"Because we haven't sold electric vehicles (EVs) yet, outsiders think we are lagging behind in the EV field, which is not true.EVs are mainly composed of batteries, motors, electronic controls, and other units, and as early as 1997 Toyota listed and sold the world's first mass-produced HEV, the Prius, and has accumulated electrification technology for more than two decades, so we do not believe that lagging behind any competitors in terms of electrification technology reserves." On the eve of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota Motor Corporation Director and Vice President Shigeki Terashi said this to the global media.
Shigeru Terashi, director and vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation
At the time, globally, the market was already dazzled by EV models.
Tesla Model?S and Model?X are notoriously competitive, and Model?3 and Model?Y are even hotter; Audi launched the Audi e-tron, based on a new MEB platform, and Mercedes-Benz's first pure-electric model, the EQC, was put into production in China ......
2017 Since 2017, BMW's new energy vehicle global sales have stabilized at more than 100,000 units, and the Nissan LEAF, which was introduced earlier, has sold more than 400,000 units worldwide ......
China's EV market is even more crowded and blossoming, with almost no mainstream manufacturers not building pure electrics, in addition to the emergence of Azalea, Xiaopeng, Weimar and a large number of "new car-making forces".
In 2019, the global new energy vehicle sales rankings, Tesla ranked first in the field of new energy, Chinese brands BYD, BAIC New Energy, SAIC also occupy a small share, and then BMW, Volkswagen, Nissan, Toyota ranked tenth.
While Shigeki Terashi is confident in Toyota's electrification technology, it's more than convincing to see what kind of EV Toyota can actually bring to the market as a latecomer in the pure electric field.
01, build EV for Toyota is "technology downgrade"
April 20, 2020, Toyota China through social media news, the world premiere of Toyota's production EV models C-HR?EV/Elizabeth?E into the engine, as well as the Lexus UX?300e officially launched.
C-HR?EV/Eizawa?E into the engine
Lexus UX?300e
Not long ago, I experienced the C-HR?EV, I think the temple division Shigeki modest, in the field of EV, Toyota is more than "not behind", in fact, Toyota will be the entire EV industry threshold will be raised to a new level. In fact, Toyota has raised the bar for the entire EV industry by one level.
Don't get carried away, just hear me out.
Let's start by pondering the question -- what makes a good EV?
Many people in China evaluate whether an EV is good or not by looking at the range and 0-100km/h acceleration. It seems that as long as an EV has a high enough range and fast enough acceleration, it is a good EV, so much so that many car companies are in the EV field to engage in a "range race" and "power race".
For consumers, accelerating fast enough and having a long enough range is indeed a hard indicator that an EV is "good". Early EVs (such as the first-generation Nissan LEAF and the BMW i3) had mediocre power and a range of less than 200km, so they sold far less well than expected because they really didn't meet the user's daily needs.
With the advancement of technology, the range of most EVs now reaches 400km, and the zero hundred acceleration time of many EVs has reached less than 5 seconds, so it's not meaningful to continue to pursue these two figures. Especially for an EV positioned for daily use by families, because at this point, the anxiety of range has been transformed into the anxiety of charging convenience, why don't we buy a gasoline car in pursuit of a bigger and better fuel tank? Because refueling is convenient, so the right size fuel tank is good, too big is not only unnecessary, but will have negative effects - such as taking up more valuable interior space.
And going overboard with zero-hundred-percent acceleration also defeats the purpose of EVs in the first place.
Too much acceleration has little practical significance for everyday use, but it can increase costs and make everyday use less safe -- power beyond the ability to drive is a danger! What's more, over-pursuing power performance naturally reduces the energy efficiency of EVs, and isn't higher energy efficiency the reason we're promoting EVs in the first place?
This is the scene of Paul Walker's death crash. Remember - power performance beyond driving ability is the danger factor!
Toyota has always believed that EVs should be positioned as "short- to medium-distance mobility tools," and that both range and zero-hundred acceleration should be optimized for the specific product position, rather than being bigger and better.
In fact, these two points are the least difficult to realize - to improve range, just pile up more batteries; to improve acceleration, just carry an additional motor.
For a family EV, energy efficiency is relatively more important. We're all looking for lower gas mileage in our fuel-efficient cars, so of course we should be looking for lower "electric mileage" in our EVs. The higher the energy efficiency, the lower the power consumption, the same battery capacity in order to have a longer range, but also truly low-carbon, environmentally friendly - do not think that the use of electricity, that is, zero emissions, our country still accounts for more than 70% of thermal power generation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes an annual "Fuel?Economy?Guide", announcing the energy efficiency levels of all models sold in the U.S. In the 2020 edition of the Guide, the most energy-efficient EV is the Tesla Model?3 (standard range version), with a combined energy efficiency of up to 141 MPGe (which translates into 33.7 kWh for 141 miles, or about 14.9 kWh for 100 kilometers). Needless to say, there's something to be said for Tesla being the most successful electric car to date.
The chart above shows the EPA's 10 most energy-efficient EVs for the U.S. market.
Energy efficiency is an important technical indicator for EVs, and it takes both fast acceleration and high energy efficiency to be a true master. European cars in the EV field, energy consumption is generally high. For example, the motor power is only 100kW Volkswagen e-Golf, comprehensive energy efficiency is only 113?MPGe, range is only 123 miles, whether it is power, range, or comprehensive energy efficiency, not only can not be compared with the Tesla Model?3, but also can not be compared with the Hyundai Kona?Electric (Anglo-Sinoleno electric version).
Topping the EPA's list of PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) is the Toyota Prius?Prime, with a combined efficiency of 78 MPGe (below). Currently, with Toyota yet to launch an EV, Tesla does lead the industry in pure electric energy efficiency levels, but in the PHEV segment, Toyota is number one in energy efficiency.
It's important to note that 78 MPGe refers to "combined energy efficiency using both electricity and fuel," and the EPA also gives the Toyota Prius?Prime's combined operating efficiency in pure-electricity mode - it's 133 MPGe (see the chart below). chart below).
In other words, a Toyota PHEV in pure electric mode already has the second highest level of energy efficiency on today's EV efficiency charts. One can only imagine what level of energy efficiency Toyota's pure electrics will be.
The Toyota Prius?Prime has a combined EPA efficiency of 133 MPGe in pure electric mode, or about 15.5 kWh per 100 kilometers. The Volvo S90?PHEV, on the other hand, has a combined EPA efficiency of just 60 MPGe in pure electric mode.
As Toyota's first mass-produced EV models, the energy efficiency levels of the C-HR?EV/EZE?E in-engine really live up to expectations.
The C-HR?EV/EZE?E is not currently available in the U.S., and there is no EPA energy efficiency data, but China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has already released its fuel consumption data, and the C-HR?EV/EZE?E's NEDC power consumption under comprehensive conditions is only 13.1?kWh/100km.
Also according to the MIIT's data, the Tesla Model?3's consumption is 14.3?kWh/100km, which is the highest in the world, and is the most expensive in the world. 3 consumes 14.3?kWh/100km, the BYD Tang EV600 17.9?kWh/100km, and the Azera ES8 21?kWh/100km.
Someone has finally beaten Tesla to the punch when it comes to energy efficiency levels!
And that someone is indeed still Toyota!
In the field of automobile energy efficiency, no matter what "V", Toyota can always use the strength to tell everyone why "your master is always your master".
High energy efficiency at the same time, C-HR?EV/EZE?E into the engine power performance and range are good, 400 kilometers of NEDC comprehensive working condition range, than the price of about 100,000 yuan more expensive Model?3 standard range version, but only a little less than 45 kilometers; and 150?kW/300Nm power output level, although not as good as Model?3, but has exceeded most of the class EV.
Higher power, for a regular family-oriented EV like the C-HR?EV/EZE?E, is not impossible, but not necessary. Would you buy a fuel-efficient C-HR and go for a 3.0T? It's a simple truth. 150?kW/300Nm is already far more powerful than the fuel C-HR/EZ.
By now, everyone should have more faith in the idea that Toyota has been emphasizing in the past -- that HEVs are the core of Toyota's electrification technology line, and that if you can build a good HEV, you can naturally build a good PHEV and EV as well. because, with batteries, motors, and electronic controls in every HEV, you can increase the HEV's batteries, and then
Because every HEV has a battery, an electric motor and an electric control, it is possible to increase the battery of the HEV and then add an external charging device, which makes it a PHEV; and it is possible to further increase the battery and eliminate the combustion engine and the fuel tank, which makes it an EV.
Benefiting from the accumulation of a large number of hybrids over the past 23 years, Toyota has the industry's richest and most mature EV-related know-how - and none of it - in the field of three electrics. Toyota has the industry's most extensive, mature, and comprehensive know-how in the EV field - bar none.
Toyota's three core technologies of mature and stable batteries, motors, and electronic control units are based on a combination of engine and HEV; based on this, the battery capacity is increased and equipped with external charging device, PHEV is developed; engine and fuel tank are removed, and the battery capacity is further expanded, which is the EV; and the combination of the fuel cell and the hydrogen storage tank is formed into the FCEV. For Toyota, building EVs can even be considered a technological "downgrade" - HEVs and PHEVs have a higher technological threshold than EVs.
02, EV consumers are most worried about what? Safety, of course!
If there is any technical indicator for EV that is more important than energy efficiency, it is safety.
EV battery packs spontaneous combustion or even deflagration accidents, has been commonplace, and, unlike the spontaneous combustion of fuel vehicles, once the EV spontaneous combustion occurs, the fire tends to spread rapidly and is difficult to extinguish. The frequent occurrence of spontaneous combustion accidents, has made some consumers mention electric cars and color change.
Toyota's EV will allay such fears.
Toyota has sold more than 14 million HEVs globally, and there has not been a single spontaneous battery combustion -- let alone a deflagration -- worldwide.
Toyota's experience with battery safety during HEV development has naturally been applied to EVs. Toyota has placed the high-voltage circuit in the center of the pack and surrounded the inside of the pack with a cold-air duct to create an additional buffer zone to protect the battery cells and high-voltage circuit.
The battery pack is integrated with the body skeleton, allowing the pack to enjoy the same level of rigidity protection as the body structure. At the same time, the combination of the battery pack with the box beam structure and screwed to the longitudinal beams of the body greatly strengthens the battery pack's resistance to external impacts.
The battery pack is designed as an airtight structure, and the sealing material adopts sealing rubber strips, taking into account both waterproof and dustproof performance. At the same time, the bottom of the battery pack is painted to prevent rust.
The various parts inside the battery pack are equipped with sensors that perform multiple tests on the necessary parts, so that they can be controlled in a timely manner in the event of an abnormality. How is it controlled? This involves the know-how mentioned earlier. Toyota has experience in developing battery packs for more than 14 million HEVs, as well as big data from the actual use of these packs, and this kind of practical experience is accumulated in a way that cannot be learned by others.
In addition to the conventional monitoring of individual voltage and total system voltage, Toyota has added voltage monitoring of the battery modules, which improves system reliability, so that even if a failure occurs in any one place, it will not result in the vehicle being unable to run.
Of course, EV safety is not just about battery safety, but the safety of the vehicle itself is equally important. Toyota's new EV is based on the TNGA platform, and active and passive safety are the industry's highest standards. Safety, too, is a major overwhelming advantage of Toyota's EV.
Toyota's new EV is equipped with Toyota's latest-generation?Toyota?Safety?Sense Intelligent Safety System, including DRCC?Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (which enables full-speed domain following), LTA Lane Keeping Assist (which adds a following function to ensure that the vehicle can drive in the middle of the lane), AHB Automatic High Beam Brightness Adjustment, and PCS Pre-Collision Safety System (which identifies the vehicle in front of it). Collision Safety System (which recognizes vehicles, pedestrians or bicycles in front of you) and other four core functions; in addition, it is equipped with 10 airbags, including front knee airbags and passenger seat cushion airbags, which are rare in the same class.
03, EV does not keep its value? Toyota EV won't!
New-energy vehicles are far from popular in China, and they're already getting cold feet.
Last year, new energy vehicle sales fell 4% year-on-year; in the first quarter of this year, auto sales fell 42.4% year-on-year, but new energy vehicle sales fell 56.4% year-on-year, a decline of 14 percentage points higher than that of the whole industry.
There are subsidies and no license plate restrictions, but why are people reluctant to buy new energy vehicles?
There are many reasons, and one of them is that "electric cars don't retain their value.
According to the 2018 China Auto Value Retention Report, the value retention rate of pure electric vehicles can be described as miserable.
According to this report, the Dihao trio has been the pure electric car 3 years old value preservation rate ranked TOP5 models, but the value preservation rate is only 23.54%, ranked first in the Tesla MODEL?S? value preservation rate is also only 55.59%. As a comparison, the Toyota Corolla's 3-year value retention rate in the same report is 64.68%.
No wonder consumers are afraid to buy, unwilling to buy! Because the commission can't buy it!
Consumers in China are now paying more and more attention to the value retention rate of their cars, which is the inevitable result of the transition of China's automobile market from the past "first purchase era" to the "replacement era".
There are many factors that determine the value retention rate, including initial price, product quality, efficiency of used car distribution, and the degree of product performance degradation, in addition to the brand. Toyota cars generally retain their value - in the above report, Corolla, HANLANDER, Prado, Elfa are all listed first in their respective segments of the market value retention rate, especially Elfa and Prado, respectively, with a 3-year old 87.68% and 83.2% of the value retention rate of the high ranking of all models in the first and second place.
For EVs, battery performance degradation is an important factor affecting the value retention rate. Therefore, in order for EVs to retain their value, it is necessary to give effective ways to extend the battery life, which is one of the highlights of the C-HR?EV/EZE?E into the engine.
In terms of preventing overcharging and over-discharging of the battery, Toyota has not only extended the battery life but also left enough redundancy for battery safety by effectively controlling the charging volume in an area that is not susceptible to aging.
This may sound easy, but why don't other manufacturers do it well? As the saying goes, it's easy to know and hard to do. I believe that the principles of high-thrust aircraft engines are mastered by the relevant researchers in most countries, but how many countries can actually build aircraft engines? Toyota's high level of battery charge/discharge control, of course, also stems from years of practical experience in the HEV field.
Engineers are a lot like doctors in one way -- there's such a thing as clinical experience, and it's often more useful than a PhD.
The normal operating temperature of lithium batteries is 0 to 45 degrees Celsius, and the performance of the batteries generally declines after going below 0 degrees Celsius or above 45 degrees Celsius, with a corresponding decrease in discharge capacity.
The battery is very delicate, unusually picky about the working temperature, too hot can not, too cold can not, therefore, the temperature control of the battery is particularly important. C-HR?EV/Eizo?E into the engine's battery pack application of refrigerant cooling system, the battery heating system, in order to protect the battery charging and discharging performance.
When encountering a high temperature environment, or when the temperature of the battery becomes high due to high-speed driving, repeated rapid charging, etc., the refrigerant method is used to realize balanced and efficient cooling of the battery to ensure the stable operation of the power battery pack; when encountering a low-temperature environment, through the heating device underneath each battery unit, the battery will be heated up in a short period of time to shorten the charging time in a low-temperature environment and guarantee the battery's range. This will shorten the charging time in a low temperature environment and guarantee the battery life.
Pure electric is not suitable for use in cold northern regions, which has been a "common sense" of many consumers, but, except for the Toyota EV, it is suitable for use in most areas of the country, whether it is the hot island of Hainan, or the cold northeast. Moreover, Toyota promises that the C-HR?EV/EZE?E into the engine after 10 years of use, the power battery capacity retention rate can still be more than 80%.
A Prius HEV?Taxi in Canada with more than 1 million kilometers. There have been no vehicle powertrain failures and no need for battery replacement. Norichiro Yokota, an adventurer and former rally competitor, completed a five-continent crossing in a Prius, a 13,700-kilometer journey, and the Prius' battery pack did not fail. Toyota means reliability, and that's true for fuel cars, for HEVs, and for EVs.
04, don't forget, also good to drive
Safety, energy saving, value preservation, reliability, all of these belong to the category of "good to use". But as a good car, it also needs to look good and drive well.
About "good-looking", it is more subjective, so I won't talk about it here, I will talk about "good driving".
The C-HR/EZE itself is a "new species" that emphasizes design, youth and driving pleasure, and the C-HR?EV/EZE?E is even more fun to drive.
First of all, it's more powerful. The C-HR?EV/EZE adopts a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 150kW and a peak torque of 300Nm, and accelerates from 0 to 50km/h in just 3.4 seconds, which is much stronger than the fuel version, and more powerful than most of the other SUVs in the same class.
It's not just the peak output figures that are higher, the output characteristics of the electric motor are more linear and direct than the combustion engine, so the driving linearity and agility of the C-HR?EV/EZE?E into the engine is completely unmatched by the fuel version.
0~50km/h is the starting acceleration performance, 0~100km/h is the comprehensive acceleration performance, in the actual driving, 0~50km/h is used more, 0~100km/h is less. C-HR?EV/EZE is located in the small SUV, pay more attention to the starting acceleration performance 0~50km/h.
Secondly, by placing the battery pack under the floorboard and designing it to be part of the body skeleton, the C-HR?EV/EZOA's body torsional rigidity has been increased by 20% and its center of gravity has been lowered by 14% compared to the current C-HR/EZOA. Anyone who enjoys driving knows what a huge improvement in handling performance this will be. It's certainly an inherent advantage of the EV, but it's just that the C-HR/EZOA itself is stiff enough and has a low enough center of gravity that this advantage becomes even more pronounced.
The C-HR?EV/Eizo?E into the engine uses the same double-wishbone independent rear suspension as the eighth-generation Camry, unique in its class.
During the test drive, it was clear that the C-HR?EV's ability to curb sway was outstanding, and that it was able to maintain a relatively stable stance whether entering and exiting a corner at high speed or changing lanes in an emergency. Even when driving aggressively, the driver can control the vehicle comfortably. I'm not encouraging anyone to go racing in the C-HR?EV/EZE?E in-engine, but I just want to show that although it drives smoothly, the handling limits are actually quite high. It also doesn't accelerate abruptly and decelerate even more abruptly like some EVs that are all about power performance - I don't find that fun to drive anyway, and it's easy to get dizzy.
In fact, about the "good driving", may not need too much elaboration, because this is already a kind of TNGA's gene, from the Camry to Corolla/Raylin, and then to the RAV4/Waylanda, the TNGA under Toyota products "good driving" is The Toyota products under TNGA are "good to drive" and have a good reputation. With the dual support of pure electric + TNGA, the C-HR EV/EZE will naturally be even better to drive.
Writing in the end
Writing so much, in the end what kind of EV is considered a good car?
The question is actually quite simple: it must first be a good car, and then a good EV.
So, in addition to range and overall energy consumption, it has to be powerful, handle well, be practical, safe, reliable and retain its value. In short, like fuel cars, EVs have to look good, drive well and work well.
But a lot of EV products, probably because these are not good, on some concepts, such as intelligence, such as what the mobile space, and even "sell" the circle of ......
For the EV, the user's real What are the real needs of the users?
In 2019, the China Association of Automobile Dealers released the "new energy vehicle consumer report", which shows that -
80% of users do not choose pure electric vehicles, the first reason is to worry about the range, followed by battery safety. The second is battery safety, followed by battery recycling, used car residual value and battery radiation.
In other words, low energy consumption, high safety and good quality are the real thresholds of the EV industry.
In the context of the Chinese government's direct investment in the new energy vehicle industry (subsidies) of more than 300 billion yuan, the new energy vehicles in the annual sales volume of only 1.2 million units (market share of less than 4.7%), a significant decline occurred, the most fundamental problem, it should still be the product is not good enough, the power of the energy efficiency of the low energy efficiency, energy efficiency of high safety does not pass, so that the current EV market. So, the current EV market looks like a red sea, in fact, is "a blue sea", because, the really good EV is still too little.
The EV market also needs star models like the Corolla and Camry in the fuel-vehicle segment to be truly activated.
So, finally, the Toyota EV is here.
Toyota plans to launch EVs in China starting in 2020, and then expand EV models globally, with a cumulative total of 10 EVs by 2025.
The text?
The company's first EV model will be launched in China. Li Jianbo
This article was written by the author of Automotive Home, and does not represent the views of Automotive Home.