Author | Tian Hui

Editor | Qiu Kaijun

Voyah’s new car focuses on hybrid instead of range extender.

On May 7th, Voyah Dreamer was launched, and Voyahhai power platform was simultaneously released.

The Voyahhai power platform, referred to by Voyah officials as a native dual-power technology platform, means that there are both pure electric power versions and hybrid power versions.

Voyahhai power has two types of power versions: pure electric and hybrid. Among them, the hybrid version: intelligent multi-mode driving mode, is a huge upgrade compared to the previous plug-in range extender technology.

Intelligent multi-mode driving is a plug-in hybrid system that supports series-parallel mode. At low speeds, the vehicle drives in range extender mode, while at high speeds, the gasoline engine can directly drive the wheels. Essentially, Voyahhai power’s hybrid system is a set of DHT dual-motor plug-in hybrid system (DHT-PHEV).

Voyah’s first car, Voyah Free, adopted a plug-in range extender hybrid system (REEV), in which the gasoline engine is only responsible for generating electricity and does not participate in driving the wheels. The advantage of the plug-in range extender hybrid system is that the technical difficulty is low and mass production can be achieved quickly.

Compared with the old technology, the advantage of Voyahhai power’s intelligent multi-mode driving is lower energy consumption and stronger power.

However, plug-in range extender technology is currently a hot topic because new carmakers have placed a large bet on this technology.

The representative model of plug-in range extender is the LI ONE. With the hot sales of this car, plug-in range extender technology has been rapidly adopted by various car companies. Currently, there are plug-in range extender hybrid cars such as LI ONE, Voyah Free, Wanjie M5, Ai Chi U5, and Sky ME5 on the market. This year, other car companies such as Leapmotor, NETA, and Changan will also launch plug-in range extender hybrid cars.

Just as plug-in range extender technology was gradually gaining popularity, Voyah introduced the DHT-PHEV technology. What was the consideration behind it? What impact does it have on new energy vehicles?

Voyahhai power focuses on DHT

The core of Voyahhai power’s intelligent multi-mode driving technology is DHT.

DHT-PHEV technology has been adopted by many car companies, such as BYD DM-i, Geely Leiran, Great Wall Lemon, and Honda i-MMD. The hot sales of BYD DM-i and Honda i-MMD car models prove that this technology is an excellent technology welcomed by the market.

In terms of power layout, the Voyah Powertrain adopts a 1.5TGDI engine and front and rear dual-drive motors DHT powertrain, and the hybrid form is a hybrid connection method. Different driving modes are used in different speed ranges.

At low speeds, the gasoline engine generates electricity in a series-parallel range, supplying power to drive the vehicle motor and charge the power battery. When cruising at high speeds or accelerating rapidly, the gasoline engine directly participates in driving the wheels in parallel mode.

Different from the DHT-PHEV technologies of other brands, the Voyah Powertrain intelligent multimode drive technology also drives the vehicle in parallel mode during high-performance conditions, that is, the engine and motor drive the wheels together in high-performance mode. While BYD and Honda’s DHT technology are pure electric drive modes in this state.

Like most DHT-PHEV technology carmakers, Voyah prepared a special engine for Voyah Powertrain, which uses cylinder direct injection turbocharging technology to achieve a thermal efficiency of 41.07%.

In the Voyah Dreamer, the power battery capacity matched with Voyah Powertrain is 25.57kWh, which can travel up to 82 km on pure electric power.

In the calculation formula of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the weight of pure electric range is very important, and longer pure electric range often has lower energy consumption. Compared with the 160km range of the Voyah Free, the 82km pure electric range of the Voyah Dreamer has decreased significantly, does this affect the energy consumption calculation?

High-speed driving is the advantage of DHT

The energy consumption of the Voyah Dreamer is lower than that of the Voyah Free.

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Voyah Dreamer has a curb weight of 2540kg, and the WLTC driving cycle energy consumption is only 7.4L/100km. In comparison, the Voyah Free weighs 2280kg, but the WLTC driving cycle energy consumption is 7.6/100km.

With shorter pure electric range and heavier weight, the energy consumption level of the Voyah Dreamer is lower.

Why?

By comparing the models of Voyah, it can be seen that the energy consumption of Voyah Powertrain is reduced after adopting DHT-PHEV technology, and this energy consumption optimization is achieved without sacrificing power.This indicates that the DHT-PHEV technology used by the Voyah Dreamer is superior to the previous plug-in hybrid technology solutions. More specifically, the DHT-PHEV technology is a better solution than the REEV technology for heavy and large vehicles, such as the Voyah Dreamer.

Both DHT-PHEV and REEV technologies use range-extending driving at low speeds, where the engine generates electricity to power the motor and propel the vehicle forward. However, the difference lies in their high-speed driving capability. The DHT-PHEV technology allows for direct engine-wheel driving, while REEV does not. Thus, the energy consumption difference between DHT-PHEV and REEV mainly comes from high-speed driving conditions.

The fundamental reason for this energy consumption difference is the difference in the efficiency of the gasoline engine and the electric motor at high speeds.

The gasoline engine has the characteristic of being low efficient at low speeds but high efficient at high speeds. Conversely, the electric motor is the opposite, having high efficiency at low speeds but low efficiency at high speeds.

The DHT-PHEV technology uses low-speed electric motor driving and high-speed gasoline engine driving, making good use of their respective efficient ranges. On the other hand, the REEV technology, due to the gasoline engine’s inability to participate in driving at high speeds, puts the entire vehicle into an inefficient range.

In terms of energy consumption testing and actual usage, the DHT-PHEV technology can operate in a fuel-efficient state in all conditions, but the REEV technology consumes more gas when driving at high speeds than at low speeds.

A remarkable detail is that the Voyah Free has a DC charging interface design, while the Voyah Dreamer does not offer DC charging functionality. The subtle difference is that Voyah Dreamer’s energy consumption is not significantly different between high-speed driving and low-speed driving, so there is no need to waste time on charging.

However, users of vehicle models with REEV technology, although the gasoline range extender can provide enough power during continuous high-speed driving, may charge the vehicle using DC electricity while on the road to save fuel and improve the NVH experience.

The biggest advantage of REEV lies in its cost and development speed. REEV development is relatively simple, and the cycle from project approval to mass production is short. Car companies that adopt REEV technology are able to quickly meet the needs of consumers with fast energy replenishment requirements.Gasoline engines and generators in REEV technology are generally mass-produced in the form of range extender assemblies, with gasoline engines for direct use being available from third-party mature engines. However, the gasoline engines in DHT-PHEV technology require the development of new gasoline engines. BYD, Great Wall, Geely, Chery, Dongfeng and Honda all need to develop a new gasoline engine and spend huge resources on DHT transmission calibration.

Without the production and manufacturing experience of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, it is not affordable for new energy vehicle companies to develop DHT-PHEV technology from scratch in terms of time and cost.

Cost is also an advantage of REEV technology.

The REEV technology structure is simple, with core components being range extender assemblies, drive motors, and power batteries, each of which has a mature supplier. However, the DHT transmission in DHT-PHEV technology is self-developed and produced by each automaker, with a higher cost.

At the market level, there is also a practical need for REEV technology from consumers.

If consumers do not have much demand for high-speed driving in their car purchasing needs, REEV technology can also be a good choice. Especially in the small and medium-sized car market, which is generally used for city commuting and daily transportation, the pure electric driving experience and low fuel consumption performance of REEV technology can satisfy consumers.

Most importantly, REEV vehicles can refuel and recharge, providing consumers with a fast energy supplement solution.

The sales achievements of LI ONE also prove that REEV technology is a recognized technological solution by consumers.

In the future, more REEV technology vehicles may be seen in the small and medium-sized car market with less demand for high-speed travel. Meanwhile, DHT-PHEV technology will also have a large market space, especially in markets where charging is inconvenient, and this is a very good solution for the transition from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles.

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.