Although everyone has the same purpose, they have different directions. Some directly introduce pure electric vehicles; Some have already started the transition of hybrid models in advance; Some people have found another way to develop extended-range electric vehicles. No matter which way is taken, I believe that the market and consumers will eventually give the answer.
On the road of developing new energy vehicles, Toyota is one of the earlier car companies and is basically impartial. Hybrid, pure electric, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and so on are almost all good. Especially hybrid technology, from 1993 to now, where is Toyota? More than 20 years of efforts have been devoted to Prius hybrid vehicles. It can be said that in this long time, Toyota has invested huge resources in this model.
The "secret" of hard work
Toyota wants to teach China car companies.
Recently, the news that Toyota wants to share hybrid technology with Guangzhou Automobile Group has attracted attention. According to the nihon keizai shimbun, BluE, a Japanese company that develops and supplies hybrid electric systems for Toyota? Nexus has reached a technology transfer agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Group, which will launch Toyota THS system on 202 1. Half-breed? System) mixed products.
Blue? Nexus is a joint venture of Toyota, Denso and Aisin Seiki, which can be described as a joint venture of industry giants. Since its establishment in April 20 19, the company has been committed to the development and sales of the indispensable electric drive module for electric vehicles, as well as its system software calibration service.
According to reports, the company previously shared hybrid technology with other Japanese partners of Toyota, such as Mazda and Subaru. But the cooperation with Guangzhou Automobile Group is blue? Nexus shares technology with non-Japanese companies for the first time. According to the nihon keizai shimbun, not only GAC, blue? Nexus also intends to share the technology with Geely Automobile.
Free sharing technology
What is the thinking behind this?
It is worth noting that this is not a sale, but a free sharing. I believe many friends are really confused when they see this place. This patented technology, which consumes a lot of time, energy and money, is shared with competitors for free. Is Toyota crazy?
In fact, this is not without precedent. In April last year, Toyota announced that it would provide Toyota's patents (including projects being applied for) on vehicle electrification technologies such as motor, electronic control and system control for free, totaling about 23,740 patents, with a term of 2030. Other enterprises can use the above technology for free as long as they negotiate and sign a contract with Toyota.
On the surface, Toyota is really generous, but in fact, Toyota is very selfish.
First of all, the most realistic problem is that patents have a time limit. One of the basic patents of Toyota's hybrid power system, the core patent of planetary gear, expired in the United States and Europe in February 2065438+2007. In China, there are 13 patents related to Toyota planetary gears, and the application time ranges from 2003 to 20 12 years. Among them, the first batch of "planetary gear set" patents will expire in 2023. Therefore, it is better to be an "accommodating person" than to hold it in your hand, and maybe you can turn your enemy into your friend and earn some fame.
Secondly, although there are still technical problems in pure electric vehicles at this stage, hybrid electric vehicles are generally regarded as the best model for the transition to pure electric vehicles, but pure electric vehicles are still the object of vigorous development in the industry. Toyota's sharing of hybrid technology with other car companies will also help it to open up the global hybrid vehicle supply chain. After all, within the scope of global automobile manufacturing, the supply chain of hybrid vehicles is not as huge as you think.
Starting from 200 1, Toyota has imported more than 20 hybrid models to China. Not long ago, the Toyota booth at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show also displayed six models: Asian Dragon Twin Engine, Camry Twin Engine, Corolla Twin Engine, Ralink Twin Engine Sport Edition, Housing Fusion Twin Engine and Willanda Twin Engine.
When the hybrid kinetic energy is on an equal footing with pure electric, the sales of Toyota's hybrid models will naturally increase.
In 20 17, Toyota announced an important time node for popularizing electric vehicles by 2030, that is, among the new cars sold in 2030, HEV and PHEV models will exceed 4.5 million, EV and FCEV models will exceed 1 10,000, and the total number of electric vehicles will exceed 5.5 million. Later, in order to cater to the policy, Toyota advanced this goal by about five years, that is, the total number of electric vehicles will exceed 5.5 million in 2025.
This is also the reason why Toyota provides hybrid technical support to Guangzhou Automobile Group. At present, China is the largest automobile market in the world. Introducing hybrid technology into China will help Toyota achieve the sales target of electric vehicles faster.
Third, Volkswagen, the world's largest automobile group, announced that it would open its MEB modular electric vehicle production platform to other manufacturers. How can Toyota sit still?
Competitor Volkswagen transformed into electrification and opened up MEB platform integrating all electrification technologies of Volkswagen. The platform will be shared with Ford * * * in the future, and will be the first to be opened to SAIC and FAW, two partners with the largest sales volume in China. The mind of the public is clear at a glance. It not only wants MEB to become the standard of the public, but also wants it to become the standard of the whole industry.
Previously, Volkswagen proposed at the annual meeting of the group in March 12 that in the future 10, on the basis of the original plan to launch 50 electric vehicles, the number will be increased to 70. Volkswagen's ambition is clear at a glance, and Toyota's proud hybrid has lost its due attention in this context. So, if you share, I will share, not "fight to the end".
Ma Yue:
The patent terminology mentioned above is actually only one aspect. In the horse-drawn carriage market, Toyota wants to take this opportunity to promote hybrid technology and change this passive situation. After all, it is weak in electrification. But no matter what kind of consideration, when the technology of each automobile manufacturer is becoming more and more mature and the competition is becoming more and more fierce, consumers will ultimately benefit.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.