Insert and lead! The era of hybrid vehicle power in China is coming.
In 2023, hybrid and pure fuel played a game in China market, and the offensive and defensive shifted. In the same year, the situation in which Japanese cars dominate the hybrid field will also end. Following the introduction of BYD DM-i super hybrid system, an "electric-based" hybrid technology, into the hybrid market in 2021, domestic independent car companies quickly followed suit. In 2022, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles in China was 1,514,800, up more than 1.5 times year-on-year, and the market share far exceeded that of hybrid vehicles (HEV). In 2023, plug-in and hybrid models of various configurations have fully covered various market segments such as SUV, sedan and MPV. The blending technology of "China Program" not only captured the city in the domestic market, but also aimed at the global market.
The finalists waiting for the static evaluation by the judges
On October 28th, the "China Heart" 2023 Top Ten Engine and Hybrid System Selection real vehicle test, sponsored by Automobile and Sports Magazine and co-organized by Gaoyou Municipal Government, kicked off in Gaoyou Jialian Automobile Test Site. Engines and hybrid systems of 15 automobile companies from Dongfeng Nissan, Great Wall Motor, SAIC Roewe, Changan Automobile, Geely Automobile, BYD, Chery Automobile, Dongfeng Motor, SAIC-GM, FAW Hongqi, Guangqi Honda, SAIC Volkswagen, BMW Brilliance, Changan Ford and Changan Mazda were shortlisted for this year’s real vehicle test. Among the 15 finalists this year, there are 9 plug-in hybrid systems and 1 hybrid system. In 2022, there were only three plug-in hybrid systems and one hybrid system.
Yang Jianjun, editor-in-chief of Automobile and Sports Magazine, introduced the shortlisted power system.
"This year is the outbreak year of plug-in hybrid power systems of independent brands. There are 9 plug-in hybrid systems, 1 hybrid system and 5 gasoline engines, of which 8 models are from independent brands and 7 models are from joint venture brands. " Yang Jianjun, editor-in-chief of Automobile and Sports Magazine, said that in addition to the conventional series-parallel single-gear and multi-gear hybrid systems, some enterprises continued to innovate and upgrade on the basis of the original series-parallel hybrid technology, forming the characteristics of their own technical attributes, and diversified configurations formed a leading trend in the industry. In the field of pure fuel engines, joint venture brands still have fine models shortlisted, which is obviously different from the direction of independent brands.
() The original technology increases, and the R&D strength of local car companies highlights.
This year, the number of original power system technologies shortlisted increased, which brought many surprises to the expert judges. "In the past, when enterprise engineers introduced products or technologies, they liked to say: In what way do we do better than others? Now people often say: Which technologies are original?" Blue River, a senior auto media person, said in one sentence the distinctive features of the power system that was shortlisted this year.
Senior auto media person Blue RiverTalking about the shortlisted power system this year
This is indeed the case. In this year’s hot mixed market, most car companies began to focus on creating products with more distinctive technical characteristics based on vehicle and market demand. For example, Hi4 plug-in technology of Great Wall Motor provides consumers with cost-effective products with four-wheel drive function at the price of two-wheel drive through configuration innovation; FAW Hongqi 20TD hybrid engine fully considers the demand of high-end brand vehicles for power and comfort, and achieves breakthroughs in high efficiency, high comfort, high intelligence and high lean; Chery Kunpeng super-performance hybrid C-DM was developed at the beginning of research and development, focusing on the simultaneous development of domestic and foreign markets; BYD, as always, adheres to the "electricity-oriented" plug-in and hybrid scheme, and specially builds a DMO super hybrid off-road platform for the off-road market, completely releasing the imagination space of "electricity" and reconstructing the existing off-road market structure and technical benchmark with stronger electric driving force and off-road performance.
Dongfeng r&d team at the test site
What is even more rare is that Dongfeng Motor’s Mach-electric hybrid DH-i third-generation hybrid technology adopts the industry’s first "series-parallel+power shunt" configuration, and creatively uses power shunt to shift gears without using clutches and complex shifting mechanisms, which can achieve the ultimate balance of fuel consumption, power, NVH and other performances in all road conditions and full speed domain, and realize In this evaluation, Dongfeng’s young R&D team was unanimously appreciated by the judges.
Professor and doctoral supervisor of School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Yao Chunde, deputy director of the expert evaluation committee of the "China Heart" annual top ten engine and hybrid system selection.Introduce this year’s real vehicle test live.
The technical route and technical features of this year’s shortlisted engines and hybrid systems have reflected the complete, rational and mature R&D ideas of enterprises in development positioning, technical route determination and future product planning. "Even if the technical routes of autonomous car companies are the same, they have their own characteristics in technical details." Yao Chunde, a professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, and a doctoral supervisor, said that we have seen different technical means in the same EGR and thermal management technology. Some enterprises adopt the innovation of materials, some adopt the innovation of configuration design, and some make great efforts in calibration.
On-site discussion between judges and car company guests
"At present, there are more and more hybrid models on the market. In this field, independent car companies are ahead of joint venture brands, and many companies have established unique hybrid routes, branding their respective hybrid technologies with technical DNA." Han Zhiyu, a professor at Tongji University and a member of the International Society of Automotive Engineers, said.
() The cost is gradually leveled, and the fully rolled fuel oil is mixed.
Among the short-listed pure fuel vehicles, there are also many good power systems. SAIC-GM Cadillac CT6 equipped with 2.0T gasoline engine, in the test drive, experts generally believe that it has abundant power, sensitive accelerator pedal response and excellent NVH performance. SAIC-GM’s calibration method, which combines software and hardware well, has been affirmed by experts.
Xu Min, Dean of Automotive Engineering Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Director of Expert Evaluation Committee of "China Heart" Top Ten Engines and Hybrid Systems of the Year.On-site comments on the real vehicle test this year.
However, there are also joint ventures that have been spit out by many judges in this real car test. In the global market, Honda is the first car company to enter the plug-in hybrid market. However, in this real car test, the performance of Haoying E: PHEV equipped with 2.0L plug-in hybrid system of Guangqi Honda is obviously compared with the products of its own brand. "As Honda’s fourth-generation hybrid technology, its power is obviously insufficient, and it is very different from domestic car companies in NVH and other aspects." Xu Min, Dean of Automotive Engineering Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Director of Expert Evaluation Committee of "China Heart" Top Ten Engines and Hybrid Systems, is outspoken.
The competitiveness of the blended products of China car companies in cost makes the judges more excited. Among the finalists, the lowest price of Changan Automobile Qiyuan A05 is less than 90,000 yuan, which makes experts feel incredible. SAIC Roewe D7 and Chery Fengyun A8 also attracted the attention of experts. Both plug-in hybrids, these three models have been well received by experts in terms of design, interior configuration and power itself.
"Our blended products can make the price less than 90,000 yuan. No matter from the advanced technology or cost, we have completely crushed pure fuel vehicles. This means that we have a competitive advantage in the global market! " Xin Jun, founder of Yisen Technology and co-founder of Huaying New Energy, said. Xin Jun also praised the SAIC Roewe D7 equipped with a 1.5L plug-in hybrid system: "In actual driving, the driving experience of traditional fuel vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles is completely different. The switch from electricity to oil is very smooth, the power system matches the whole vehicle very well, and the acceleration performance of 100 kilometers is also very good. "
"After the test drive of Fengyun A8, Equation Leopard and Fengshen Haohan, I feel that my own brand has improved the power system technology and manufacturing capability of the whole industry to a new level through the plug-in technology." Li Liguang, a professor at Tongji University, a doctoral supervisor, a fellow of the International Society of Automotive Engineering, and deputy director of the expert evaluation committee of the "China Heart" annual Top Ten Engine and Hybrid System Selection, said.
"Although the plug-in hybrid technology has more controllers, motors and other components than the traditional internal combustion engine, the overall cost of hybrid technology in the whole industry has decreased, making its popularization possible. With the help of the motor, the engine can do subtraction and focus on the improvement of energy consumption performance. " Zu Bingfeng, director of Tianjin Internal Combustion Engine Research Institute, said.
In the interview with corporate guests that day, we also learned that some joint venture partners of enterprises have discussed the cooperation of electrification technology with them. Whether it is the advanced technology, cost control, even the stability of quality, and the understanding of users, China automobile enterprises have shown their competitiveness in the field of blending.
Test site
Suddenly, like a night wind blowing, as if the pear trees blooming. In 2023, blended products emerged in China market, which became the new automobile sales force. From January to August this year, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid cars in China has exceeded that of last year, reaching 1.529 million, an increase of 86.9% year-on-year. In the "China Heart" 2023 Top Ten Engines and Hybrid Systems shortlisted for the real vehicle test, we really saw the hybrid technology route with a hundred flowers blooming. We expect these technologies not only to take root and sprout, but also to flourish and open up a new world.
Thanks to Jiangsu Weibo Power Technology Co., Ltd. and Wuxi Shengding Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. for their support to this event.
() Increase understanding and promote development, and seek cooperation opportunities for local governments and car companies.
Speech by Zhou Wei, member of the Standing Committee of Gaoyou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Party Secretary of Xiejia Town.
Different from previous years’ selection, this year’s "China Heart" campaign received strong support from the local Gaoyou municipal government. Zhou Wei, member of the Standing Committee of Gaoyou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and secretary of the Party Committee of Xiejia Town, said that Gaoyou has a certain foundation for the development of the automobile industry, and has initially formed an industrial chain integrating R&D and production of low-speed electric vehicles, thermal management systems of new energy vehicles, lightweight automobile parts, automobile wheels and other parts, hoping that more automobile enterprises can invest in Gaoyou.
Shi Meishan, Vice Mayor of Gaoyou CityPromote the industrial situation of Gaoyou city
Shi Meishan, deputy mayor of Gaoyou City, also introduced Gaoyou’s industry to the participating car companies. "We hope to strengthen cooperation with domestic car companies in the fields of new energy electric vehicles, automobile motors and driving assistance systems, and actively seek cooperation in the fields of technology transfer, equity grafting, product matching, manufacturing bases, etc., and promote the development of more auto parts enterprises, power lithium batteries and energy storage systems, and hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers in Gaoyou." Shi Meishan said that he will provide enterprises that invest in Gaoyou with government services that are more efficient, policy support that is more satisfactory to enterprises, a fair and just legal environment, and a social environment that respects and loves business, and create a "strong magnetic field" for attracting investment with a first-class business "soft environment" and create a Gaoyou model that "good places are easy to handle".
Activity site Gaoyou local parts enterprise exhibition area
Gui Junsong, Editor-in-Chief of China Automobile Newspapermake a speech
Gui Junsong, editor-in-chief of China Automobile Newspaper, said that the "China Heart" annual top ten engine and hybrid system selection, together with "Ward Top Ten Engine" and "International Engine of the Year", is the only automobile power system selection in China, which witnessed the history of automobile power development in China. “‘ China Heart ’ The selection is not only a selection activity of industry motivation, but also a platform for technical exchange and cooperation within the industry. I hope I can use ‘ China Heart ’ The annual testing activity is an opportunity for more auto companies and auto parts companies to learn more about Gaoyou and create opportunities for mutual cooperation. " He said.
