Why is Wuling so red

Mondo Cars Updated on 2024-02-01

Last week, Wuling officially released the Wuling Red No. 1 battery - this is the first battery developed specifically for new energy commercial vehicles in China.

In the past few years, as long as you talk about batteries, what Kirin batteries, dragon scale batteries, Rubik's Cube batteries, magazine batteries, ideal 5C batteries, etc., students who pay a little attention to new energy technology must be very familiar. These batteries are either developed by battery companies for car companies, or developed by car companies themselves.

They have one thing in common, they are both for passenger cars , and there is no battery specifically for commercial vehicles.

Late arrival of commercial vehicle batteries

The rapid growth of new energy vehicles in China is not only the rapid growth of the proportion of new energy in online car-hailing and private cars, but also the delivery of goods in logistics, and even most of the semi-trailers have begun to be equipped with batteries.

Like passenger cars, new energy commercial vehicles at the beginning are designed to be fully electrified quickly. Hang a battery pack directly under the chassis, then remove the engine and gearbox, replace the motor and controller, and a pure electric car will be off the assembly line.

Such a "oil-to-electricity" car has been relatively rare in passenger cars in the past two years. With low battery life and poor performance, consumers are quickly familiar with these shortcomings. Car companies and battery companies have taken action to "uncoil" in battery technology, from large modules, to CTP, CTC, from air-cooled to water-cooled, and fast charging from 2C to 3C, 4C and even 5C.

However, in the field of commercial vehicles, it seems that action has become sluggish.

The commercial vehicle market pays attention to cost first and profit first. "Call it a black cat and a white cat, and if you catch a mouse, you are a good cat." Charge 5 cents a degree, refuel 8 yuan a liter, don't care about the pure electric platform, let's talk about it first. The "cargo lala" running on the road, all the "oil to electricity", anyway, the driver only wants to run cheaply.

But the problem often doesn't have to be unknown.

First of all, the battery pack is too thick, and the cabin floor tends to be higher than the same fuel version, and the cargo compartment volume is always smaller.

Secondly, the battery is mostly air-cooled, and the charging speed is extremely slow, which is basically equivalent to the level of passenger cars 5-8 years ago. In the high-speed service area, you can always see the goods in line to charge, and the students in the Yangtze River Delta should be deeply touched.

Finally, the early battery cell technology is immature, the mileage is long, the problem of exhaustion is gradually exposed, the usable battery life is getting shorter and shorter, and even the spontaneous combustion accident of the battery also occurs from time to time. The warranty conditions of commercial vehicles are not as friendly as those of passenger cars, and the volume is too weak, and most drivers are miserable.

Why can't a dedicated battery be developed for commercial vehicles?

Wuling Redbattery

Wuling named the first commercial vehicle battery "Wuling Red No. 1 Battery". "Red" represents originating from China and also pays tribute to Wuling's classic logo; "No. 1", which represents the first initiative, is backed by core technology and officially opens the "volume" in the new energy commercial vehicle track.

As can be seen from the promotional map, the whole battery pack is composed of 9 long modules arranged in sequence, and each module has 14 cells, which is very compact in structure and conducive to modular design.

On this battery, Wuling has come up with three "super stunts", including a core system and two leading technologies. To be honest, the "super stunt" is a bit exaggerated, but the technology behind these is indeed the first time that it has been put on a commercial vehicle.

1.A core system - Feiliu ultra-intelligent temperature control system.

This is the first liquid-cooled battery system for new energy commercial vehicles in China, which includes three core parts: Feiliu liquid cooling structure, intelligent temperature control system, and Feiliu thermal insulation mechanism.

In the Feiliu liquid cooling structure, 9 independent liquid cooling plates are arranged under each module at the bottom of the battery pack, which are horizontally arranged and connected in parallel with each other, which can fully cover the bottom surface of the battery cell. This design idea has the same effect as the general Autonen battery, with more efficient heat conduction, smaller coolant flow resistance, and uniform and efficient heating and cooling of the battery under high-speed flow.

Intelligent temperature control system, BMS can cool or heat the battery through real-time sensing of temperature at different positions inside the battery, with liquid cooling structure, so that the battery can always be maintained in the best temperature range when charging and discharging, so as to achieve accurate temperature control and improve the charging speed.

When charging in a low temperature environment, especially after the end of charging, the battery can cooperate with the cooling system for intelligent heat preservation. It not only ensures charging efficiency, but also improves the low-temperature range.

2.Two leading technologies - MUST ultra-thin structure technology.

Commercial vehicles need to have a large space and light weight, so that they can carry as much cargo as possible. And the battery pack hanging on the chassis happens to be the big and heavy part.

In order to reduce the weight of the battery, Wuling adopts MUST ultra-thin structure technology, which increases the overall strength of the battery by more than 60%, plus lightweight materials and high-strength design, to achieve high-density, detachable and easy maintenance of the battery, and effectively reduce the maintenance cost of the battery.

In order to give the battery **, Wuling has highly integrated the structural beams, side panels and thermal management functions, and the battery thickness has been reduced to 148mm, although this figure is mediocre in passenger cars, but it is already very good in commercial vehicles.

Wuling optimizes the chassis structure, and the battery is tightly placed in the middle of the girder, so as to achieve the ultimate in space utilization, return the space to the cargo compartment, and improve the rigidity of the chassis.

3.Two leading technologies - ultra-durable battery cell technology.

Commercial vehicles are often used in harsher environments than passenger cars. Passenger cars are generally a means of transportation, and car maintenance not only has a long mileage and heavy load, but also has more complex road conditions, so new energy commercial vehicles will have higher requirements for batteries.

In terms of battery cell materials, Wuling has also invested in real gold, and many new technologies are used in Wuling Red No. 1 battery.

In order to improve the fast charging capacity, the anode material uses a new graphite coating granulation technology, gradient coating of the battery cell, and low-impedance negative electrode interface construction, taking into account both fast charging and high-temperature performance. 30-80% charging time 30min, charging 1 meal, can run all day.

In order to prolong the life of the cell, the high-stability SEI film-forming technology and the low-defect graphite anode liquid phase coating technology are adopted to improve the electrochemical performance and stability, improve the cycle life of the cell, cooperate with the cell balancing function, balance the pressure difference, and restore the best state of each cell. According to the results of many measurements, the Wuling Red No. 1 battery can still maintain more than 80% of its life after 4,000 cycles, and it is not a big problem for commercial vehicles to run 1 million kilometers.

In order to ensure the safety of the battery, the highest level of flame retardant materials are used to protect the battery pack, and the internal structure of the cell, the solid-liquid interface and the material system are optimized and innovated.

Why Wuling

When it comes to Wuling, I always think of "what the people need, Wuling will build."

From the establishment of the factory in 1958, when Liuji to the current Wuling Motors, has more than 60 years of car history, it is China's highest sales of national car brands, Wuling's product history cumulative sales exceeded 27 million units, is China's largest sales of a single car company, no one. Among them, the cumulative sales of Wuling commercial vehicles exceeded 19 million units, and the sales volume of trucks exceeded 4.5 million units.

The generation of the god car of that year, Wuling Hongguang, has been the sales champion in the MPV segment for 13 consecutive years. For every 10 commercial vehicles sold in China, 5 come from Wuling. What a terrible market share this is.

With the development of China's new energy industry, Wuling has been deeply engaged in the field of new energy for 15 years and has made a systematic layout in the field of new energy. Hongguang MINIEV has single-handedly opened up a gap in the market of A00 pure electric vehicles and has become a benchmark in one fell swoop. Hongguang EV and Zhiguang EV are also emerging in the new energy commercial vehicle market.

On January 31, Wuling Motors released its first new energy commercial vehicle based on the original new energy platform, Wuling Yangguang, which was equipped with Wuling Red No. 1 battery for the first time. The body size is 4985 1800 1975mm, wheelbase 3050mm. Adopting the design language of a new generation of new energy commercial vehicles, the shape of the front of the car is more multiplical and dynamic, and with the shape of the square hard edge of the rear of the car, it creates a dynamic posture of swooping forward.

It must be safe and reliable, but also be able to install and run, and be able to save and earn", this is Wuling's car-making concept in the new energy era.

As a battery brand dedicated to new energy commercial vehicles, the future of Wuling Red No. 1 battery may have more possibilities. This reflects Wuling's long-term vision, deep cultivation of market segments, and the character of not compromising for short-term interests, and also reflects the sense of social responsibility of People's Wuling.

With its deep accumulation in the field of commercial vehicles, Wuling once again leads the industry as a "truck professional".

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