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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