The trend towards electrification is undeniable, and almost all independent, joint venture, and imported car brands are undergoing a “new energy transformation” of their flagship models.
I understand this approach very well. Firstly, the foundation on which these car companies rely for survival is the gasoline car market. Don’t forget who dug the well when drinking the water. In addition, many forward-thinking car companies have maintained this well consistently, with the water quality (sales) comparable to sweet and delicious honey.
However, the trend towards electrification is visibly irreversible, so major car companies have targeted these types of transformations for their flagship products, which not only calm the hearts of gasoline car owners but also appropriately embrace the future.
Therefore, when it comes to reform, a clear struggle road needs to be planned from the beginning. As the battlefield becomes increasingly unpredictable over the past few years, you may find that your previous hesitation has resulted in the greatest losses not in terms of funds or personnel but opportunities. The wind only blows a few times. Some people take off while others decline.
Geely Group is like a large aircraft carrier, and Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Lotus, and Smart all have a firm belief in electrification and clear paths to electrification.
However, the earliest well of Geely Group – Geely brand – is now being discussed, and its former glory has become a puzzle for the innovator to rewrite its history. On the other hand, I see a new direction for Geely on the Starry Sky L Hi-P, which is the combination of a large battery and extended range.
Hi·P Principle Explained
First of all, it should be noted that the 3-speed “variable frequency electric drive DHT Pro” used by Geely in the Starry Sky L Hi·P technically belongs to the series-parallel structure of PHEV.
However, Geely focuses on the word “extended range” on the Starry Sky L Hi-P version, even in the driving mode of the vehicle on the test drive, and there is a special “extended range mode”, and the other modes are currently tentatively set as “pure electric mode” and “plug hybrid mode”.
Before discussing the extended range mode of the Starry Sky L Hi-P in detail, we still need to take a closer look at the hardware principle of Geely’s hybrid system.
Structurally, the Starry Hi·P is equipped with a 1.5 T engine, the power of which is the same as that of the Hi·F. This 1.5 T engine has a maximum power of 110 kW and a peak torque of 225 N·m.
As for the use of the motor, the Starry Hi·P still uses a combination of P1+P2 motors.
The P1 motor is the ISG motor, which is installed in front of the clutch at the rear of the engine. It is generally integrated into the engine flywheel, or combined with the flywheel through gears. It generally replaces the starter and serves as a generator, and cannot directly drive the vehicle.
Here, the engine crankshaft acts as the rotor of the P1 motor, so the P1 motor can not only make the engine start and stop more smoothly, but also directly push the flywheel to the appropriate speed range, which is reflected in the driving experience as smoother engine intervention, and even generate electricity through regenerative braking.
The P2 motor, on the other hand, is located between the clutch and the transmission and can disconnect the connection between the transmission and the engine, separately driving the front two wheels. During braking, it can also recover energy through reverse rotation.
However, since the P2 motor is located before the transmission, the two wheels driven by the front axle need to pass through the transmission, which means that in pure electric driving mode, the car does shift gears. That’s why their official designation for the transmission is “3-speed variable frequency electric drive DHT Pro”.
The structure of the DHT Pro, a variable frequency electric drive with three gears, is interesting. It achieves the three gears through two rows of planetary racks, not Toyota’s planetary gear power distribution.
The first gear has a large speed ratio, which allows for a catapult start. At speeds above 20 km/h, it can enter full-speed parallel mode. And on highways with speeds above 80 km/h, it determines whether to cruise in third gear or downshift to second gear for passing based on power demand.
Geely’s hybrid system used in the Hi·P, Hi·F, EM-F, and EM-P models is structurally identical and covers pure electric, series, and parallel modes. So why does Geely emphasize range extension on the Starry L Hi·P?
The rise of range extension
Despite Geely’s hybrid system being versatile enough to cover all scenarios, why does it emphasize range extension on the Starry L Hi·P?
A Range Extender Electric Vehicle (REEV), also known as an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV), is a type of hybrid electric vehicle that can operate solely on electricity, but with the assistance of a small gasoline or diesel generator to extend its overall range.
Let’s review the working principle of a range extender electric vehicle:> The start of the range extender transforms kinetic energy into electricity through the generator. The current generated by the generator has two directions, namely the battery and the drive motor. The amount of energy in these two power streams is judged according to the needs of the drive motor, with the majority of the current being allocated to the drive motor. The drive motor is finally connected to the tires, converting electrical energy into kinetic energy and thermal energy due to friction.
Although the concept of range extenders has been deeply integrated into consumers’ minds through companies such as Ideal and NIO, many people still believe that a range extender consists of an engine, a generator, a battery, and a drive motor. This situation itself would not occur, not to mention the excessive waste of energy conversion, and the battery itself does not support simultaneous charge and discharge.
So what are the benefits of a range extender? The main advantage is that pure electric drive gives the driving experience of the entire vehicle and improves NVH, which is infinitely close to that of an electric vehicle.
This is a significant improvement for fuel vehicles, which appears to undermine the advantages of electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the range extender used in the Star Yue HiP has put pressure on range-extender models such as Ideal and NIO.
With a 41.2 kWh battery and a 60 L fuel tank, as well as an engine with a thermal efficiency of up to 43.32%, this car can run up to 1,250 km even with only the series-connected mode of the range extender. In terms of the range-extender system alone, this is already a remarkable achievement.
Of course, the overall mileage of the car is longer in plug-in hybrid mode, and the official data shows that it can run up to 1,300 km. Yes, in plug-in hybrid mode, the increase in mileage compared to the range extender mode is only 50 km.
This shows that the efficiency of the range extender mode in the Star Yue HiP is comparable to that of the plug-in hybrid mode, while providing better NVH and driving experience. It’s no wonder that the range extender mode has taken the spotlight.
The highly efficient engine is not delicate and can make use of affordable 92 gasoline.
So, is the three-speed “Variable Frequency Electric Drive DHT Pro” mechanism useless?
The answer is that it is useful, but I hope you don’t use it.
The addition of three gears can indeed greatly improve the fuel consumption of the whole vehicle. Geely announced it to be 5.3 L/100 km. At the same time, the three gears also allow the car to reach a top speed of up to 220 km/h!
However, who would waste electricity and gas while having a 41.2 kWh battery? Although the top speed can prove the performance limit, how many people can really use a top speed of 220 km/h?
During the test drive, the engineers said that Hi·P can get ahead of the road conditions through navigation settings.
For example, if there is a traffic jam ahead and the vehicle’s pure electric range is relatively low, some extra battery power will be allocated in the hybrid and range-extending modes to prepare for the congestion. Cloud-based data connection makes the hybrid system more intelligent and user-friendly.
I understand Geely’s insistence on hybrid technology. Just like the “corner case” of autonomous driving, this insistence requires a huge amount of investment and may not yield immediate returns. In this continuous improvement process, they finally recognized or discovered the advantages of their own range-extending technology and were willing to maximize this advantage in their own vehicle models.
Huge Battery
Matching this range-extending system is a 41.2 kWh ternary lithium battery using CTP packaging technology.
It contributes 205 km of pure electric endurance range under WLTC to this car. The use of this large battery clearly takes into account real-world usage scenarios, which can basically meet one week’s urban commuting.
In addition to considering the actual commuting distance, Geely also increased the upper limit of the charging power of the battery to 85 kW on the Star Yue L Hi·P, allowing the natural advantage of the large battery to be released. The battery can be charged from 30% to 80% in as fast as 30 minutes.
I conducted a small test drive in pure electric mode for the test car.
The car carried three people and a lot of luggage, and the air conditioning and kinetic energy recovery modulation were turned on high. In a 6.5 km journey, the pure electric displayed endurance dropped from 161 to 149, a decrease of 12 km. The average speed of the short trip was not high at 34 km/h, and the actual power loss ratio to pure electric endurance was 1:1.84.
During this pure electric driving, my power consumption was 18.7 kWh/100 km, while the best result in the entire test drive was 13.7.
Throughout the entire drive, I also found that there are four levels of kinetic energy recovery, in addition to the conventional high, medium, and low levels, there is also an automatic mode. Under this automatic mode, the vehicle will adjust the intensity of kinetic energy recovery by sensing the distance to the preceding vehicle through millimeter-wave radar or camera. Overall, it is very similar to the BMW iX3.“`markdown
Of course, all of these have room for optimization before going public, so you don’t need to refer to them too much during this short test. If there is an opportunity to obtain mass-produced cars in the future, we will conduct tests according to the standards of 42Test.
Conclusion
Choosing the path of electrification for the Geely Star Yao L Hi-P was the right decision. The large battery + range-extender scheme greatly improves the driving experience and daily convenience of the entire vehicle, which can be perceived by real users.
Confusion makes the product team think more clearly about the product, but the hardest part is the pricing of this car.
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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.