Author: Dazhao

Introduction: Starting from the Benben estar, Changan New Energy has only just touched upon some of the ways to play with new energy. From the stunning release of the C385, to the leading super-set electric drive, all demonstrate that Changan New Energy has already awakened. It remains to be seen how they will proceed with the product, which is just one aspect of keeping up with the times. Other crucial factors include internal unified mechanisms, cutting-edge marketing awareness, and a completely new channel layout.

In terms of new energy vehicle technology, battery technology and intelligent technology have been the most widely discussed topics in recent years. However, electric drive, which is essentially a drivetrain assembly built around an electric motor, is rarely mentioned. Even though discussions of electric drive technology are not as common, it is still worth paying attention to due to its significant role in improving the driving efficiency of electric vehicles and increasing their range.

Looking back at the development of new energy vehicle electric drive technology, integration is the key from dual-in-one, to triple-in-one, and now multiple-in-one. Previously, dual-in-one was the mainstream on the market, but now many new cars have switched to triple-in-one, and a very small number of models have started to test the waters of multiple-in-one. Therefore, from an integration perspective, multiple-in-one can be considered the “most advanced” electric drive assembly technology available today.

At present, there are not many manufacturers that have mastered (passenger car) multiple-in-one technology, including component suppliers such as Huawei and Japan’s Nidec. On July 24th, at the first “Open Win-Win Integration and Innovation” Technology Ecology Conference of Changan Automobile, Changan also released a seven-in-one, which should be the first OEM to release a seven-in-one, demonstrating the impressive technical reserves of Changan New Energy.

Outstanding Comprehensive Performance

This official release means that the Changan New Energy seven-in-one will soon enter mass production. However, Changan New Energy has not disclosed many details about this seven-in-one, but we can still find some clues from some earlier reports.

In fact, as early as January 7, 2019, Changan New Energy had already revealed some information about this seven-in-one ahead of time. According to the introduction, the Changan New Energy seven-in-one consists of seven components: the vehicle controller, high-voltage splitting box, motor controller, DC converter, charger, motor, and reducer.

According to the person in charge of Changan New Energy, based on its appearance, the seven-in-one is at least half the size of a traditional internal combustion engine and is made of pure aluminum, weighing only 100 kilograms.

The person in charge also stated that this system belongs to the second generation of Changan Automobile’s integrated electric drive system. Compared with the previous first generation (motor, controller, and reducer integrated into a three-in-one package), the overall performance of this system has been significantly improved.

This time, Changan New Energy has also disclosed some of the core parameters of the super-set electric drive, as shown in the figure below:## Technology and Marketing Keeping Up with the Times

Originally scheduled for release and installation in 2020, Changan New Energy’s 7-in-1 car was delayed due to the impact of the pandemic. However, during this period, the 7-in-1 made further breakthroughs and is now being launched.

For example, the voltage platform was originally designed to operate in the 240-450V full power voltage range. However, due to the maturation of technologies like silicon carbide and the market’s demand for 800V, the current 7-in-1 can cover a wide voltage range of 240V-800V and has two series products of 450V and 800V.

Thanks to the improvement of the voltage platform, the single-car charging range has also achieved further improvements, with a maximum range of 400-1000km, and the 1000km range has reached the top level of the industry.

Changan New Energy named the 7-in-1 with the term “Ultra-Integrated Electric Drive”. In this era of rapid iteration of new energy technologies, it is necessary to use meanings and simple names for marketing to help consumers quickly understand the characteristics of new technologies, including blade batteries, cartridge batteries, and more.

For this ultra-integrated electric drive, Changan New Energy states that it has two major characteristics: “deep integration” and “ultra-high efficiency,” achieving two major technological breakthroughs, the “industry’s ultra-high electric drive system efficiency” and the “world’s first electric drive high-frequency pulse heating technology.”

High Integration Efficiency

We will analyze them separately. First, regarding “deep integration,” this has already been mentioned earlier in the text. The ultra-integrated electric drive has achieved the 7-in-1, which is the top level in the industry. Secondly, “ultra-high efficiency” is an important parameter for determining whether the electric drive performance is strong enough.

According to the introduction, through multiple advanced technologies and independently developed efficient control software, the ultra-integrated electric drive maximally reduces mechanical and electromagnetic losses, and overall losses are reduced by about 1/3. The overall efficiency of electric drive system assemblies has reached over 95%, and the average efficiency under various working conditions is over 90%. Overall, it is an excellent level.

In highlighting the efficiency of the ultra-integrated electric drive, Changan New Energy uses a few more data to further illustrate that using the ultra-integrated electric drive on a car model can achieve a further reduction of about 2 tons in carbon emissions throughout the entire life cycle of a single car for 10 years and 300,000 km.

Pioneering Electric Drive High-Frequency Pulse Heating Technology

In addition to deep integration, another technology that Changan New Energy is proud of on the ultra-integrated electric drive is “electric drive high-frequency pulse heating technology,” which Changan defines as the world’s first technology.About the high-frequency pulse heating technology for power batteries, we are no strangers to it. It is a kind of self-heating inside the power battery, which achieves preheating of the lithium battery by generating heat through the Joule heat produced by the internal impedance of the lithium battery through discontinuous high current discharge. However, the electric drive high-frequency pulse heating technology is something we have never heard of before.

Although it is electrically driven heating technology, its ultimate goal is still to heat the battery. According to reports, the adoption of this technology has achieved rapid heating of lithium batteries at ultra-low temperatures, and it can heat up 20°C in 5 minutes in a -30°C environment, quickly improving battery charging and discharging efficiency and performance.

In order to verify the efficiency improvement of the battery heating under low-temperature conditions brought by the super-electric drive high-frequency pulse heating technology, Changan New Energy connected the Changan Automobile Global R&D Center Arctic Laboratory at the event site for the world’s first -30°C high-frequency pulse heating challenge, which successfully heated the battery from -30°C to above -10°C within 5 minutes in the extremely cold environment.

In addition, with the waste heat recovery technology adopted by the super-electric drive, the winter range at low temperatures can be effectively improved by 40-70 kilometers.

Launching the Application

At this ecological conference, Changan New Energy also released the first strategic vehicle model of the new dedicated electric platform (EAP1) – C385, positioned as a crossover sedan with eye-catching overall styling, particularly the “unique” tail wing.

Regarding C385, there is currently not much information, and we will keep an eye on it. What we currently know is that C385 will use CATL batteries and be matched with Changan New Energy’s new generation of super-electric drive.

The Electric Force Has Its Say

As we enter the second half of 2021, the global new energy market is already significant. New energy is no longer a future direction, but an important segmented market that must be considered now. Previously, Changan New Energy had almost no voice in the market and missed the first wave of development window periods. This hindsight is worth pondering.

Starting with Benben Star, Changan New Energy has finally figured out some ways. From the release of the stunning C385 to the leading super-electric drive, all of which demonstrate that Changan New Energy has awakened. What it comes down to is how to move forward, as products are only one aspect of keeping up with the times. There are also internal and unified mechanisms, cutting-edge marketing awareness, and new channel layouts, all of which make up the key to winning.

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.