With the electric vehicle craze brought about by Tesla Model S, various
manufacturers have begun to understand and come up with some interesting
products. These products are not limited to electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids
are also very popular.
The Porsche 918 ran under 7 minutes at the Nürburgring, surpassing all
supercars; BMW i3 and i8 released prices, bringing future concepts; BYD Qin set
up a battlefield in Miyun, Beijing, to challenge heroes from all walks of life.
Compared with Volanda's obscurity in the past two years, it seems that the
spring of plug-in hybrids is here. So how should we view plug-in hybrid
vehicles? Are all plug-in hybrids on the market the same? Where will they go in
the future? ?
plug-in hybrid
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) is simply a vehicle between electric vehicles
and fuel vehicles. It has the engine, gearbox, transmission system, oil circuit,
and fuel tank of a traditional car, as well as the battery, motor, and control
circuit of an electric car. The battery capacity is relatively large and there
is a charging port.
Compared with non-plug-in hybrids like the Lexus RX450h, plug-in hybrids
have larger batteries and can support longer driving ranges. If each trip is a
short distance and there are good charging conditions, the plug-in hybrid
vehicle battery can be used as a pure electric vehicle without refueling, which
has the advantages of an electric vehicle.
Compared with pure electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model S, plug-in
hybrid vehicles have much smaller battery capacity, but have the engines,
gearboxes, transmission systems, oil lines, and fuel tanks of traditional fuel
vehicles. When charging is not possible, you can keep driving as long as there
is a gas station. The driving range is not restricted by charging conditions,
and it has the advantages of a fuel vehicle.
However, because a vehicle must integrate two complete power systems of
electric vehicles and fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles are more expensive
and have a complex structure. The weight is also relatively large, which is a
disadvantage compared to simple fuel vehicles and electric vehicles. However,
until charging stations are widely popularized and charging times are
significantly improved, plug-in hybrid vehicles will exist for a long time as a
transitional product between fuel vehicles and electric vehicles.
Classification of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
Although they are all called plug-in hybrid vehicles, in fact, plug-in
hybrids can be divided into several categories based on different structures.
Each manufacturer also manufactures different types of plug-in hybrid vehicles
based on their own understanding of plug-in hybrids. Simply divided, it can be
divided into the following categories:
1. Extended range plug-in hybrid
This type of plug-in hybrid is still technically an electric vehicle. There
is only one electric drive system in the car, including motor, control circuit
and battery. The electric motor of an extended-range plug-in hybrid directly
drives the wheels, while the engine is used to drive a generator to charge the
battery. Because the engine does not drive the wheels directly, a gearbox is not
needed. This is equivalent to loading a gasoline/diesel generator on an ordinary
electric vehicle.
Extended range plug-in hybrid structure
The advantages of this model are obvious:
It has the advantages of an electric vehicle such as quietness and large
starting torque. It can be used as a pure electric vehicle. It only charges
without refueling under convenient charging conditions, and the cost of use is
low;
Compared with other plug-in hybrid modes, the extended-range plug-in hybrid
does not require a gearbox and the cost is slightly reduced. Since it is
equipped with an engine to generate electricity, it can keep running as long as
there is a gas station. It will not be forced to tow cars in places where
charging is inconvenient, solving the problem of insufficient
infrastructure.
Because the engine does not directly drive the wheels, the engine speed is
not directly related to the wheel speed or the car speed. Through the
optimization of the control system, the engine can always work at the optimal
speed. Even when charging is inconvenient, fuel consumption is relatively low in
urban traffic jams. Engine noise can also be controlled to be very small.
Of course, this model also has disadvantages:
Since the engine and generator do not directly drive the wheels, this part
of the power is wasted, and the weight brought by the engine and generator is
not reduced. For example: an extended-range plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has
an engine power of 50KW, a generator power of 50KW, and a motor power of 100KW.
The vehicle carries an engine and motor with a total power of 200KW, but the
power that can drive the wheels is only 100KW.
Under highway conditions, fuel consumption is on the higher side. This is
because under highway conditions, if the engine directly drives the wheels, it
can always work in the optimal working mode. However, the extended-range plug-in
hybrid has an additional conversion process, and the conversion itself consumes
energy, resulting in higher fuel consumption.
Representative models in this category include the BMW i3 (optional range
extension module), Chevrolet Volt (with hidden direct drive mode), Fisker Karma
and Audi A1 e-tron.
2. Parallel plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
This type of plug-in hybrid vehicle has two sets of drive systems. Most of
them are based on traditional fuel vehicles by adding electric motors,
batteries, and electronic controls. The electric motor and engine jointly drive
the wheels. There is only one motor in the car, which acts as an electric motor
when driving the wheels and as a generator when not driving the wheels to charge
the battery.
Parallel plug-in hybrid structure
The advantages of parallel plug-in hybrid are:
The motor and engine drive the wheels together, so there is no problem of
power waste. For example, if the motor is 50KW and the engine is 100KW, as long
as the transmission system can withstand it, the vehicle power will be
150KW;
In pure electric mode, electric vehicles also have the advantages of being
quiet and low-cost. In hybrid mode, it has very good starting torque and
excellent acceleration performance;
Because only an electric motor is added to the gearbox (two ways to add the
gearbox input end and output end), the changes based on traditional fuel
vehicles are relatively small and the cost is relatively low.
The disadvantages of this model are:
In hybrid mode, the engine cannot guarantee to always work at the optimal
speed, and fuel consumption is relatively high. Only when there is a traffic
jam, the fuel consumption will be low because it can have its own engine
start-stop function;
Because there is only one motor, it cannot generate electricity and drive
the wheels at the same time, so the working condition of the engine and the
motor driving the wheels together cannot last long. When accelerating
continuously, the energy of the battery will be exhausted quickly and the
vehicle will switch to the engine-only driving mode.
Representative models of this category include: Mercedes-Benz S500 plug-in
version and BYD Qin.
3. Hybrid plug-in hybrid
Like the parallel plug-in hybrid, this model also has two drive systems,
but the difference is that the hybrid has two electric motors. One motor is only
used to directly drive the wheels, and the other motor has a dual role: when
extreme performance is required, it acts as an electric motor to directly drive
the wheels. The power of the entire vehicle is the sum of the power of the
engine and the two motors; when the power is insufficient, It acts as a
generator and charges the battery.
Therefore, the hybrid type has the advantages of both the extended range
type and the parallel type: in pure electric mode, it has the advantages of
quiet electric vehicles and low cost of use; in extended range mode, there is no
range anxiety, and the engine can always be controlled at the optimal speed ,
low fuel consumption, low noise and low vibration; in parallel mode, two motors
and one engine can work together, and the combined power of the three has very
good starting and acceleration performance, which is a relatively perfect
combination.
In terms of shortcomings, none of the two motors, engines, and gearboxes
can be missing, as can the supporting control circuits, batteries, transmission
systems, and oil circuits. The overall cost is higher than other types of
plug-in hybrids. The total cost of the car The weight will also be greater. And
because it has to control two motors and one engine, as well as different
working modes, the control system must be relatively complex, which will also
increase the cost.
Hybrid plug-in hybrid power can actually be further subdivided into two
categories.
The first type is front-mounted, and the representative models are Toyota's
full plug-in series and BYD F3DM.
Toyota Prius plug-in version
The two motors and one engine of this type of car are located at the front
of the car, and different working states are controlled through power
distribution and clutches. Toyota uses ECVT planetary gears for power
distribution, which balances performance and energy saving.
BYD F3DM adopts a simple coaxial clutch mode without a gearbox. The clutch
controls different working states and can also achieve the purpose of switching
between different states. However, the coaxial mode determines that the engine
speed of BYD F3DM is directly related to the vehicle driving speed, and the
parallel connection In mode, the engine noise is relatively loud, which is just
a transition under the technical conditions at the time, and was quickly
eliminated by BYD itself.
There is another mode of hybrid plug-in hybrid, which is front-to-rear.
Simply put, the part-time electric motor and the engine are placed together, and
the other pure electric motor is placed separately. Representatives of this
model are the Porsche 918 and BMW i8, and the planned BYD Tang is also of this
model.
Porsche 918 Spyder
In addition to the advantages of hybrid plug-in hybrids, the advantage of
this mode is that it can switch between three modes: front-wheel drive,
rear-wheel drive, and four-wheel drive.
When pursuing extreme performance, four-wheel drive can provide extreme
acceleration performance. When driving at high speed, the vehicle's center of
gravity moves rearward, and rear-wheel drive can achieve higher efficiency and
achieve the purpose of saving power (fuel). When driving at low speeds,
front-wheel drive has higher efficiency, so you can switch to front-wheel
drive.
There can even be two pure electric motors in this mode, driving the left
and right wheels respectively to achieve left and right torque distribution,
which can provide better performance when cornering.
The Porsche 918 can run under 7 minutes at the Nurburgring, which is
superior to all supercars. It relies on the high performance brought by this
front and rear hybrid plug-in hybrid power.
The future of plug-in hybrids
Through the above analysis, we can see that plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles have many advantages in terms of acceleration, noise reduction, and
cost of use. But the main reason affecting its popularity is cost.
Taking the BYD Qin as an example, the original speed of the prototype car
cost RMB 70,000 to RMB 80,000, but only a motor, a power battery, and various
supporting facilities were added. The price is about 200,000 yuan, of which only
the 13-degree power battery costs about 40,000 yuan. The cost of the entire
vehicle will increase by about 100,000 yuan, plus various taxes and fees, and
the price will be 200,000 yuan. This is the Chinese company with the strongest
cost control capabilities and the cheapest labor force. Foreign labor is more
expensive, and when it comes to research and development costs, it is natural
that plug-in hybrid vehicles are hundreds of thousands more expensive than
prototypes.
In fact, in the long run, the prices of power batteries, motors, and
electronic controls have been declining. Electronic control products are in line
with Moore's Law and the rate of decline is relatively fast. However, motors and
power batteries are limited by materials, and their decline rate is relatively
slow. The price of power batteries drops by about 5% every year. In the future,
as the prices of power batteries, motors, and electronic controls further
decline, plug-in hybrid vehicles will become closer and closer to traditional
fuel vehicles. When the price gap between the two is not large, the advantages
of plug-in hybrid vehicles will become apparent.
This process will proceed from top to bottom. First came supercars like the
Porsche 918, then high-end luxury cars like the Mercedes-Benz S and BMW i8, then
mid-size cars, and finally popular models. When plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
eliminate pure fuel vehicles in many fields, it will drive the popularization of
charging facilities and further development of battery technology. After the
charging infrastructure and battery problems are solved, the historical mission
of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be Once completed, mankind will usher
in the era of electric vehicles.
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