Mercedes-Benz Toyota and others restart the R&D schedule of new internal combustion engines, and it is too early for electric vehicles to dominate the world?

Univision Automobile

2024-05-04 16:23Posted in Hunan automotive creators

Toyota may not be the only one that plans to continue developing engines.

With the slowdown in the growth of electric vehicle demand in Europe and the United States, the process of electrification has begun to hit a bottleneck. Now that Apple has officially announced that it has given up building cars, Tesla has laid off large-scale employees around the world, and even its entire supercharging team has been laid off. Traditional automakers, which had made radical plans for electrification, are beginning to consider restarting engine development.

Toyota: Developing a "super engine"

Toyota was the first to emphasize the need to continue developing engines. Akio Toyoda, the former chairman of Toyota Motor, has always been a stubborn opponent of electrification, and has repeatedly sung the praises of new energy and electric vehicles on different occasions, going against the trend. However, in fact, Akio Toyoda does not reject electrification entirely, but believes that energy forms should be diversified. If we look at Akio Toyoda's remarks rationally, although there is also Toyota's own strategic purpose, it is undeniable that there is some truth.

In the second half of last year, Toyota announced that it would make efforts in solid-state batteries and integrated die-casting, and at the same time, it also revealed that it would invest heavily in the research and development of a subversive "super engine". Although Toyota did not disclose the specific development plans, technical details or working principle of this engine. Although at the time, the authenticity and feasibility of this project were questionable, but with other major manufacturers successively announcing that they would continue to develop engines, Toyota's "super engine" project should not be a cake.

Judging from the reserves of engine technology of a traditional manufacturer like Toyota, as well as the hybrid technology route currently adhered to, this is likely to be a special engine for hybrid power. At present, domestic manufacturers have pushed the thermal efficiency to more than 45% in the special engine for hybrids, and Toyota's "super engine" can indeed be expected.

Mercedes-Benz: Actively developing a new internal combustion engine

At this year's Mercedes-Benz annual shareholders' meeting, Mercedes-Benz CEO Kang Linsong announced that Mercedes-Benz will no longer adhere to the original goal of fully switching to electric vehicle sales in major markets by 2030, given that the popularity of electric vehicles has not reached expectations. At the same time, Kang Linsong also revealed that Mercedes-Benz is actively developing a new series of internal combustion engine models, which are planned to be launched to the market by 2027. At this point in time, it is basically in line with Toyota's plan.

Mercedes-Benz used to be one of the most aggressive car companies to promote the transition to electrification. But interestingly, after Mercedes-Benz announced that it would continue to actively develop internal combustion engines, the stock price rose in response. This also seems to indicate that the capital market recognizes Mercedes-Benz's decision to continue to develop internal combustion engines.

Stellantis:砸60亿美元开发新型内燃机

Just after Mercedes-Benz announced that it would develop a new internal combustion engine, another European car company announced that it would invest billions of dollars to develop a new internal combustion engine, which is the automotive giant Stellantis Group. Foreign media reported that the multi-brand auto giant intends to spend $6 billion to develop and produce new internal combustion engines and new cars in South America.

Although Stellantis' performance in the Chinese market is not satisfactory, it has to be said that under the leadership of Tang Weishi, Stellantis has performed very well in other parts of the world. According to the latest list of global car companies, in 2023, Stellantis Group will rank fourth in the world in terms of car sales, second in terms of profit, and first in terms of net profit margin. It can be said that it is the most profitable car company in the world. Although Tang Weishi is often aimed at China in his speech, he has a unique vision and is also very pragmatic and effective in action. Therefore, when Stellantis also decided to continue developing engines, it must have been justified and necessary.

Hyundai: Restart research and development of hydrogen internal combustion engines

If Mercedes-Benz and Toyota still have some "unspeakable hidden", they have to continue to invest in internal combustion engines. Hyundai Kia will definitely take the initiative to continue to invest in the research and development of internal combustion engines. Because Hyundai is also doing quite well in the field of electric vehicles, the best-selling electric vehicle brands in the United States in 2023 are Tesla, and the second is Hyundai Kia. In Europe, Hyundai-Kia's electric vehicles are also quite popular. But even so, Hyundai decided to reinvent the internal combustion engine.

According to South Korean media reports, Hyundai Group has decided to restart the development of gasoline and diesel engines. This decision is seen as a renewed investment in internal combustion engine technology. According to the analysis, the core goal of Hyundai's restart of internal combustion engine research and development is to upgrade and optimize the hydrogen internal combustion engine. Hydrogen is seen as the ultimate clean energy, and Toyota has invested a lot of energy in the field of hydrogen power. Hydrogen power is also not considered to be a possible direction to overtake electric vehicles.

Write at the end:

It is not difficult to see that Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States have actually begun to develop in the direction of diversification of power forms, rather than only electrification as before. On the one hand, there is a century-old internal combustion engine-related industry can not be simply and rudely uprooted, which involves too many interests behind it, and even will cause social contradictions; on the other hand, the electricity price in Europe and the United States is not as low as our China, so even if the European and American governments have policies to promote the development of electric vehicles, but from the user level, electric vehicles compared with traditional fuel vehicles, there is no absolute advantage in the cost of use. In the past, European and American automakers had to make radical electrification targets somewhat out of necessity due to emission regulations, but now once the government level relaxes emission requirements, there will undoubtedly be renewed hope for internal combustion engines.

In fact, even in China, where the penetration rate of new energy has reached 50%, the internal combustion engine has not yet reached the point of being eliminated. Since the beginning of this year, the growth rate of plug-in hybrid and extended range models that can be oiled and electric has significantly surpassed that of pure electric models. BYD, Geely and other car companies are preparing to promote the next generation of hybrid technology, in which hybrid engines also play a vital role. This is already telling: at this stage, new energy still can't get rid of the support of internal combustion engines. (Text/Youshi Auto Old Cannon)

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