From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 164 Mr. Xu, you're so humorous

In 14-15, ride-sharing platforms such as Dida Chuxing emerged one after another.

This also marks the official rise of ride-sharing services in China.

Subsequently, Didi Chuxing expanded its carpooling business and invested heavily in it.

Last year, the General Office of the State Council also issued the "Guiding Opinions on Deepening Reform and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Taxi Industry".

This not only formally recognizes the legal status of ride-hailing services, but also provides legal protection for the legal operation of carpooling services.

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On long-distance trips, you can also pick up a passenger to earn some extra money.

Combine the surplus transportation capacity of the entire society.

—This reduces costs for people who need to take a taxi.

—Drivers with free time earned extra income while driving.

—The platform earned its operating commission.

—The country has saved road resources.

It seems like the best of everything!
But when it comes to the actual implementation...

Another problem has arisen.

Many car owners have no idea about this.

On the contrary, many taxi and ride-hailing drivers are "not doing their jobs properly," taking on ride-sharing services after completing their express rides, thus increasing their income.

Passengers were charged highway tolls by professional ride-hailing drivers and forced to share rides, resulting in a terrible experience.

In order to increase profits, the platform has intensified its commission rates.

In the end, it turned into a chaotic mess.

but.

In the first two years, the environment wasn't so bad.

Lin Hao stared at the page introduction with great curiosity.

He quickly placed an order in the lobby, and it matched his 50km commute time and distance from work by 95%. He only needed to take the person back along the way, and with the platform reward, he could earn 78 yuan.

It wasn't a lot of money, but it looked like it was free.

He uploaded the car owner's information, and it was approved shortly afterward.

"Congratulations on becoming a Didi Hitch driver..."

A message notification.

An indescribable feeling began to spread through my heart.

……

……

Xu Yi and his technical team spent three days in Zhejiang.

During this period, I had in-depth exchanges with Kong Hui's team.

Air suspension is a rather customized component.

There is no such thing as a universal mold, now or in the future. Every car has a different weight and chassis design platform, so a custom-made process is essential.

Finding overseas suppliers like Continental and Wibac would cost at least several hundred million yuan to customize a single vehicle.

Custom-made products made in China are much cheaper.

At least Kong Hui's side claims that they only charge for the cost of customization.

When I learned that Xingchen Automotive's next new car development plan was a large SUV weighing at least 2.7 tons...

Guo Chuan looked thoughtful.

"A six-seater SUV, a range-extended route... This is a niche market. If that's the case, why not use ternary lithium batteries? It would reduce the vehicle's weight and perhaps better fit the market's perception of a high-end image?"

Building such a high-end car carries extremely high risks.

The investment is many times that of a regular family car.

This is the first time in China that the terms "six-seater" and "range-extended" have been combined.

Since Xingchen Motors is willing to spend money on air suspension, battery technology is naturally not a problem.

Whether it's self-developed or purchased from external sources, it aligns with our philosophy.

Even a company as strong as BYD uses ternary lithium batteries from CATL and LG in some of its high-end models.

Everything is for the purpose of final product positioning.

He was very curious about this. “Developing our own ternary lithium battery cells is not a problem for us, but ternary lithium may not be the only option for high-end cars.”

Xu Yi smiled easily and calmly.

"Currently, the problems with lithium iron phosphate are reflected in energy density, low-temperature performance, internal resistance consistency, and weight."

However, the energy density of the next generation of Polestar batteries will be significantly improved year-on-year, and the gap with the energy density of mainstream ternary lithium battery cells on the market will be reduced to less than 25%.

As for low-temperature performance, this is actually an industry-wide issue. While ternary lithium batteries perform better, the improvement is still limited.

We have battery insulation technology and advanced heat pump systems, and we use a six-way valve to achieve a deep integration of waste heat recovery mechanisms.

Not only the waste heat generated by the range-extended vehicle's engine itself, but also the waste heat from high-voltage components such as the motor and electronic control system, can be used to heat the battery or cabin through coolant circulation.

This achieves the goal of waste heat recovery, further reducing energy consumption and bridging this gap.

Xu Yi skipped over the issue of internal resistance consistency without mentioning it.

The internal resistance consistency of the first-generation Polestar battery has far surpassed that of other lithium iron phosphate batteries in the industry, thanks to optimized formula and better manufacturing processes.

Simply put, it's not a good fit for the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) lithium battery sector.

Instead, all of our competitors in the lithium iron phosphate industry, except for BYD, are incompetent!

Regarding the vehicle weight issue...

There's really no way around it; no matter how advanced the technology, it's difficult to violate the laws of physics.

The weight of lithium iron phosphate batteries is indeed a drawback, but it can be solved by using the "heavy brick" method.

Whether it's a larger motor, a thicker active suspension, or a better braking system...

These are all solvable problems.

However, the high explosiveness of ternary lithium batteries and their significantly higher cost compared to lithium iron phosphate batteries, along with the need for large quantities of precious metals like cobalt and nickel, are real and difficult problems to solve.

The production of ternary lithium batteries requires nickel and cobalt, which are scarce in China and can only be imported.

To quote Lao Wang:

If we vigorously develop ternary lithium batteries, it would be like going from being "strangled by oil" to being "strangled by nickel and cobalt".

Moreover, Xingchen has accumulated research experience in ternary lithium batteries.

As long as they want to produce, they can switch to a two-legged walking mode at any time.

We conduct research on materials and formulations in this area.

More importantly, it prepares for future semi-solid-state and solid-state battery technologies.

……

"High-end lithium iron phosphate route? Six-way valve for vehicle thermal management?"

Guo Chuan pondered for a few seconds, carefully considering his words.

A chill ran down my spine.

Lots of information.

How can the second-generation Polestar battery inside Xingchen Motors still achieve such a big breakthrough?
This expectation is a great thing for Konghui Technology.

Even if they are acquired and develop together, they still need to provide each other with confidence in their technological prospects. It seems that Xingchen Automotive is providing too much "confidence".

Even the seemingly minor detail of abandoning the ternary lithium battery route has a deeper meaning, supported by strong backup plans.

He originally thought it was just a matter of low cost.

There's also this six-way valve vehicle thermal management technology.

It sounds similar to the four-way valve thermal management technology in the Tesla Model S.
As if sensing his thoughts, Xu Yi smiled:

“We have studied the advanced models of our competitors in depth and made vehicle thermal management our core optimization goal, with the aim of quickly catching up with the mainstream level in the industry.”

Looking at the entire history of the development of new energy vehicles.

There's no way to avoid cutting corners. Energy consumption is reduced by improving the vehicle's aerodynamic drag, by regenerative braking, by optimizing the air conditioning, by addressing waste heat from the motor and electronic control systems, by recycling engine waste heat, and even by incorporating regenerative braking technology into active suspension systems, utilizing the kinetic energy generated by uneven road surfaces...

"Industry mainstream level?"

Guo Chuan chuckled, "President Xu, you're so funny."

Hearing about the scale of their research and development made his liver tremble.

Judging from the current ambiguous details alone, it is probably already far ahead of the mainstream level.

When this model is finally launched, it will only make many competitors tremble with fear.

……

(End of this chapter)