Since the first quarter of 2020, new energy vehicles have entered a market turning point and begun to grow rapidly. In this process, charging networks have been rapidly rolled out and battery energy density has continued to improve. However, compared with the sharp increase in the number of new energy vehicles, the improvement of charging and other infrastructure has not yet been able to meet the needs of users.
This makes some consumers have doubts about "difficulty in charging" and "slow charging", and this undoubtedly highlights the advantages of extended range: precisely under the premise that the infrastructure is not fully covered, The range extender uses a small range extender with low fuel consumption and a power battery with a relatively large capacity, which provides the most "technically cost-effective" technical solution and greatly alleviates the range anxiety of new energy consumers.
This can be seen from the sales data of new energy vehicles in August this year:
According to data from the Association of Automobile Manufacturers, 666,000 new energy vehicles were sold in August 2022, accounting for 27.9% , by the end of 2022, it is expected to achieve a 30% proportion of new energy vehicles. Among the monthly sales of more than 600,000 new energy vehicles, extended-range and other plug-in hybrid models account for nearly a quarter.
Plug-in hybrid models, including extended-range models, have solved consumers’ anxiety about “mileage” – carefully looking at the brand’s sales report card in August this year, pure electric brand NIO is among the new forces and Xiaopeng were slightly weak, with sales of 10,677 and 9,568 units respectively; Li Auto, which focuses on extended range, delivered a report card of 4,571 units due to the mingling of new and old models. Among the brands that delivered 10,000 units, an extended-range hybrid appeared. The new name of Dongfang——AITO Wenjie series models.
The Wenjie series models are jointly designed by Cyrus Automobile and Huawei. Among them, the currently sold Wenjie M5 and Wenjie M7 use extended-range power. These are two very interesting products: < /p>
On the one hand, under the restrictions of "extended range" and "300,000 price range", Wenjie M5 and Wenjie M7 are not alone. Ideal ONE and Lantu FREE both belong to this range; but AITO questions The world series models have achieved more than 10,000 deliveries at the fastest speed;
On the other hand, AITO is not the only brand supported by Huawei, but the difference is that Jihu and Avita All are equipped with Huawei technology, and the Wenjie series has achieved the same design and development as Huawei. It is still the only car brand that uses Huawei channels to sell in mobile phone stores, and even directly appeared at Huawei press conferences.
The Wenjie series is recognized by users, and battery life is an important reason. The Wenjie M7 addresses the problem of "mileage anxiety" and maximizes the driving range and ease of use:
In recent tests by China Automotive Research Institute, the Wenjie M7 rear-wheel drive version achieved a comprehensive driving range of nearly 1,300 kilometers - with an average fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km. The specific test conditions are:
China Automotive Research Institute’s engineers selected a series of complex roads such as urban working conditions, fast working conditions, and high-speed working conditions to simulate daily use scenarios. With full fuel and full battery, the Wenjie M7 rear-wheel drive comfort version has an actual cruising range of 1,290km. The instrument shows 10km remaining, and the average fuel consumption is 5.2L/100km. Such data is not exaggerated to say it is excellent.
Such product performance is inseparable from a "user-centered" culture. Define products from customer needs and define technology from the platform - this is the fundamental driving force behind the choice of range-extended technology path for Wenjie M7 as we have seen. From what I understand, the target customer groups of Wenjie M7 are mainly: users who value family, have certain needs for vehicle space and quality, and pay attention to the practical value of the model.
For such users, car purchase and use revolve around family travel needs; it is precisely around this profile that large space, driving range, and ease of use have become the key product selling points of Wenjie M7.
Intelligent range extension platform
Among all PHEV technologies: the biggest advantage lies in the electric drive experience. The series architecture allows the shaft end power to be always output by the main drive motor. , ensuring a smooth electric drive experience, but due to the complexity of the overall power system architecture, high integration and efficiency requirements are also placed on the electric drive system.
The biggest difficulty of the range extender platform is the control of the range extender. The range extender needs to work within a fixed working range to ensure as high efficiency as possible. At the same time, the range extender must also work with the range extender. The generator is coupled, and the energy flows to the two outputs of the main drive motor and the battery.
Therefore, efficient overlapping intelligent control and comprehensive energy management of the range extender are key technologies - it is precisely because these two technologies were immature in the past that the series configuration has not been practical. Achieve theoretically low fuel consumption.
As one of the earliest car companies involved in the new energy field, Cyrus Automobile has developed a pure electric drive intelligent platform, which can match a variety of new technologies such as pure electric and extended range through intelligent control systems. Energy power system solutions.
On this platform, the Wenjie M7 was born, which is equipped with a 40kWh CATL CTP battery; the rear drive is a 200kW high-performance main drive motor, and the four-wheel drive version is also equipped with a 130kW front drive motor; extended range The machine uses a 1.5T four-cylinder engine.
Drive system technology
As mentioned above, the biggest advantage and biggest difficulty of the extended range platform are the electric drive and the range extender respectively. This is also the focus of building a pure electric drive intelligent platform. core components.
In terms of electric drive
Wenjie M7 is equipped with the golden combination of HUAWEI DriveONE high-efficiency oil-cooled three-in-one electric drive and six-in-one integrated DHT assembly. Through the matching of torque management and energy management Optimization achieves lower energy consumption and strong power output. The six-in-one integrated DHT powertrain of the front motor highly integrates the engine, GCU, generator, dual-mode reducer, MCU, and drive motor into one.
This means that more layout space is left for the power system and vehicle layout, which also makes the overall design more compact, the cooling circuit utilization rate is higher, and redundant materials are reduced; the rear motor HUAWEI DriveONE is a high-efficiency oil-cooled three-in-one electric drive that highly integrates MCU, motor, and reducer. The high degree of system integration and motor oil-cooling design make the system drive efficiency as high as 93%, and the overall efficiency reaches 89% under CLTC operating conditions.
In terms of range extender
The 1.5T four-cylinder engine uses deep Miller cycle technology and is specially designed for range extension conditions. It also uses a 15:1 high compression ratio and low pressure. EGR technology improves thermal efficiency under specific load ranges. The thermal efficiency data of 41% is also worthy of praise in the world's advanced engine efficiency rankings.
Battery aspect
Wenjie M7 adopts the strategy of installing a large battery. The 40kWh CTP battery (Cell-to-Pack) allows Wenjie M7 to have a pure electric cruising range of 230km. , not only can easily meet the needs of daily commuting, but also further saves the space inside the car.
In addition to the core of electrification technology, Wenjie M7 also pursues "both internal and external improvements" to reduce energy consumption as much as possible and increase mileage - Wenjie M7 has made every effort from the vehicle styling to the power chain. Possible reduction of resistance: including low-resistance calipers, low-resistance wheel bearings, low rolling resistance tires, etc. Lower mechanical resistance of the vehicle brings better endurance performance.
Back to the question, Wenjie M7 is a benchmark extended-range case - facing family customers’ demands for mileage and ease of use, Wenjie M7 is equipped with key electrification technology (pure electric drive). Intelligent platform), and further consider reducing the layout volume of the power system as much as possible for home use scenarios, ensuring users' large space and comfort.
In the rapidly developing new energy market, the sudden rise of the Wenjie series of products not only symbolizes the strength of Cyrus Automobile, but also shows the user's recognition of product features.