Some bigwigs in the circle have criticized the extended-range hybrid system as unenvironmentally friendly, technologically backward, and even the worst power solution, although this kind of evaluation has a certain degree of reasonableness, but Xiaotong believes that the right to judge should be handed over to ordinary consumers.
Looking at the current new energy market, auto brands represented by Ideal and AITO have received good market feedback by relying on extended-range power models. In addition, more and more new forces and traditional brands have also begun to deploy range extender power, which is enough to prove that range extender power is still thriving today.
What's more, extended-range power has invaded the pickup market.
On March 1, Changan Automobile officially launched the world's first extended-range pickup truck, Changan Hunter. The new car is available in three versions with a total of eight configurations, and the price range is 13990,000 yuan-21690,000 yuan. On the other hand, other best-selling pickup trucks in China, such as the Great Wall Cannon, are basically based on traditional fuel power, and new energy pickup trucks are also available, but without exception they all use pure electric power.
Why did Changan Automobile dare to become the first car company to eat crabs?
New energy pickup trucks have been developed for several years, but they have never been developed. A large part of all pure electric pickup trucks are oil-to-electric models, and their performance in terms of safety, handling texture, and driving comfort may only be qualified, not to mention range anxiety, charging speed and other unsolved problems.
Although traditional fuel power has shortcomings such as poor comfort and high energy replenishment costs, it is still the first choice of most users with mature technology, which makes the technology iteration speed of the domestic pickup market very slow.
Therefore, Changan uses the range extender power with simple series structure, low maintenance cost and comprehensive use cost on the pickup, which may bring unexpected surprises.
As the world's first extended-range pickup, the biggest attraction of the Changan Hunter is naturally the range extender. Xiaotong learned that the range extender was made by Blue Whale 20T engine and R100G generator, the maximum efficiency of the engine is as high as 97%, and the electric power of the range extender is leading the industry in both low and high speeds. The official term "1 ton, 30 degrees of continuous driving on a 30-degree slope" can be used to describe the strong power generation.
It is worth mentioning that most of the range extender models on the market will lock the power retention at about 15%, and the range extender of the Changan Hunter will only start charging when the minimum power is 8% when driving on pure electricity. In many cases, details determine success or failure, and a power difference of about 7% can actually allow the vehicle to run 15k more in pure electric modeThe direct benefit to consumers is to save time and money.
In addition, it is precisely because of the use of extended range technology that the quietness of the Changan hunter is more outstanding, and it is equipped with dual-loop safe charging and discharging technology, which has a better self-power generation capacity than pure electric pickups, and the official said that the discharge capacity can continue to hot pot for nearly 5 days.
It is precisely for this reason that Changan dares to directly say that range extension is the optimal solution for pickups.
Unlike most sedans, SUVs, and MPVs, the use scenarios of pickup trucks are relatively complex and harsh, and the demand for vehicles such as pulling people and carrying goods and muddy roads often occurs, and consumers attach great importance to the safety of vehicles. As a new energy pickup, the quality of Changan Hunter will inevitably attract the attention of users.
In response to this, Changan applied the self-developed Golden Bell Jar battery and IBC digital battery manager to Changan Hunter, and launched technologies such as micro-nucleus high-frequency pulse heating, a new generation of battery integration, and double-layer liquid-cooled battery protection technology to ensure the safety, traceability, and longer-lasting thermal insulation ability of the battery.
It is worth mentioning that based on the uniqueness of the non-load-bearing body architecture of the pickup truck, the Changan Hunter wraps the battery in the left and right longitudinal beams to realize the cage-type safety battery anti-collision structure, which is equivalent to adding a longitudinal beam protection to the battery.
In order to ensure the carrying capacity and ability to get out of trouble that the pickup truck should have, Changan Hunter adopts the industry's first high-efficiency coaxial electric drive axle - which directly integrates the motor, reducer and bridge tube design. Such a compact structure allows the vehicle to cope with higher load requirements, and can also increase the motor control efficiency to 94%.
At the level of electronic control, Changan Hunter uses the first power domain controller technology to control the front and rear drive work in the best way of efficiency, and the dual-motor controller algorithm technology can also adaptively distribute the power torque of single and dual motors, which not only covers the power needs of the whole scene, but also has an intelligent electric four-wheel drive response speed of only 20 milliseconds, which is 11 faster than the traditional four-wheel drive5 times.
For users, the above-mentioned technical performance of Changan Hunter is actually difficult to be perceived by users, and consumers are more concerned about whether Changan Hunter has ride comfort, driving texture and handling and off-road experience beyond traditional fuel pickups.
To this end, Changan Automobile has created the Wuyue platform based on the most stringent verification system CA-TVS, and Changan Hunter is based on this platform.
For braking, the pressure construction time of the brake cylinder of the traditional fuel pickup truck is 300ms, and the Changan Hunter compresses the time to the extreme of 150ms through wire control technology, and the pressure construction capacity reaches 180bar, which is the highest in the same class. In order to solve the pitching phenomenon and nodding phenomenon caused by braking, Changan Hunter is also equipped with the CST comfortable braking function that is the first in the pickup truck industry.
In view of the driving quality, Changan Hunter provides 10 driving modes, which is undoubtedly the pickup with the most driving modes in the industry, and also develops the industry's first one-button injection function. Even in the long-distance climbing with a load of nearly 1 ton and an altitude difference of more than 2,000 meters, the vehicle can still achieve efficient energy replenishment, which effectively solves the problem of diesel pickup Dora jogging and high-speed weakness.
In addition, the Changan Hunter is also generous enough in the configuration, the chassis uses a double wishbone front overhang and a five-link rear overhang, and the first tank U-turn mode in China reduces the minimum turning radius of the vehicle to 554m, the three locks carried on high-end off-road vehicles, are also equipped on Changan hunters. In addition, Changan Hunter showed leading auxiliary configurations, such as dynamic instrument display, assisted driving, 40W on-board wireless fast charging and other intelligent configurations, which are more in line with the entertainment needs of current consumers.
In the past, pickup trucks were a very popular model, after all, their practicality and passability were much stronger than traditional SUVs. However, due to the restrictions in various regions, the development of pickup trucks has been restricted, coupled with the high cost of energy replenishment, etc., the pickup truck market has gradually become a niche market, and it is difficult for anyone to break through it.
With the gradual increase in consumer demand for cars, pickup trucks are favored because of their excellent cargo and off-road capabilities, and the progress of automobile manufacturing technology and the deepening of customization culture have promoted product innovation and competition, and the pickup truck market has finally ushered in an inflection point.
Statistics show that the cumulative sales volume of the global pickup truck market in 2023 will be 6.01 million units, of which the total sales volume of the Chinese pickup truck market will be 3390,000 units, and it is expected that by 2030, the size of China's pickup truck market will reach 2 million units. Changan's plans for pickup trucks are not at all polite, with 500,000 units sold worldwide in 2030, ranking among the top five in the world.
The advent of the new energy era and the unbundling of policies seem to have made car companies see the dawn of the rapid development of the pickup truck market. Chang'an took the lead in drinking the first soup and solved the user's pain points The Changan Hunter of the extended-range pickup truck is expected to bring new competitive pressure to other car companies that produce pickup trucks.
Perhaps there will also be a war in the new energy pickup market.