Title: The development of extended-range electric vehicles in China
Introduction
Who is stubborn and who is insightful about consumer demands?
As we all know, automobiles have a development history of more than 100 years. With the development of the industry, electric vehicles have gradually been realized and the era of new energy is inevitable both now and in the future. The changes in the Chinese new energy market are also very fast. There are hybrid cars, plug-in hybrid cars, extended-range electric vehicles, and pure electric vehicles in the electric vehicle market. These types of electric vehicles coexist for a long time. If we had to say which one has the most convoluted development history, it would be the extended-range electric vehicle.
Advantages of extended-range electric vehicles
First, compared with other types of electric vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles have a greater advantage in that they are equipped with a motor group in addition to the traditional power battery group to make up for the short range of pure electric vehicles by consuming traditional fuel. In addition, the battery capacity is relatively small, reducing the cost of the vehicle. Therefore, when charging the power battery of an extended-range electric vehicle, you can choose to use a small charging pile or a household power socket instead of the more cumbersome method of replacing the battery, saving costs.
Second, extended-range electric vehicles can be said to achieve “zero consumption, zero emissions.” When the power battery is fully charged, the operating mode of the extended-range electric vehicle is in pure electric mode, and the power is derived entirely from the power battery, which is equivalent to a pure electric vehicle.Therefore, the supercapacitor energy storage component, as well as the special power system structure of extended-range electric vehicles, is the main development direction for future electric vehicles.As a result, extended range electric vehicles have three operational modes: pure electric mode, hybrid mode, and extended range mode. In the electric mode, it is no different from a regular electric vehicle. In hybrid mode, the power battery is used to store energy, which can recover energy during vehicle start, acceleration uphill, and braking. Simply put, this mode is essentially the same as the principle of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. In extended range mode, the vehicle first uses external devices to provide electricity. When the battery SOC drops to a certain value, the vehicle can continue to drive by using the electric energy provided by the onboard generator unit, which also extends the driving mileage.
It can be seen that through the analysis of the three different operating modes of the extended range electric vehicle, they all have obvious differences. However, in an era of scarce resources and limitations in pure electric vehicle technology and battery technology, extended range electric vehicles are undoubtedly the electric vehicle with the most development prospects. However, its development history is indeed the most difficult and turbulent, also known as the “three ups and downs.”
What is the “three ups and downs”?
In 1881, in France, Trouve invented the first rechargeable electric vehicle using Plant’s invention of lead-acid batteries. It was a tricycle driven by two Siemens DC motors, weighing 160kg, with a speed of 12km/h, slightly faster than human jogging speed. Then, in 1882, in England, Elton invented a more excellent lead-acid battery-powered electric vehicle, with a battery capacity of about 1.5 degrees, which can achieve a maximum range of 40km. At the same time, with the use of lead-acid batteries, rechargeable electric vehicles were born. Soon after the invention of electric vehicles, in 1885, in Germany, Karl Benz developed the first internal combustion engine-powered car, which laid the foundation for the design of modern cars, but its disadvantage was poor reliability. At that time, the automotive market was basically formed by the three different types of steam, electric, and internal combustion engine.
At this time, the 22-year-old Ferdinand Porsche was very enthusiastic about electronics. He invented the hub motor and obtained a patent. Therefore, through continuous experimentation, he finally built the first pure electric car Lohner-Porsche, whose energy came entirely from huge lead-acid batteries, and the total weight of the battery pack even exceeded 1.8 tons. As a person with a close relationship with Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche’s background is the level of a manual craftsman. Later in 1900, Ferdinand installed a completed four-wheel-drive model, breaking multiple speed records, and shocking the Paris World Expo.However, inevitably, the problem of short battery life in electric cars still plagued car makers. In order to solve this issue, Ferdinand Porsche added an internal combustion engine to an electric car, giving birth to the world’s first range-extended electric vehicle in which the car could run at speeds above 40 kilometers per hour. However, it still had some shortcomings such as the lack of gearboxes, rotating shafts, and drive belts. In addition, with the improvements in petroleum development and internal combustion engine technology, electric cars gradually lost their advantages after 1920. This resulted in internal combustion engine powered cars dominating the automobile market, with only a few cities retaining streetcars, trolleybuses, and limited battery-electric cars. The fate of electric cars was stagnant for nearly half a century.
In the 1970s, after being stagnant for almost half a century, the oil crisis began. Automobiles powered mainly by fossil fuels encountered various problems and impacts such as rising oil prices, environmental pollution, and most seriously, air pollution. Energy conservation and emission reduction became the consensus among various manufacturers. In the face of this, the first step is to improve and upgrade technical reserves, and therefore requires continuous experimentation. At that time, Japan and South Korea mainly chose to challenge hybrid cars, pure electric cars, and fuel cell vehicles, while European and American countries focused their efforts on diesel engines, range-extended electric vehicles, and pure electric cars.
In 2007, at the North American Auto Show, the Chevrolet Volt concept car appeared, heralding the return of range-extended electric cars more than a hundred years since their inception. Using the original Voltec electric drive technology, the Volt could be charged from a standard 220V household power supply to operate purely on electric power for a range of 80 kilometers, meeting daily driving needs. In situations where the battery runs low, the engine drives the generator to produce electricity to supply the motor. With a fuel tank capacity of 35 liters, the Vlot can add about 490 kilometers of range. Similarly, the principle is basically the same as the range-extended electric car in Ferdinand Porsche’s era a century ago.After Chevrolet tried it, many manufacturers followed suit. At the 2011 Frankfurt International Auto Show, BMW launched two models, the i3 electric car and the plug-in hybrid model, with a 19 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor with integrated electronic device, charger, and generator. The maximum output power can reach 125 kW, and the maximum torque can reach 250 Nm. Audi also launched the A1 e-tron plug-in hybrid model almost simultaneously, which can travel 50 km in pure electric mode. If the journey exceeds 50 km, a small engine installed under the luggage compartment can charge the battery. The principle is almost the same, and the function is also to extend the vehicle’s range.
Then in 2014, the Chinese brand GAC Group’s Trumpchi also launched the GA5 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. However, due to the fact that the engine in the system was only used for power generation and not for power output, this car was discontinued in 2016. It is undeniable that although these several mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have achieved some breakthroughs in technology, they have not been recognized by the market because of their low sales and have gone the way of discontinuation. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles still face many problems.
However, the appearance of Tesla, which dominates the market, completely changed the situation. Not only did it show that electric vehicles can have good range and charging speed while ensuring performance, but the government’s policy subsidies also encouraged many manufacturers to focus on the research and development of pure electric vehicles.
Especially for Tesla, no domestic manufacturer can catch up with or even surpass Tesla in the field of new energy vehicles, but range and charging are still the pain points of electric vehicles. Therefore, the most efficient way to solve the problem of range and charging is the hybrid mode. However, from the global research and development situation, it has been relatively slow. Chevrolet, BMW, and other manufacturers who dared to try it were typical examples of failure. Fortunately, after years of education on electric vehicles, everyone has a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the solutions to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.People generally wonder whether it is redundant to have the electric motor drive after the engine has generated electricity. In fact, it can achieve very high efficiency. As we all know, the efficiency of the internal combustion engine of a fuel car becomes very low when driving in the city’s congested traffic, which is why fuel cars consume a lot of fuel during daily driving. However, the internal combustion engine of a plug-in hybrid electric car does not directly drive the wheels, so it is less affected by road conditions. Its only role is to generate electricity to drive the motor that drives the wheels, and it can even store excess electricity in the battery when available.
Therefore, overall, plug-in hybrid electric cars are generally more efficient, fuel-efficient, and environmentally friendly in most situations. Nowadays, they can be seen as a “charging treasure” for batteries, eliminating range anxiety and highlighting the advantages of electric cars, especially in complex driving conditions in China – this is the best time for plug-in hybrid electric cars to shine.
Looking at national strategies and the development of the automotive industry, the country has clearly classified plug-in hybrid electric cars into the field of pure electric vehicles in industrial policies. PHEVs still belong to the category of fuel cars, bringing new opportunities for the development of plug-in hybrid electric cars. After stabilizing safety and price, the trend in recent years in the new energy market is to pursue the development of longer range.
In the trend of the 2021 new energy electric vehicle market, people are no longer buying into claims of 1000 km range for pure electric cars. They hope to abandon unrealistic fantasies and solve fundamental technical problems through technical means. This year, we have seen the emergence of “silicon doping and lithium supplementation” technology, long-range silicon negative electrode batteries, and BYD’s blade battery. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid electric cars, once sneered at, have suddenly become “honored guests” of many car companies.## Development of Range-Extended Electric Vehicles in the Future
Since 2020, the new car manufacturer, NIO, has been focusing on developing the range-extended electric vehicle market to seek differentiation in the new energy market. In addition to NIO’s model ONE, other manufacturers such as Voyah, Sailisu, and others have also announced new range-extended electric vehicle models in 2021. In addition, BYD’s DM-i hybrid and Dongfeng Honda’s plug-in hybrid version of the CR-V with iMMD technology have entered the range-extended electric vehicle market. It is easy to see that the current trend in the market is leaning towards range-extended technology, similar to the second wave of the development of this technology. Before blindly choosing, many car companies have conducted in-depth exploration of range-extended technology. BMW, General Motors, Nissan, as well as Chinese car makers GAC, Geely, and Chery, have all conducted in-depth research on range-extended electric vehicles, and some car makers have already applied this technology to their production models.
The popularity of range-extended technology is largely due to the positive relationship between the development and evolution of policies in the Chinese new energy market. As we all know, the development of China’s new energy automotive industry began with the “Three Verticals and Three Horizontals” roadmap. The “Three Verticals” refer to hybrid electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles; and the “Three Horizontals” refer to multi-energy powertrain control systems, motor and control systems, and battery and management systems. In recent years, the policy status of range-extended electric vehicles has been continuously elevated.
In December 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Regulations on the Management of Investment in the Automotive Industry,” which clearly included range-extended electric vehicles in the category of pure electric vehicles. In April 2020, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Notice on Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for Promoting the Application and Popularization of New Energy Vehicles,” which provided central financial subsidies for range-extended vehicle models, once again demonstrating the recognition and support of the government for the range-extended technology roadmap.
In addition to policy support, technological breakthroughs are also important. The third-generation range-extended electric vehicle – the electricity-generating direct-drive electric vehicle – was proposed by academician Yang Yusheng. As the name suggests, this is a technology in which an engine generates electricity and directly drives the electric vehicle, and the electricity generated by the engine can directly drive the electric motor without passing through the battery. This technology also enables range-extended electric vehicles to achieve fuel efficiency of 60% or even higher.The third-generation range-extender technology also imposes high requirements on batteries, namely fast charging support, in order to have the best of both worlds, more advanced battery technology is needed for the development of the range-extender electric vehicle. The key to the popularity of range-extender electric vehicles is the establishment of the technology route of range-extender plus big battery. However, engine and battery technology must be improved first, which is obviously not an easy task. In Chinese automakers, research and development in engines have always been lagging, but with the breakthrough of power battery manufacturers such as CATL, China’s battery technology ranked among the top in the world and even leading in application. From the consumer’s point of view, as a new car-making force, LiXiang ONE is also a hot topic in itself. Consumers have also launched heated discussions about LiXiang ONE and the range-extender technology behind it. Although opinions are divided, it is indisputable that consumers have unprecedented awareness of range-extender technology. There used to be experts mocking that only fools would make range-extender electric vehicles. Apart from the humor, it is not difficult to see that it is very difficult to make good range-extender electric vehicles, with a very high degree of difficulty not only involving technical issues, but also national policies and trends in the automotive market. However, currently, more and more experts and business representatives are speaking out for range-extender technology, and even stars like LiXiang are making sensational products that could bring a revival to range-extender electric vehicles after a hundred years.
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.