*Author: Xuan Wang
The Shanghai Auto Show is about to open, and I believe everyone is already familiar with the theme of this year’s exhibition, which is “Embracing Change”. The global energy reform has accelerated the process of electrification in the automotive industry. In addition to electrification, the booming internet industry in China and the new entrants in the internet car industry have brought two new dimensions – “intelligence” and “connectedness”, to evaluate cars.
Therefore, in the past five years, the entire automotive industry has undergone tremendous changes. Today’s consumers have benefited from “change”, and the current task for traditional car companies is to quickly embrace this change.
Intelligence Comes First
SAIC GM Buick is currently the earliest traditional car company in China to embrace intelligence. On the SAIC GM brand day, they launched electronic architecture, electric platforms, assisted driving technology, and finally three new models. This shows SAIC GM’s strong execution in brand and technology transformation. Of course, only transformation can make products invincible in the future market.
Intelligence comes first, so electronic architecture will be the core technology for GM to enhance the competitiveness of both electric and fuel-powered products. Within the next four years, the new generation VIP intelligent electronic architecture of GM will be deployed in almost all products of Buick.
As a powerful technical center that connects and controls almost all functions of the vehicle, the new generation VIP intelligent electronic architecture has high-speed network data transmission capability, vehicle-level OTA update function, aircraft-level network security, and unlimited sustainable expansion potential. It connects “cloud, pipe, and terminal”, providing strong support for software-defined cars and car intelligence.
Continuing the successful experience of large-scale OTA upgrades that started last year, this year, after the upgrade of Buick’s eConnect intelligent interconnection technology, it will continue to implement large-scale OTA remote upgrades to improve vehicle connectivity and service experience, keeping the vehicle frequently updated. Buick models have achieved 100% cloud interconnection and will maintain the OTA upgrade frequency of more than once a year in the future.
Products built on the VIP intelligent electronic architecture will also support multi-module OTA parallel refresh, which not only has a faster speed but also ensures the coordination and reliability of function upgrades.
Assisted driving ability is an important dimension for evaluating the intelligence level of a car. Currently, 60% of Buick models have been equipped with eCruise intelligent driving assistance function. At the same time, Buick is also following up with V2X intelligent traffic technology, striving to achieve the linkage between road scenarios and assisted driving technology. In the future, Buick will also introduce the General Motors Super Cruise technology, which has high-precision map data, to further enhance product strength.From the current perspective, the demand for intelligent cabins is increasing, and the requirements are becoming higher. Therefore, Buick will introduce a new generation VCS virtual cabin system in future products.
According to the information released at the SAIC General Technical Day event, VCS will be a highly standardized configuration, equipped with the industry’s strongest high-performance vehicle-class SoC, a 33-inch panoramic ultra-retina screen, the world’s leading dual-depth laser AR-HUD, a new generation of intelligent voice assistants, and other high-standard hardware and technology. Its interconnect ecosystem and intelligent scene engine are perfectly combined, providing scene services such as seamless parking, intelligent energy supplementation, remote travel, and commuting planning, and cooperating with interconnect applications such as Baidu Maps, QQ Music, and iQiyi.
Electric Power
In the wave of electrification, traditional automakers are racking their brains to create electrification platforms to smoothly transition to electrification. Currently, General Motors has made the greatest progress in the underlying technology of the electrification platform among traditional automakers, bringing the revolutionary Ultium three-electrification platform. Of course, Buick will also benefit from this.
The wireless battery management technology wBMS mounted on the Ultium platform is industry-leading. Thanks to this technology, the battery modules communicate with each other wirelessly, reducing 90% of the wiring between the modules, reducing signal attenuation of wiring, optimizing the space and weight of the battery, and reducing costs. It can also optimize battery safety performance on the software level and perform real-time health checks on individual battery cells.
The burden-free wiring on the Ultium platform gives it greater flexibility in battery pack layout. Its interchangeable and upgradable battery modules, as well as the flexible arrangement of battery cells, can easily support feature upgrades and battery cell formula optimizations. Whether it is a lithium iron phosphate or ternary lithium battery, or future lithium-metal or solid-state batteries, Ultium can accommodate them.
Based on the Ultium platform, Buick can develop pure electric products with assembly line efficiency and cover every segment market at the fastest speed. By 2025, Buick will build at least five pure electric products. “Scale” and “speed” will be key factors for Buick to surpass its competitors in the Chinese market.
Dual-vehicle concurrency and clear product logic
Looking to the future, let’s return to the present. At the brand conference, General Motors brought two heavyweight new cars and a clear product logic.
The all-new Buick Encore Plus AVIA is a high-end all-around mid-size SUV designed for mature family consumers. It is based on General Motors mid-size luxury SUV architecture, has a 2833 mm ultra-long wheelbase and the leading large space in its class, and is equipped with General Motors’ new generation VIP intelligent electronic architecture.“`
In terms of power, the Buick Envision Plus AVIA is equipped with the eighth-generation Ecotec 2.0T variable cylinder turbocharged engine and a 9-speed HYDRA-MATIC intelligent gearbox from General Motors, and the entire series is equipped with a 48 V mild hybrid power system, which can achieve a maximum power of 174 kW and a peak torque of 350 Nm.
Among them, the eighth-generation Ecotec 2.0T variable cylinder turbocharged engine has Tripower variable valve management technology, which can intelligently switch between “four-cylinder high performance”, “four-cylinder economy”, and “two-cylinder ultra-economy” modes according to different power needs. With the advantage of the 48V mild hybrid power system, it can bring a smoother driving experience.
In terms of intelligence, the Buick Envision Plus AVIA, equipped with the new generation of VIP intelligent electronic architecture, has a data processing speed five times higher than the previous generation, with a data processing capacity of up to 4.5 TB per hour. It also supports 10Gbps high-speed in-vehicle Ethernet communication, which can efficiently transmit massive data in a short time and be fully prepared for OTA upgrades of technologies such as autonomous driving and V2X intelligent transportation.
The all-new Buick Verano Pro and Verano Pro GS are positioned more towards young athletes, equipped with the latest iteration of Buick eConnect 3.0 smart connectivity technology, equipped with dual 10.25-inch instrument and central control linkage screen, and supporting dual-screen linkage. It is also the first to introduce General Motors’ new 1.5T four-cylinder direct-injection turbocharged engine, matched with a CVT intelligent continuously variable transmission. Verano Pro and Pro GS adopt a double styling design. Verano Pro’s styling is stable while the GS’s styling is sharper and more sporty.
“`The latest iteration of Buick’s eConnect 3.0 intelligent interconnect technology is installed on both the Verano Pro and Verano Pro GS, providing rich integrated audio sources, high-precision navigation supported by Amap, OTA remote upgrades, Apple CarPlay and Baidu CarLife smart phone mapping, OnStar and AngelStar global online assistant.
In addition, the new car’s intelligent voice recognition capability has been upgraded, which includes the installation of the iFlytek voice system and the addition of personalized multi-voice recognition selection, enabling more natural interaction. For the first time, the new interconnect system has also added a children’s entertainment mode as an independent app, incorporating Himalayan children’s entertainment resources, and allowing audio content to be classified by children’s age and personalized content recommendations through children’s information settings.
The signal conveyed by this Buick Brand Day is that they will focus on building sub-brands in the future. Aviar to be positioned as high-end, “Weilan” for new energy, and the GS series to be positioned as trendy sports cars. A clear product vision will make Buick’s entire product line layout more orderly, and accurately identify potential consumers in the market.
In conclusion, Buick has demonstrated their planning and technical reserve in the areas of intelligence, electrification, and product layout. “Intelligence” has already become the foundation of the Chinese auto market, and it is a problem that traditional automakers cannot avoid. In the face of challenges, Buick is confident in its preparation.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.