In recent years, with the rising oil prices and the popularity of charging facilities, the new energy vehicle market has ushered in a boom. A variety of new energy technologies have sprung up, including pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and extended-range hybrid. According to authoritative statistics, domestic passenger car sales will reach 22.26 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 99%。It is worth mentioning that the sales of traditional fuel vehicles fell by 24%, while sales of extended-range hybrid models increased by a staggering 181%. These new energy models with engines have won the favor of the market because of their high efficiency and energy saving characteristics, but also made traditional car companies feel pressure.
Why don't traditional car companies build extended-range engines?
It is strange that despite the hot market for extended-range power, many domestic companies known as leaders in engine technology have made few achievements in this field. With the gradual erosion of the traditional fuel vehicle market and the influx of Internet companies, the engine manufacturing experience accumulated by traditional automobile manufacturers for decades seems to be gone. This is in stark contrast to the fact that China's automobile industry was limited by the technology of foreign-funded enterprises when it started. So, how exactly does this contrast come about?
In fact, everyone knows the reason. In the past 20 years, China's automobile market has developed rapidly, and automobile manufacturing enterprises have sprung up, but the engine research and development capabilities have not been improved with the expansion of market demand. As a result, many automakers are faced with a dilemma in the face of growing car sales: they need to meet market demand, but they lack the ability to develop their own engines. Therefore, these car companies have to buy mature engines of foreign brands for reverse research and development, in short, imitation of foreign brand engines. This approach has indirectly led to some car companies giving up their desire for independent research and development, thus losing the ability to develop from scratch.
In the face of the boom in the extended-range market, many companies are discouraged by the lack of R&D capabilities for extended-range engines. The range-extender engine is actually a gasoline engine that powers the battery, and the only difference from a conventional engine is that it does not directly transmit power to drive the car, but converts it into electrical energy and sends it to the battery. As a result, the extended-range engine is able to stay in the most efficient power delivery range, which is simpler than conventional engine designs where fuel efficiency is a concern for all operating conditions. However, with no off-the-shelf technology to draw on, it was extremely difficult to develop such a seemingly simpler product from scratch.
What are the companies that can manufacture extended-range engines?
Judging from the current market situation, there are not many companies with the ability to build extended-range engines, including Dongan Power used by Leap, VOYAH and Nezha, Xiaokang Power used by Huawei Wenjie, and Xinchen Power selected by Li Auto, most of which are independent powertrain companies. For extended-range engines, an engine that can charge the battery with less fuel is considered better. Therefore, thermal efficiency has become an important indicator to evaluate whether a range extender engine is excellent.
In terms of the parameters of the current best-selling extended-range engine, Dongan Power's model DAM15NTDE extended-range engine has the highest thermal efficiency. In other words, this extended-range engine is able to provide more energy with the same amount of gasoline consumed. It is worth mentioning that this extended-range engine has also won the title of "Top 10 Hybrid Systems in the World".
Why is the level of Dongan Power's extended-range engine higher? You may not know that Dongan Power is the first powertrain enterprise in China to set foot in the field of new energy range extension power, and it is also the first enterprise to start mass production of range extension projects. For a long time, Dongan Power has been the absolute hegemon of the domestic commercial vehicle gasoline engine market, and a single enterprise occupies more than half of the market share. For commercial vehicle engines, economy and stability and durability are the cornerstones of their survival in the market. Dongan Power's market position is the result of the selection of various companies and enterprises through capital voting. In the case of extended-range engines, stability and efficiency are a perfect match for the needs of extended-range engines. Therefore, it is only natural to develop a more complete extended-range engine.
In the field of extended range power, the recognition of Dongan Power by the entire industry is surprisingly consistent. It is understood that in 2023, 72 new market projects will be approved by Dongan Power, and new energy projects will increase by more than 300% year-on-year. In January this year, Dongan Power approved 20 new market projects, and the new energy projects increased by 700% year-on-year, becoming an absolute leader in the field of extended range power.
Looking forward to the future, the development of the extended-range technology route is undoubtedly worthy of our close attention. It is expected that the range extender model will continue to grow strongly over the next 20 years. In the face of the continuous growth of sales of extended-range models, traditional car companies are likely to enter this market by directly borrowing or "copying homework". However, relying solely on imitation does not ensure long-term competitiveness. In the process of learning, traditional car companies should pay more attention to their own technology accumulation and the cultivation of innovation capabilities. After all, technology is the core driving force for the development of enterprises, and plagiarism can only bring short-term benefits, but cannot form a lasting market advantage.
Therefore, we look forward to seeing traditional car companies invest more resources in the research and development of range extender technology, and gradually improve their competitiveness through independent innovation and technology accumulation. At the same time, we also expect more technology-oriented power companies like Dongan Power to emerge in the industry to lead the new energy vehicle market to develop in a more prosperous and diversified direction.