In the era of electric cars, will the internal combustion engine still be the deciding factor in the end?

In the era of electric vehicles, do we really not need engines? The answer is no. In 2023, 13.03 million new energy vehicles were sold worldwide, of which 3.91 million were PHEVs and REEVs with internal combustion engines, and 9.12 million were pure electric vehicles.

 

In the era of electric vehicles, do we really not need engines?

The answer is no. In 2023, 13.03 million new energy vehicles were sold worldwide, of which 3.91 million were PHEVs and REEVs with internal combustion engines, and 9.12 million were pure electric vehicles.

From the perspective of global share, the proportion of internal combustion engines in the field of electrification has reached about 30%. In the domestic market, the growth rate of PHEV and REEV sectors is very obvious, and has now surpassed the growth rate of EV sectors.

So I said that internal combustion engines are still an important support point in the era of electric vehicles.

One is that new energy vehicles with internal combustion engines have no anxiety, and their range and energy replenishment are the same as those of gasoline vehicles, and their safety is better than that of pure electric vehicles equipped with large battery packs. Another is that the technology of internal combustion engines is very mature and the cost is extremely low. Compared with pure electric vehicles equipped with large battery packs, the cost is very low.

 

In the electrification track, the products provided by suppliers have solved the technical problems of many companies. In other words, the product strength of many pure electric models cannot open up a direct gap, especially in the PHEV architecture. The key point to open up the product gap is the internal combustion engine.

Excellent internal combustion engines can provide the following important support for companies:

1. Better working state when feeding power. If the internal combustion engine technology is not good enough, the whole vehicle will have no performance and NVH under the working conditions of both driving the vehicle and generating electricity.

2. Under the REEV architecture, the fuel consumption of a better internal combustion engine will definitely be lower because the power generation efficiency is higher.

3. Better durability and stability. Many companies have ignored the importance of internal combustion engines, resulting in problems such as shaking and loud noise when the vehicle is idling, and the details are not handled well.

In other words, all new energy vehicles with internal combustion engines, if they want to improve the details, will ultimately need excellent internal combustion engines to provide support.

Toyota said that it would not give up the research and development of internal combustion engines, which was criticized by many netizens, who believed that Toyota was reversing history, but the fact is not so. Basically, all domestic companies have not given up the research and development of internal combustion engines.

Great Wall's 3.0T and Chery's 2.0T are both typical excellent products. Companies focusing on plug-in hybrids have also developed 1.5L and 1.5T plug-in hybrid engines. The purpose is to retain the basic performance, fuel consumption, and NVH experience of the vehicle while serving electrification. These points are not forgotten, which is the core key to outperforming competitors in the future.

The future development of the passenger car market is indeed electrification, but the depth of electrification is carried out in stages.

In the future, there will definitely be a large number of users who choose pure electric vehicles, but there will also be a large group who choose plug-in hybrid and extended-range hybrid models. The technical route and usage scenario are very inclusive. The phenomenon of only pure electric vehicles will bring huge pressure to future infrastructure and long-distance travel. New energy vehicles supported by internal combustion engines will definitely reduce fuel consumption while enhancing the experience.

In particular, the experience of the intelligent sector is very strong, so the internal combustion engine will definitely not be abandoned, and will continue to improve in the future, with higher thermal efficiency, better NVH, and the comprehensive working thermal efficiency in all scenarios will gradually increase.

Just like engineers have tried their best to reduce the drag coefficient, every 1% increase in the comprehensive working thermal efficiency of the internal combustion engine will greatly help the endurance and energy consumption. In the current era when the comprehensive working thermal efficiency of the internal combustion engine is less than 35%, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

In the future, there is no much room for improvement in battery technology, motor technology, and lightweight technology. In the end, we still have to return to the design and development of internal combustion engines.

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