"Standing on the tuyere, pigs can fly", this sentence has always been regarded as a wise saying by many venture capitalists. It is also true, taking the automobile circle as an example, when SUVs became the outlet, Great Wall Motors, which focuses on SUVs, has sold millions of consecutive years and has become the best-selling Chinese car brand. When the market entered the new energy era, BYD, which had an early layout, seized the opportunity, with annual sales of more than 3 million, and entered the top ten in the world in one fell swoop. What I want to say today is that if methanol cars can become the next outlet, it must be Geely Automobile that takes off.
Why? Of course, it is due to Geely Automobile's deep layout in methanol vehicles. Since 2005, Geely has been exploring the technology of methanol vehicles for nearly 20 years, and has mastered a number of key technologies such as low-temperature cold start, development of special additives, development of methanol-resistant materials, emission control, methanol EFI control system, and methanol engine development. It can be said that Geely's upgrading of methanol technology has made Geely a world-leading car company in the field of methanol vehicle manufacturing.
I believe that at this time, many people will question why Geely will vigorously develop methanol vehicles in this era of new energy based on electricity. In fact, this also shows Geely's full forward-looking, in addition to the development of mainstream new energy tracks such as pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and extended range, it has laid the foundation for future development, after all, eggs cannot be put in one basket. Looking at the current market or high-tech field, there is a phenomenon, that is, if it is not a hit, it has been a blockbuster, in layman's terms, once a technological breakthrough is made, it is a big explosion and great progress. The steam age, the electric age, the information age, and each iteration of technology will be shorter.
That is to say, the new energy in the market is mainly electricity-based, but in the next stage of development, who has more adequate technical reserves, who can seize the tuyere, in the market invincible.
Of course, for the launch of any model, and even in the development and layout of any field, we must not make a decision as soon as the brain is hot, and it must be carefully considered and extensively investigated, as well as forward-looking technology research and development. Take Geely's methanol car as an example, everyone must have heard of ethanol alcohol, but few have heard of its brother methanol, in fact, methanol as a fuel is nothing new.
As early as the 70s of the last century, in order to alleviate the oil crisis, methanol became a substitute for gasoline as a fuel with physical and chemical properties close to gasoline, low price, and higher combustion efficiency than gasoline. Moreover, methanol is an oxygenated compound, and its combustion emissions will not produce so many harmful substances like petroleum, which is low-carbon and environmentally friendly. What's more, methanol fuel is inexpensive, less than half the price per liter of gasoline. However, at that time, the automotive technology was not yet able to handle the fuel, so it was never fully promoted.
Nowadays, with the research and progress of technology, methanol vehicles have been able to gradually land, for example, Geely Automobile has successfully solved the industry problems such as alcohol resistance and durability of methanol engine parts, mastered the core technology of methanol vehicles, and developed more than 20 models including methanol passenger cars, methanol trucks, methanol buses and other series of models, covering multiple power routes such as methanol direct drive, methanol hybrid, and methanol range extension, becoming the world's first OEM to realize the mass production of methanol vehicles. It is understood that at present, Geely methanol vehicles have been operated on a large scale of nearly 30,000 vehicles, with a total operating mileage of nearly 10 billion kilometers. With a maximum mileage of more than 1.5 million kilometers, it is the only company in the world that mass-produces methanol vehicles and promotes its products to Europe.
When it comes to methanol, the most well-known is that green methanol became the fuel for the main cauldron at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. It is understood that the zero-carbon methanol of the Asian Games flame fuel is produced from the world's first 100,000-ton green and low-carbon methanol plant invested and built by Geely, which can achieve zero emissions in the cycle, and is also the first time that methanol fuel with high combustion, clean emissions, renewable and convenient transportation is used in large-scale sports events. The methanol fuel used in the Asian Games flame will be transported by the long-range Xinghan G methanol heavy truck delivered to the Asian Games support fleet, and the fuel used in the transport vehicles will also come from the Anyang Green Methanol Plant, which is expected to reduce diesel consumption by 15,000 tons per year, reduce carbon emissions by 45,000 tons, and save about 30 million yuan in fuel costs every year, which not only saves costs, but also recovers carbon dioxide. Whether it is to become the fuel for the Asian Games or to ensure transportation, it is enough to witness Geely's technical reserves in the field of methanol and the country's gradual attention to methanol.
Indeed, from the perspective of the market and national conditions, methanol is more suitable for the actual situation of the mainland. As we all know, the mainland's energy structure is "rich in coal, poor in oil, and low in gas", of which 70% of oil alone depends on imports every year, and oil consumption in the transportation sector alone accounts for more than 70%. In contrast, most of the extraction of methanol comes from coal, and the mainland is also a famous coal country, high output means high self-sufficiency rate, and self-sufficiency rate means pricing power and safety, so the price of methanol will not rise and fall like oil prices, but is in a relatively stable state. For example, methanol is much cheaper than cars, and the current price of No. 92 gasoline is about 8 yuan per liter, while methanol is about 2 yuan per liter, and the calorific value of methanol is 1/2 of gasoline. In other words, two liters of methanol can be worth a liter of gasoline, so two liters of methanol will cost about four yuan, and a liter of gasoline will cost eight yuan, which can roughly save half of the money.
In terms of specific models, Geely's fourth-generation Emgrand alcohol-electric hybrid sedan, which will be launched in 2022, is equipped with a 1.8L alcohol-electric hybrid engine, achieving an average alcohol consumption of 7.7L per 100 kilometers, and the travel cost per kilometer is as low as 3 cents, which can not only solve the problem of battery life but also achieve low-carbon travel, which is more amazing than gasoline-electric hybrid. In fact, not only passenger cars, Geely has also made a major breakthrough in the field of methanol commercial vehicles, and its long-distance new energy commercial vehicle group is currently the only enterprise in China to launch a series of methanol products, and has laid out alcohol and hydrogen ecological technology, and built a diversified green methanol transportation capacity ecology through the integrated design of alcohol, vehicles, goods, stations, and finance. From the perspective of environmental protection, if one-third of domestic vehicles use green methanol fuel, it can reduce 80 million tons of oil imports and recover 132 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, ensuring energy security in the mainland's transportation sector and helping carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
Finally, from the perspective of the industry, any breakthrough of new technology requires an enterprise to be a crab eater, and a company needs to seize the commanding heights. When domestic car companies sit on the huge market of China and enjoy the dividends of the auto market, they should also make corresponding technical reserves, such as developing different forms of new energy directions and finding the final solution to the market.
In fact, Geely, which has long been engaged in the development of methanol vehicles, is not just pushing a car, but a complete set of solutions. Indeed, for Chinese car companies, with the progress of the times, it is more necessary to provide living space for new technologies, which will become the most powerful weapon in the future when it collides with multinational car companies. But in any case, I think methanol cars are the most likely to be the new outlet, and Geely is also the most likely to be the first to take off.