is missing is the execution hardware, that is, variable damping shock absorbers, air suspension, etc. After all, no matter how high the suspension material is stacked, it will not be able to achieve the active effect of the Turing intelligent chassis. On the other hand, if the M5 chassis, which has become "excessive", is endowed with the Turing intelligent chassis function, it will most likely be the best SUV to drive among the models that apply this technology. From this point of view, the upgrade focus of the new M5 may be in the chassis part.
But after all, the M5 is a mid-size SUV product positioned at the 200,000 yuan level, and in short, it does not need to be equipped with a full-blooded version of the Turing intelligent chassis as standard. From a cost point of view, the low-spec model may be equipped with variable damping dampers. After all, air suspension and variable damping dampers actually solve the needs of the suspension when dealing with longitudinal adjustments. Variable damping dampers can already meet most comfort needs, but no air suspension will sacrifice a certain passability, as well as a range of adjustment in terms of comfort.
From a cost point of view, what kind of M5 needs a full-blooded version of the Turing intelligent chassis, or needs to be equipped with variable damping dampers and air suspension? First of all, the front and rear dual motors can give full play to the effect of the Turing chassis in the corner, torque distribution, and body balance. Secondly, lidar is an important sensing hardware in intelligence. In terms of anti-interference, accuracy, richness, etc., it has strong irreplaceability. On this basis, the lidar adapted to the new Wenjie M5 is likely to be upgraded to the 192 threads used on the Wenjie M9 at the same time. As a result, the perception accuracy and reliability are improved.
Talking about this, you can draw up a rough product portrait of the new M5. The range extender with a lower price threshold itself is likely to be able to achieve better handling and comfort in the upgrade of the chassis with the pure vision scheme and the blessing of some hardware. As for the high-end models, especially the pure electric top configuration, it is very likely to obtain Huawei's current family bucket technology improvement in motor performance, chassis suspension, and intelligent driving. Just considering only the addition of hardware such as LiDAR upgrades and air suspension, the high price of the new M5 may even break through the existing price system.