Now we want to say that there are two types of hybrids in the world, one is called Lynk & Co smart electric hybrid, and the other is called traditional hybrid. In the past, Chinese brands relied on the first-mover advantage of pure electric vehicles to achieve "corner overtaking"

Now we want to say that there are two kinds of hybrids in the world, one is called Lynk & Co smart electric hybrid, and the other is called traditional hybrid.

In the past, Chinese brands relied on the first-mover advantage of pure electric vehicles to achieve "corner overtaking" in the new energy vehicle market. However, due to the limitations of pure electric vehicle range and cost, it was still difficult to shake the core fuel vehicle market of joint venture brands.

Since 2021, independent brands have successively launched hybrid technologies, such as Geely Rayshen Zhiqing Hi· Continuing its local advantages in cost, performance and intelligence, it has gradually formed a trend of replacing traditional fuel vehicles on the consumer demand side.

Since the beginning of this year, high oil prices and rising prices of new energy vehicles have posed considerable challenges to the fuel vehicle market and the pure electric market. As a solution that can provide both oil and electricity, the hybrid market is experiencing explosive growth. Under the overwhelming wave of electrification, the rapidly developing hybrid market is competing with the pure electric market.

According to data from the Passenger Car Association, from January to April this year, the cumulative sales of pure electric vehicles increased by nearly 98% year-on-year, and the year-on-year growth rate of PHEV (plug-in hybrid) reached 176%, surpassing pure electric vehicles for the first time and becoming a new player in the field of new energy vehicles. growth point.

According to Soochow Securities calculations, the penetration rate of hybrid will increase from 7% to 50% from 2021 to 2025, and it is expected to replicate the growth path of independent SUVs from 2011 to 2016.

With the rapid increase in the penetration rate of hybrid vehicles, independent brands are expected to consolidate their advantages in the PHEV market, increase their share in the HEV market, reshape the market structure, and achieve overtaking in corners.

Faced with the current boom in the development of new energy vehicles, Geely 's mid-to-high-end brand Lynk & Co has fully entered the hybrid track. With the blessing of Lynk & Co's intelligent electric hybrid Lynk E-Motive technology, it uses performance and intelligence advantages as its main Take the initiative to challenge the hybrid market that has been dominated by Toyota , Honda , Volkswagen, etc. for a long time.

Chinese brands are beginning to lead in hybrid technology

In fact, Lynk & Co, which is under six years old, has been deeply involved in the hybrid field for four years.

As early as 2018, Lynk & Co launched Lynk & Co 01 PHEV ; in 2019, Lynk & Co's first petrol-electric hybrid model - Lynk & Co 01 HEV, was launched, breaking the long-term dominance of petrol-electric hybrid cars by Japanese brands. industry structure. In addition, Lynk & Co also released two models, 02 PHEV and 03 PHEV. Currently, Lynk & Co has 01 PHEV, 05 PHEV, 06 PHEV, 09 PHEV and 01 HEV on sale.

Lynk & Co’s official data shows that as of April 2022, Lynk & Co’s new energy sales have accounted for 21% of the total sales of the Lynk & Co brand. It is worth mentioning that 70% of the users who purchased the Lynk & Co 09 chose the high-value Lynk & Co 09PHEV model.

's nearly four years of practical experience have laid a solid foundation for Lynk E-Motive. Recently, the Lynk & Co 01 EM-F, the first petrol-electric hybrid model under Intelligent Electric Hybrid Technology, has entered pre-sale. A total of three versions have been launched, with the pre-sale price ranging from 188,000 to 210,000 yuan. The Lynk & Co 01 EM-F, which combines trendiness, performance, energy saving and intelligence, fills the gap in the 200,000-class high-end intelligent gasoline-electric hybrid SUV market and competes head-on with the Japanese hybrid market that has dominated the market for a long time.

But this time, Lynk & Co is more confident than four years ago.

On the one hand, the hybrid market has entered a period of rapid growth. According to predictions from the National Information Center, by 2030, pure fuel vehicles and HEV models will still account for half of the market share, and new energy vehicles will each account for 50%. Among them, HEV models will gradually complete the value upgrade and replacement of traditional fuel vehicles.

It is worth mentioning that the performance of plug-in hybrids has been particularly outstanding in recent years. Data from the Passenger Car Association shows that the number of plug-in hybrids will be 210,000 units in 2020 and 580,000 units in 2021. The market share of plug-in hybrid models has climbed from about 16% at the beginning of the year to nearly 21% at the highest point in November. From January to May this year, it reached 400,000 units, almost the level of last year, with a penetration rate of 21%.

Talking about the reasons for the explosion of the plug-in hybrid market, Xu Xiangyang, professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and executive deputy director of the National Passenger Vehicle Automatic Transmission Engineering Technology Research Center, Xu Xiangyang believes that there are the following four points: First, independent plug-in hybrids The technology has achieved major breakthroughs, with key technical indicators such as product configuration and energy efficiency surpassing European and Japanese products; secondly, independent plug-in hybrid products have matured after market testing in recent years; thirdly, policies for plug-in hybrid models include the purchase of There are advantages in tax , license plates, road rights , etc.; fourth, plug-in hybrid models solve the range anxiety of pure electric models, and their good driving experience and lower fuel consumption also bring a better experience to consumers.

On the other hand, independent brands’ exploration and breakthroughs in hybrid technology and new energy tracks have given them the confidence and strength to compete with joint venture brands.

For a long time, Toyota THS hybrid and Honda i-MMD hybrid systems have firmly dominated the hybrid market with stable driving conditions and extremely low fuel consumption. Although both have their own merits, they are suitable for those who pursue speed and passion. For young people, performance levels still need to be improved.

With the development of hybrid technology, independent brands have successively launched special architectures designed and developed for hybrid models, such as Geely Hi·X, BYD DM-i, Great Wall Lemon DHT, etc., which have effectively reduced costs. It is understood that there are currently two types of hybrid technology routes that are most widely used in China: one is a series-parallel hybrid transmission using dual motors (BYD DM-i, Great Wall Lemon, Geely Thor), and the other is a single-motor hybrid transmission. Parallel hybrid transmission (Changan Blue Whale iDD).

"There are two kinds of hybrids in the world, one is Toyota hybrid and the other is other. This was the case a few years ago, but currently from a technology and product perspective, Liangtian is lagging behind to a certain extent. At present Hybrid products of independent brands have completely surpassed Honda and Toyota in terms of technical performance. my country's hybrid technology has also experienced the development from following in the past to running parallel or even leading today."

Xu Xiangyang said that different technical routes have different performance and performance. There are differences in the complexity of the structure and cost. There is no best technical route and product, only the technical route and product that are most suitable for the company's own advantages and vehicle models.

Chen Siying, deputy general manager of Lynk & Co Auto Sales Co., Ltd., listed a set of more intuitive data: Lynk & Co’s smart electric hybrid technology is derived from the Raytheon smart hybrid technology platform, providing 1.5TD and 2.0TD hybrid special engines, with thermal efficiencies of 43.32% and 40%, the former is already higher than the maximum thermal efficiency level of Japanese hybrid engines of 41%.

In terms of fuel consumption, the WLTC fuel consumption of the EM-F model (gasoline hybrid) equipped with Lynk & Co's intelligent electric hybrid technology is as low as 4.5 liters per 100 kilometers, and the fuel saving rate is as high as 40%; the WLTC of the plug-in hybrid (EM-P) model Fuel consumption is as low as 5.1 liters per 100 kilometers, which is at the forefront of the industry.

"If we use running to describe it, the Toyota hybrid is an endurance athlete, the Honda hybrid is an explosive athlete, and the Lynk & Co smart electric hybrid is an all-around athlete. Now we want to say that there are two hybrids in the world, one is called the Lynk & Co smart electric hybrid Hybrid, one is called traditional hybrid," Chen Siying said. The 3-speed DHT Pro used by Lynk E-Motive smart electric hybrid is the world's first mass-produced 3-speed hybrid transmission, which combines dual clutch and dual planetary gears. It combines other hybrid transmission technologies to achieve highly integrated and efficient power transmission.

According to the plan, Lynk & Co will release four products equipped with Lynk E-Motive technology this year, and three more models within two years, covering the mainstream A- and B-class markets. By 2025, all Lynk & Co products will be equipped with Lynk E-Motive technology, realizing the electrification of all products.

The character of the brand is the traffic password of competition

The hybrid market is turbulent, and the technical paths are different. How can we highlight our own advantages to take the lead and be better in the hybrid field? It has become a topic that car companies must think about.

According to Chen Siying, the current competition is actually the competition of brands. The character of the brand is the traffic password of the competition. Only when the brand is recognized can the product be chosen.

As it says, Lynk & Co has insisted on building a car brand that is "more than just cars" in the form of "born globally open and connected" since its birth. Six years have passed, relying on Geely's huge user base and millions of vehicles to support the system. , Lynk & Co, which insists on putting users first, has a profound insight into consumer needs and has embarked on a unique and difficult-to-replicate growth path.

From Lynk & Co 01 took the lead in entering the mainstream joint venture mid-level SUV market, to Lynk & Co 03html sold 10,000 units in March, successfully blocking the joint venture mid-size sedan , from Lynk & Co 05 led the Chinese coupe SUV market, to Lynk & Co 09 sold 400,000 units Yuan price breaks through the price ceiling of domestic fuel vehicles, and Lynk & Co, which continues to break the myth of joint ventures, has gained 700,000 car owners.

It is worth mentioning that Lynk & Co has a young user group in the automotive industry. The average age of car owners is 32.3 years old, and the post-90s generation accounts for 71%. Lynk & Co 01 user co-creation survey shows that more than 60% of users will consider a hybrid for their next car, and their demands for intelligence are overwhelming.

At present, as Tesla and Wei Xiaoli gain the favor of young consumer groups with their technology and intelligence, intelligence has become one of the keys to the competition of new energy vehicles.

J.D.POWER survey report shows that the new generation’s interest in new energy vehicle intelligence is 13.4% higher than other groups, their expectations for performance are also 11.6% higher than other groups, and their demand for high-end quality is higher than other groups 6.4%.

As a high-end and trendy hybrid designed for young people, Lynk E-Motive intelligent electric hybrid technology not only saves energy and inherits traditional hybrid technology, but also provides the intelligence currently missing in Japanese hybrids and other independent brand products. needs. Using intelligence to drive electrification is Lynk & Co’s transformation idea that is different from other brands.

Among them, the upgrade of electronic and electrical architecture is the key to the development of intelligent automobiles. Based on a new generation of electronic and electrical architecture, Lynk E-Motive realizes the decoupling of and from software and hardware, enabling deeper product-based co-creation with users.

On the one hand, Lynk E-Motive has a real-time online AI travel steward function. During the driving process, it can judge the owner's driving style, determine the driving mode, and adjust the throttle response. It can also achieve all-weather, all-road conditions, and all-terrain through intelligent algorithms. Patterns that automatically match jobs for users. On the other hand, with the intelligent architecture of four-domain integration, the entire vehicle supports FOTA. Not only the upgrade of the cockpit domain, but also the power, chassis, and body can be implemented OTA.

With the blessing of smart electric hybrid technology and intelligence as the main starting point, Lynk & Co has further upgraded its dimension on the new energy vehicle track, pushing Lynk & Co from following the footsteps of mainstream joint venture brands in the past to realizing the value of mainstream joint venture fuel vehicles Go beyond and lead.

Guotai Junan Securities pointed out that compared with the previous generation of domestic hybrid models, the new generation of products has overcome the problems of fuel consumption and driving smoothness under power loss. At the same time, the price difference with fuel vehicles of the same level has increased from the original 6- The price dropped from 80,000 to 10,000 to 20,000, which has great advantages and appeal regardless of the purchase cost or later use cost. With the further promotion of national policies, a new generation of hybrid models is about to explode.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Car Association, predicts that the domestic plug-in hybrid market will be strong in 2022. Although in the "dumbbell-shaped" new energy market, the market share of A-class models is not as good as that of A00 and B-class, this year's A-class Plug-in hybrid models will have room for growth of more than 600,000 units. In addition, this year the country has introduced a policy of halving the purchase tax for vehicles below 2.0L, which has weakened the boundaries between hybrids and plug-in hybrids. The hybrid market will bring an increase of 200,000 to 300,000 units this year.

Cui Dongshu also pointed out that from the international market, the proportion of general hybrids and plug-in hybrids is on the rise, and Chinese car companies have become more aggressive in hybrid power and have developed more diversified. On the premise of effectively establishing a foothold in the domestic market, Chinese car companies should occupy more space in the world market amid high oil prices and drastic fluctuations in the world's economic and political landscape.

"In general, whether it is hybrid, plug-in, or pure electric, they are just different paths for the development of intelligent, electrified, and energy-saving automobiles. With the convergence of products , we must jointly grasp the key to the development of hybrids Trends, use brand personality to capture target groups and leverage your own product characteristics.The most important thing is to satisfy the user experience at the product level and define any product based on the user's car usage scenarios. "Chen Siying finally said.