Li Auto has always insisted on using extended-range cars, but it has been ridiculed by many people, saying that extended-range cars do not have too many technical advantages. In response, Li Xiang said that the extended-range car will be recognized by the market in 2025. Now that 2025 is approaching, it seems that Li Auto's prediction of that year is gradually becoming a reality.
At present, new energy vehicles can be divided into pure electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and extended range vehicles. Technically, hybrid vehicles are equipped with two powertrains, which is more technically complex. The extended-range car is just driven by the motor, and then the engine generates electricity to drive the motor, and there is not much new technology to speak of.
But now the situation has become more and more obvious, the range extender car does have the possibility of eliminating hybrid vehicles, what is going on?
In my opinion, what consumers need is not just how advanced the technology is, but whether it can meet people's travel needs. Now the price of lithium batteries has been decreasing, coupled with the fact that electric drive technology has been improving, which will inevitably lead to a thankless embarrassing situation for hybrid models.
But a range-extender car is essentially an electric car, nothing more than a charger in the back. The cost of production and use is much lower than that of hybrid vehicles, and it also has more advantages than fuel vehicles in the "feed-in state".
The reduction of power batteries makes range extender vehicles have more obvious advantages. Generally speaking, the advantage of extended-range cars is the long pure electric range, and the pure electric range of hybrid vehicles can reach 200km, which is really incomparable with extended-range cars.
This brings the savvy user to the question: if I buy a range-extender car, if the range is 200km, I probably won't need to recharge it for two weeks. But if I buy a hybrid car, such as the BYD Qin PLUS DM-i, with a minimum range of only 55km, wouldn't I have to charge it at two ends in three days?
As for the fact that hybrid cars also have a large battery, won't this offset the advantage of short range? But it's actually very hard.
Because the hybrid car itself is a superposition of the internal combustion engine and the electric motor, the car has such a large space, and the internal combustion engine is too strong, the battery space will naturally be squeezed, which will lead to a stronger range.
In addition, hybrid vehicles also need to take into account the needs of medium and low speed driving, which will inevitably bring more complex structures to it. Therefore, the manufacturer either reduces the battery capacity or reduces the battery power, which is a very difficult choice.
Although most traditional car manufacturers prefer hybrid models, the new car manufacturers are using extended-range models. But it doesn't mean that the technology is complicated is necessarily good, the key depends on how consumers choose, anyway, I am in favor of the research and judgment of the ideal car.