"An ancient technology that was eliminated hundreds of years ago has now been transformed into a so-called new energy vehicle."
In recent years, you must have heard similar discussions.
After all, the tram is not a new invention, it has been eliminated by the market before.
Now, a century later, this "underdog" is not only re-appearing, but also boasting that he is more advanced than the oil car – isn't that ridiculous?
But is that really the case? Is the tram a hoax or not?
Recently, I discussed this issue with insiders, and his words solved everyone's doubts: it turns out that most people are actually misled!
Why? First of all, we must know what the tram was like a hundred years ago.
01 What was the train like a hundred years ago?
If you turn the clock to 1900, you might be surprised by the picture of history.
Because at that time, automobiles were just getting started, and compared to the number of 18 million horses in the United States - 8,000 cars, it was basically not worth mentioning.
What's even more interesting is that, aside from the bulky steam cars, the largest and most socially recognized ones are actually "electric vehicles".
This may sound very surprising, because the tram is not "technological", isn't it?
But in fact, on the contrary, from the perspective of that era, the tram was the most "technical" car.
On the one hand, the train was easy to start and quiet to run at that time.
For this alone, it was loved by celebrities and aristocrats. It can even be said that if you don't have a tram to get around, everyone will question your status.
In comparison, a petrol car is terrible: starting the car also requires a rocker, which is not only unelegant, but can also strain the arm.
The uncomfortable experience was also that the sealing was not good at that time, the noise and vibration of the engine was simply outrageous, and occasionally there was a little black exhaust fumes - people sitting in it were simply guilty.
On the other hand, the range of oil vehicles is not superior.
Judging from the technology at that time, it could only run 100 kilometers with full fuel, which was actually similar to a tram.
It's pretty much the same, it's like looking at a gas car.
Because of the poor cooling system, the oil truck has to stop for water or maintenance after 30 kilometers, and there is no stability at all.
It is also for this reason that everyone's research direction is on the train.
It sounds counterintuitive, but if the tram is so advanced, why is it being eliminated?
02 Why was it eliminated
In a word, it is the limitation of the times.
A lot of times, in our time, it's a matter of course, but in that era, it's completely different.
For example, electricity is ubiquitous, but at that time, due to the weak infrastructure, the cost of generating electricity was expensive, and it took 30 cents to generate electricity.
What is this concept? Compared with the current average salary, it is the hourly wage of an ordinary white-collar worker, which is only enough to charge 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity.
In this outrageous situation, the tram audience must be limited: after all, what ordinary people who don't eat or drink would raise such an "electric dad"!
In contrast, oil prices are cheap.
How cheap is it? It's only 1.3 cents per liter, and it's only 1 hour's hour to fill up the fuel tank, which can be said to be for nothing!
Because of this, the oil car party has gradually increased - after all, comfort is worthless in the face of cheapness!
After a few years of stalemate, some car companies are still looking forward to the reduction of electricity costs and the ability of electric cars to run from time to time, but Ford directly came to the backstab: the price of fuel vehicles has been lowered!
Don't want 98,000, don't want 9,000, just 880 yuan, Ford Model T to take home.
As a result, the last breath of the electric car was broken, all consumers switched to fuel vehicles, and electric vehicles withdrew from the stage of history.
It is only now, due to the high price of fuel and the scarcity of petroleum resources, that this technology has once again come to the front of the stage from behind the scenes.
The question is, is it really not advanced enough?
03 Is the train advanced first?
The truth is, most people are actually misguided.
When the time comes to 2024, the tram technology is not only very advanced, but many professionals who are advanced in traditional oil vehicles cannot understand it.
This is also why Toyota and Audi chose to cooperate with Huawei, and Volkswagen officially announced that it would learn from "Xiaopeng".
Taking the E/E architecture as an example, Volkswagen's electric models produced in China in 2026 will use Xpeng's EEA electrical architecture.
Maybe many people will be confused, Volkswagen, such a big international giant, can't handle this thing? In fact, it's a bit hard.
Because the EEA architecture is equivalent to the central management system of the tram, which connects and controls all units and components including the body, chassis, intelligent driving, and cockpit.
Only when the central management system is powerful enough, intelligent driving, interaction, voice control, and power consumption can be highly integrated, work together, and do where to play.
But are there many companies that can do well now? Handful!
More companies are like Ford, which spent $4.7 billion a year and hasn't made a splash yet.
This is just the electrical architecture, battery technology, electronic control technology, intelligent driving technology....all aspects of the tram are actually very complex, and for traditional fuel car companies, it is almost a new field.
Otherwise, why should the joint venture car watch the new forces "step on the head" and make a fortune?
In general, the retirement of trams a hundred years ago was not due to the lack of advanced technology, but due to the limitations of the times and economic conditions.
Today, the tram is no longer the tram of the past, and the technological progress has far exceeded most people's imagination.
It is precisely this kind of progress that multinational giants are willing to put down their bodies and begin to choose domestic car companies to cooperate. This is not only the best proof of the recognition of tram technology, but also an appreciation of innovation and forward thinking.