On the one hand, Geely Automobile paves the way for the NEV (Carbon Quota) New Deal in the future; On the other hand, Geely is also eager to reach an agreement with Daimler to enjoy battery technology.
Since then, although the two sides have made some gains in many fields, such as high-end travel and the establishment of joint ventures, they have little exchange on core technologies.
165438+1On October 20th, Daimler AG and Geely Holding Group officially announced that they intend to cooperate on the efficient power system of the next generation hybrid vehicle technology.
Specifically, the power system will be jointly developed and produced by Mercedes-Benz and Geely, and may be carried on the models of Mercedes-Benz and its existing partners in China, including several brands under Geely Holding, including Volvo.
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Mercedes-Benz in Transition
In 2020, the situation of car companies is not as good as expected, especially multinational car companies.
In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements of the European Union, Mercedes-Benz tries to meet this challenge by adding more plug-in hybrid vehicles and conventional hybrid vehicles (including mild hybrid vehicles).
Boan, a well-known consulting company headquartered in London, England, said that if Mercedes-Benz does not reduce its current carbon emission level, it will face a fine of 997 million euros (about 7.66 billion yuan).
Although some insiders believe that Mercedes-Benz's switch from electric vehicles to plug-in hybrid power is a technical retrogression; However, it is undeniable that the sales of hybrid electric vehicles are easier than those of pure electric vehicles, and the increased cost is far lower than the fines faced.
It is not difficult to see from the new products released by Mercedes-Benz in recent years that the proportion of new cars with small displacement and light mixing is getting higher and higher. Its main sales models, mercedes benz c Class and E Class, have always been equipped with the power combination of 1.5T or 1.5T+48V, and some models have added plug-in hybrid versions. In Europe, the smaller Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class are also equipped with hybrid systems.
(Mercedes-Benz 1.5T engine)
According to LMC, an automobile consulting company, in terms of sales? According to automobile data, in 2020, the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles in Europe will surpass that of pure electric vehicles, among which the sales volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) will surge from 65,438+098,853 in 2065,438+09 to 765,438+07,000 in 2020, accounting for 4% of the European market share.
It can be seen that if its products are upgraded to hybrid models, Mercedes-Benz still has room for improvement and can provide consumers with as many as 20 plug-in hybrid models.
It is noteworthy that in June 2020, 10, Mercedes-Benz released a brand-new strategy, which focused on transformation electrification and corporate profitability.
According to the plan, by 2030, more than half of Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales will be composed of plug-in hybrid vehicles or pure electric vehicles. As part of Daimler's long-term strategy, Mercedes-Benz will continue to promote the "electric priority" plan and accelerate the electrification of all models. In China, Mercedes-Benz is actively deploying diversified new energy strategies. While bringing EQ pure electric vehicles, we will deeply explore the solution of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
According to Daimler's semi-annual report, one of the reasons for its sharp decline in profits is the problem of sky-high emission fines.
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz will reduce the cost base by cutting expenses, adjusting production capacity and reducing personnel costs. It is planned that by 2025, the fixed cost will be reduced by more than 20% compared with 20 19, and the capital and R&D expenditure will be reduced by more than 20% compared with 20 19. At the same time, by increasing and extending the material cost, the variable cost 1% will be reduced every year.
In view of this, before the arrival of the electrification era, the joint development of hybrid power system with Geely can not only make up for the shortcomings of Mercedes-Benz in the transition period, but also save Daimler nearly 654.38 billion euros.
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Trying to get ahead of Geely Automobile.
In fact, Geely also has its own plans to join hands with Mercedes-Benz.
At present, the conventional powertrain of Geely Automobile comes from five platforms, namely 1.4T of platform B, 1.5L and 1.8L of platform C, 1.8TD of platform E, 1.0TD of platform F and/kloc of platform H. ..
Among them, the 1.0TD engine from platform F and the 1.5T and 2.0T engines from platform H belong to Geely's third-generation "educated youth" series engines and are also the main models. They will gradually replace the old forces. Among them, the maximum power of 1.5T engine is 130kW( 177Ps), and the maximum torque is 255n m. The book data is not lost to competitors at all, but consumers are not very interested because of its three-cylinder design.
(Geely's third-generation "educated youth" series engine)
For this reason, many models of Geely began to be equipped with Volvo's 2.0T engine, such as Geely Xingyue and Xingrui, in order to enhance the competitiveness of products.
In the field of new energy, as early as 20 18, Geely and Toyota have reached the initial cooperation intention of hybrid technology.
At that time, for Geely, it was impossible to complete the large-scale launch of new energy vehicles in a short time. Under the circumstances that technical barriers still existed, battery costs remained high and subsidies continued to decline, Geely's revenue was not "good-looking". At the same time, considering the demand of double integral policy, hybrid power is obviously the most direct and effective transition mode, and its advantages in user experience are self-evident.
Regrettably, the cooperation between the two sides has not made substantial progress since then.
However, Geely did not give up its deep-rooted layout in the field of electrification, and even took the lead in proposing diversified and multi-line new energy development paths in the industry, including four technologies: hybrid power, pure electricity, alternative fuels and fuel cells.
On the other hand, the EQ technology of Mercedes-Benz mainly includes EQ? BOOST (electric internal combustion engine technology), EQ? Power (plug-in hybrid technology) and emotional intelligence? POWER+ (high performance plug-in hybrid technology) and EQ (pure electric drive battery/fuel cell technology), and explore in many technical fields including the above technologies.
Considering the relationship between Geely and Mercedes-Benz, it is obvious that the cooperation between them is more optimistic by the industry.
"This cooperation project is not only due to the need of scale effect, but also the embodiment of increasing investment and application of clean and efficient powertrain and hybrid power system. We are willing to work with our partners * * * to promote technological progress and maintain a leading position in the industry in the era of change. " . An Conghui, president of Geely Holding Group and president and CEO of Geely Automobile Group, said.
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An emerging win-win situation?
Cooperation, it is very important to choose a reliable and mature partner.
In terms of sales volume, in the first three quarters of this year, the total sales volume of Geely's new cars was 875,472, which achieved a good result of double growth year-on-year in the post-epidemic era of the cold winter in the automobile market. The sales volume of Beijing Benz is also gratifying, with the cumulative sales volume of 443,000 vehicles in the first three quarters, up 4.4% year-on-year.
At the same time, as the major shareholder of Daimler, the cooperation between the two parties means that the new hybrid system will integrate the core technologies of Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Geely, which not only has its own strengths, but also is more competitive, which is obviously more in line with the interests of both parties.
You know, BYD just released the DM-i super hybrid technology, and then Geely and Mercedes-Benz announced that they would jointly develop hybrid technology. However, neither side has made it clear which technologies will be used in the new hybrid system.
It is worth mentioning that according to the contents of the prospectus submitted by the Science and Technology Innovation Board, Geely Automobile is currently developing the second generation HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) system, and the fuel saving rate may be as high as 45%, which is equivalent to the relevant indicators of Japanese car companies. Therefore, the next generation gasoline engine jointly developed by both parties for hybrid technology may cover HEV models to face aggressive Japanese hybrid vehicles.
In the meantime, Geely will rely on the brand strength and technical support of Mercedes-Benz, while Mercedes-Benz will rely on Geely's huge China market, and even the brand-new Smart is expected to benefit from it.
By then, the new hybrid system can not only be used for personal use, but also enhance the competitiveness of products; And the annual output is hundreds of thousands, and it can also be exported overseas to earn foreign exchange.
The pros and cons are self-evident.
Write at the end:
Strong cooperation often has unexpected effects.
For Mercedes-Benz, the choice of one more new energy technology route is bound to be of great benefit to its unknown luxury car market competition; Geely Automobile, which is weak in technology research and development, will be the biggest beneficiary.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.