"A few years ago, BMW CEOs or Akio Toyoda would come to Tsinghua University and give a speech, mainly to students, but basically leave after the lecture, in order to establish their own brand image among young students. But in the era of new energy, in addition to talking, they will also talk about cooperation with Chinese enterprises and universities, and you can clearly feel that they have put down their figure on this track. ”
On May 10, SAIC Roewe held the "Super Fusion is Super Hybrid" DMH Technology Brand Conference. After the meeting, Lu Yong, executive vice president of SAIC Innovation and R&D Institute, said in an interview with media such as "Auto Talk" that on the new energy track, from technology introduction, joint venture learning to independent innovation, it is currently a stage for Chinese car companies to strive to surpass, and SAIC will use this opportunity to really build up China's automobile industry.
The release of SAIC Roewe DMH super hybrid technology brand is to lead China's hybrid technology to surpass Japanese hybrids in the future, and let the world see the beginning of the vigorous power of Chinese auto brands in the new energy era.
The proportion of pure electric plug-in hybrids will be equal
Previously, plug-in hybrid models have always been regarded as "functional products" for domestic car companies to earn new energy credits or provide convenience for users in big cities, at least most people have had the idea that plug-in hybrid is just a transitional product of new energy, and even in the first two years, some people boldly predicted that with the maturity of pure electric vehicle technology, plug-in hybrid models will disappear within 5 years.
But now, with the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles, plug-in hybrid models that can solve the pain points of users are becoming more and more favored by the market. According to the data released by the China Automobile Association, in the first quarter of this year, the domestic sales of new energy vehicles were 2.09 million, a year-on-year increase of 31.1%, of which the sales of pure electric models were 1.305 million, a slight increase of 13.3% year-on-year, while the sales of plug-in hybrid models were 784,000, a year-on-year increase of 81.2%.
Even in Europe, where pure electric vehicles are the dominant policy, the market performance of plug-in hybrids has improved recently. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, plug-in hybrid sales in Europe increased by 12% year-on-year to 72,000 units in February this year, nearly 2 percentage points more than the growth rate of pure electric vehicles, and for the first time in many years.
In this regard, Lu Yong said that at present, hybrid technology is blooming, products are emerging in an endless stream, and user acceptance is getting higher and higher. Some data predict that by 2025, pure electric and plug-in hybrid will have a 1:1 situation. "The spring of plug-in hybrids is already around us." Lu Yong said.
Features of DMH super hybrid technology
However, due to its high technical difficulty and relatively long R&D cycle, plug-in hybrid technology requires car companies to have high R&D investment and R&D strength.
It is understood that as early as 2010, SAIC Motor forward-looking layout in the field of plug-in hybrid technology, and regarded it as a technology worthy of long-term investment. In 2017, SAIC's self-developed first-generation EDU hybrid technology won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, which was not only the only automotive project among the award-winning projects that year, but also the first time that the new energy technology won the national science and technology award.
"We have not only undertaken independent development, but also undertaken national scientific and technological tasks." According to Qiu Jie, vice president and deputy chief engineer of SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute, the only project on thermal efficiency of automobile brands in the national 14th Five-Year Plan supervision project is SAIC, and the thermal efficiency target of the project is greater than 45%. At the beginning of May, under the on-site supervision of the national certification body, SAIC Motor has completed the vehicle test and certification, and the thermal efficiency has exceeded 46%.
After long-term technology accumulation and market verification, the DMH super hybrid technology released at the conference has reached a higher level of integration and intelligence, which is a new driving force for SAIC's own brand to maintain its long-term competitiveness.
Specifically, DMH super hybrid technology has three technical characteristics: modularization, integration, and exclusivity. The system adopts a modular design, which can be matched with different hybrid routes such as PHEV/EREV/HEV, and can cover the driving needs and fuel consumption regulations of different users around the world. At the same time, the system also has a number of leading technologies, including "energy domain" global thermal management, powertrain brain PICU, engine + P1 motor coaxial structure, etc., which can achieve the strongest performance and optimal indicators through the super fusion of software algorithms and dedicated hardware.
On behalf of China's technology, it feeds back to the world
The Roewe D7 DMH and Roewe D5X DMH are the best embodiment of DMH's super hybrid technology achievements.
The biggest feature of the DMH super hybrid technology is that it has a long battery life. It is reported that in the actual test of Hainan Island at the beginning of this year, the Roewe D5X DMH ran a true comprehensive range of 1621km and an average fuel consumption of 3.8L per 100km with a CLTC comprehensive range of 1300km.
Not only that, the Roewe D7 DMH also recently challenged the 2000km limit range on behalf of its own brand B-class car, completing an ultra-long range of 1962km and an average fuel consumption of 2.8L per 100km, realizing the transformation of technical value from technical strength to scene application, demonstrating the strength of Chinese brands to break through the "endurance myth" of Japanese hybrids.
According to Qiu Jie, in the next three years, the DMH super hybrid technology brand will carry out a higher dimensional performance improvement in the five key areas of engine, gearbox, battery, motor, and energy control brain. For example, the thermal efficiency of the engine will break through to 46%, and take the lead in China to meet the "Euro VII" emission standard; In terms of transmission technology, the target CO2 emissions of the diesel-electric hybrid route will not exceed 95 g/km, and the plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric routes will adopt a new configuration of dual coaxial scheme; The energy control brain continues to be optimized, and the next-generation vehicle energy center concept is expected to be released in 2025.
What is the concept? In February and March this year, EU member states and the US Environmental Protection Agency respectively introduced stricter emission regulations. Among them, the new 2027-2032 emission standard released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that the CO2 exhaust emissions of the 2027 model year are capped at 170 grams per mile and 85 grams by 2032. In other words, the research results of DMH super hybrid technology in the next three years may be five years ahead of overseas.
"In terms of technical routes and their own industrial advantages, the stronger the tradition, the more difficult it is to give up, so they don't take the hybrid route more. That's why we can output in reverse. Lu Yong further added that the Germans also believe that the development of China's automotive technology is based on catching up with them, combined with China's advanced digital technology, so SAIC Roewe will also do corresponding output or cooperation with them in these aspects.
With the continuous development of technology, it is also believed that SAIC Roewe will continue to promote the iteration and optimization of DMH super hybrid technology, and strive to further promote the upgrading and development of China's automobile industry while maintaining performance advantages, and bring more high-quality new energy vehicle products to global consumers.