Strictly speaking, Toyota currently has a pure electric vehicle in the domestic market. After all, the GAC Toyota C-HR EV and FAW Toyota Yize E Jinqing are both sister models. Compared with the rise of Tesla and the frequent actions of new domestic car-making forces, Toyota, a company with more than 20 years of hybrid technology accumulation, has significantly slower model layout. It seems to have entered the "virtual market". model".
The third oil crisis in 1990 forced a gradual change in people's concept of using cars. In January 1992, Toyota issued the "Toyota Global Environmental Charter", which is the basis for Toyota Motor Corporation's participation in environmental protection. A general outline formulated in terms of policies, action guidelines, and participation systems. The purpose is to effectively solve the growing environmental pollution problem and energy shortage. Toyota intends to change people's dependence on traditional gasoline engine models. In 1993, Toyota launched a project code-named G21, which was the prelude to the hybrid model Prius. The development of four generations of hybrid Prius is Toyota's actual presentation of the contents of the charter.
Toyota has accumulated 27 years of experience in the research and development of hybrid models. Because it "jumped the gun", it now has enough capital to "sit back and relax" and patiently find the next development direction. . Toyota has mature and rich electric technology reserves. The existing motor, engine, electronic control system, and battery can be combined to create an HEV, PHEV or EV model. Of course, Toyota also has FCEV (hydrogen fuel cell vehicle) models that have been put on the market. An engineer from GAC Toyota once said that Toyota is walking on "four legs".
The same PHEV and EV models are more expensive than fuel vehicles. As we all know, the battery is the main reason for the high cost of EV models. In addition, the battery quality and the energy conversion efficiency within the unit battery are also factors. Inversely, this also involves the issue of battery life of EV models.
C-HR EV inherits the advantages of the fuel version, and it also has the characteristics of an electric vehicle. This is a very mature product, which uses Panasonic’s newly developed large-capacity nickel-cobalt Manganese ternary lithium-ion power battery, the car sells for 225,800-249,800 yuan after subsidies. Its top version is nearly 70,000 yuan more expensive than the top version of the fuel version, and its NEDC cruising range of 400km is higher than that of many independent brand EVs. The model has no advantages. Obviously, C-HR EV is obviously contrary to the affordable price and high quality-price ratio of Toyota's family cars.
As a segment of the passenger car market, the new energy vehicle market is greatly affected by policies. A large number of consumers are concentrated in first-tier cities with limited license plates. Car owners can enjoy new products in order to get a piece of them. Energy policy license plate is the main car buying motivation. It should be pointed out that the current market demand for new energy is only the beginning, and the market vitality has not been fully released.
Although it is not a good time for Toyota to launch a large number of pure electric vehicles in the country, this is a good opportunity for Toyota to make money through technology.
As early as 2019, Toyota Motor announced that it would provide free use rights to patents held by Toyota on vehicle electrification technologies such as motors and electronic control systems (including projects under application). The number of patents is as high as 23,740. . However, these patented technologies are not completely open for use, but provide free patent rights. When car companies use it, they must apply to Toyota and then discuss specific implementation conditions.
For car companies, getting technical support does not mean that they can build a car. Later vehicle adjustment is also a key part. Toyota will charge for this part of technical support. . It's like you get the answer to a problem when you solve it, but the teacher still needs to teach you the method and techniques of solving the problem. In addition, Toyota can also sell part molds to patent-using companies at a price lower than other car companies' separate molding prices, and there are many other ways to make profits. Car companies seem to have obtained the right to use patents, but this is not a "free lunch."
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Toyota's open patent technology will not only form alliances with other companies, but also make them technologically dependent. At the same time, these pure electric vehicles using Toyota technology will also give car owners a psychological construction for future Toyota pure electric vehicles.
Toyota does not seem to have officially entered the domestic pure electric vehicle market, but it has already made profits through another way and has launched a future market layout.
Recent news has revealed that solid-state batteries, the core component of Toyota's next-generation electric vehicles, may be unveiled during the Tokyo Olympics. It is planned to equip the e-Palette bus that will be put into operation during the Olympics with solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries are considered by the industry to be an important part of the electrification transformation of automobiles. The batteries are not easily affected by extreme temperatures and have an energy density 2-3 times that of current lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries are lighter, last longer and are safer. Toyota's solid-state battery prototype charges much faster than current lithium-ion batteries, charging from zero to full in just 15 minutes. However, the durability and safety of solid-state batteries still need to be further improved.
According to Keiji Kaita, executive vice president and general manager of the battery industry of Toyota Motor Powertrain Company, "Toyota hopes to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2025." Due to limited scale in the early stages of development, solid-state batteries The price will be higher than that of lithium-ion batteries. In the future, if solid-state batteries are to compete with traditional internal combustion engines, the cost will be far less than US$100/kW. Toyota hopes that this battery can maintain an initial performance of more than 90% after more than 30 years of use.
If solid-state batteries can meet Toyota's design standards and costs are effectively controlled, Toyota's pure electric vehicles at that time can continue to be as affordable and economical as Toyota's gasoline vehicles. It is expected that Toyota will Only at that time will a large number of pure electric vehicles be launched.
In addition to pure electric vehicles, Toyota has also found another form of energy source, FCEV hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen can turn into water after a chemical reaction, which is a truly "zero emission". The second-generation model of Toyota's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Mirai, has been unveiled before.
The safety and reliability of hydrogen fuel cells still require a large number of samples to be tested, and the infrastructure construction cost of hydrogen refueling stations is much higher than that of gas stations and charging stations. However, there are always some similarities in history. The first-generation Toyota Pruis, born in 1997, was also controversial at the time.
By 2030, Toyota's global sales of new energy vehicles are expected to reach 5.5 million units, with HEV and PHEV models accounting for 4.5 million units, and EV and FCEV models accounting for 1 million units. EV and PHEV models will remain Toyota's main models in the new energy market in the future.
Our original intention of developing new energy vehicles is to find alternatives to oil and alleviate or even solve the growing energy crisis. Before we completely adopt renewable energy for power generation, pure electric systems may still be a transitional form of power for new energy vehicles. Toyota HEV and PHEV models can effectively reduce fuel consumption and extend the time to find clean energy. After all, they are a transitional solution. Will FCEV models become the ultimate solution? It is still an unknown number, but the probability of it becoming the optimal solution will be higher.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.