Text/Liu Wenwen
Not long ago, after claiming that "China's new energy vehicles have no technical content", Sony Honda Mobility CEO Izumi Kawanishi recently publicly belittled Chinese trams again, threatening that "Chinese trams have no technology at all, and I will not retract this view."
Previously, in an interview with the media, Chuan Xiquan said: "Although the development speed of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers is strong, in terms of information technology, it is just like the icons of smartphones, and there are no technical surprises at present." ”
Is that really the case? An industry expert interviewed by China News Service called him a bit of a layman.
It is difficult to hide the suspicion of "piling up".
"Izumi Kawanishi's remarks feel a bit of a layman." Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of North China University of Technology, told China News Service that the country is a through train.
He explained that in simple terms, new energy vehicle technology is divided into two aspects, one is the technology of the new energy vehicle itself, and the other is the technology of intelligent networking. "According to my understanding, the information technology that Izumi Kawanishi said should be intelligent network technology, which is not simply putting together icons."
Zhang Xiang said that the scope of intelligent networking is very wide, such as navigation map technology, voice recognition technology, Internet of Vehicles technology, digital cockpit technology, information security technology, ecological software technology, display technology, including vehicle communication technology, perception technology, vehicle-road coordination technology..."The range of technology is quite wide, and it is not at all what Sichuan Xiquan said, 'piecing together the icons'." ”
Liang Yi, deputy director of the operation and international department of the Automotive Electrification Research Center of the National Automobile Strategy Institute of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, believes that from the literal simplicity, the general idea of Sichuan Xiquan is that smart phones can fully meet the basic entertainment services of consumers, such as listening to music and watching videos, and there is no technical difficulty in realizing these applications in cars. But looking at the configuration of its new model, it doesn't seem to be a "surprise".
It is reported that Sony Honda Mobility announced the brand's first model "AFEELA" is jointly created by Sony and Honda, this new car is equipped with a total of 45 cameras and sensors, plus an integrated central control screen, and integrates Sony's film and television, music, games and other entertainment functions.
Izumi Kawanishi said that in the development of electric vehicles, adding additional functions of the car through software updates will become the mainstream. To this end, Sony Honda will offer unique mobile entertainment features. "Sony Honda's new cars should evolve into mobile tools that anticipate the human mind and provide quality services," he said. ”
In the eyes of industry experts, its well-built new cars can hardly hide the suspicion of "stacking". It seems difficult to convince the public to dare to belittle Chinese electric vehicles with such works.
Liang Yi said that the model will not be mass-produced until 2026, and the price is unknown, but such a high additional assembly will inevitably increase the cost. Whether the first "answer sheet" can bring consumers experience and price "surprises" depends on the future breakdown.
China's tram leads the world in a number of technologies
Returning to the question that Izumi Chuan said, are China's electric vehicles really as he said, without any technological innovation? Of course not!
In fact, Chinese car brands are leading the way in connected car innovation and are also outstanding in terms of intelligent experience. Taking car companies as an example, not long ago, NIO released China's first vehicle global operating system, which is the first intelligent electric vehicle global operating system in the automotive industry developed and released by a car company. The just-launched Jiyue 01 integrates the ability of Wenxin Yiyan's voice model, and is the world's first smart car with a large model "on the car"... The list goes on.
"And China's new energy vehicle ownership, production and sales are in the leading position in the world, which is enough to show that the technical level is good. As far as power battery technology is concerned, China has made a lot of innovations. Zhang Xiang said.
Nowadays, electric manned vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells have become the "new three" of China's foreign trade. Xiangcai Securities analyst Wen Zhengping said that China's power batteries are supplied to foreign markets in large quantities, and the export volume in the first nine months of this year exceeded that of last year, China's lithium battery industry is leading in the world, with the most complete lithium battery industry chain, power batteries, energy storage batteries have begun to supply a large number of foreign markets, and the export volume is considerable.
"China's automotive industry adheres to the leadership of science and technology and innovation drive, and the field of electrification has ranked among the top in the world." Liang Yi said that in terms of vehicles, the mileage of pure electric vehicles has been continuously improved, with mainstream models reaching more than 400 kilometers, and the proportion of new energy vehicles equipped with PA-level intelligent technology has reached 45.7%, higher than the 31.8% of traditional fuel vehicles.
In terms of power batteries, the energy density of power battery monomers has reached 300 watt-hours per kilogram, and the cost has dropped to 0.5-0.6 yuan per watt-hour.
In terms of drive motors, the power density of drive motors has exceeded 6 kilowatts per kilogram, and the electric drive has developed in the direction of high efficiency, high speed, high density, low vibration and noise, and low cost, and the three-in-one electric drive assembly system has achieved large-scale industrialization.
In terms of fuel cell systems, the power density of the vehicle fuel cell stack reaches 5.18 kW/L, the power coverage of a single stack is 150-220kW, the low-temperature cold start temperature achieves a breakthrough of -40°C, and the life of the graphite bipolar plate stack reaches 20000,<> hours.
"In general, China's core areas such as trams, batteries, motors, and electronic control systems have developed with high quality, and the R&D and industrialization capabilities of power battery technology have led the world, reaching the international leading level in terms of performance, cost, and safety." Liang Yi said bluntly.
Overseas markets are increasingly optimistic about China's electric vehicles
In recent years, China's new energy vehicle companies have become more and more dazzling on the international stage. Last year, China's electric vehicles shone at the Paris International Motor Show, not long ago China's new energy "legion" shocked the audience at the Munich Motor Show, and recently BYD's booth at the Tokyo Motor Show was surrounded by water... All of them confirm the fact that overseas markets are more and more optimistic about China's electric vehicles.
At the same time, more and more old international car companies are also "hand-in-hand" with Chinese new energy vehicle brands, trying to seek greater breakthroughs and collide with new "sparks", such as Audi joining hands with SAIC and Volkswagen to invest in Xpeng. This shows that the "hard core power" of Chinese brands has gradually been recognized internationally.
It is true that there are still challenges in the development of electric vehicles in China, and some technologies are still immature, such as cruising range and charging convenience need to be improved, and bottleneck technologies such as basic components and high-end manufacturing and testing equipment still need to be broken through. In this context, many domestic car companies face the problem, devote themselves to research, and take the initiative to step out of the comfort zone and find a breakthrough.
According to the analysis, the competition of new energy vehicles has entered the "second half", and the new round of competition has escalated again, and the knockout competition is more cruel. Only by being down-to-earth and taking one step at a time can we achieve steady and far-reaching results.