Hybrid tech advancements are boosting demand for EVT gearboxes.
According to the data from the China Passenger Car Association, from January to October, the wholesale volume of new energy passenger vehicles in China was 2.381 million units, with a year-on-year growth of 204.3%. In terms of penetration rate, from January to October, the domestic retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China was as high as 13%, much higher than 5.8% last year. If only looking at domestic brands, the retail penetration rate in September and October this year was as high as 36.1% and 36% respectively. This indicates that the sales volume of new energy vehicles in China has reached an all-time high.
So, who is driving up the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market? Are pure electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids to blame? Looking at the sales share, in 2020, the share of plug-in hybrids was 18.44%, and as of September this year, this figure has slightly decreased to 16%. This indicates that pure electric vehicles remain the main force.
However, if we look at individual brands, the situation is quite different. Take BYD as an example. In October this year, the sales share of its plug-in hybrid models reached 48.46%, and for the first 10 months, it was 44.89%. This means that within BYD, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles have reached an equal footing. But in 2020 and 2019, BYD's share of plug-in hybrids was only 26.85% and 32.91% respectively. Therefore, from the perspective of the BYD brand, plug-in hybrid models are now supporting half of the new energy vehicle market.
The analysts from Zheshang Securities believe that the new generation of hybrid technology is highly integrated, has low costs and offers high value for money. The total life cycle cost is expected to reach a level comparable to that of vehicles with the same configuration, making it highly competitive. Compared to pure electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles have advantages in terms of mileage and charging. Driven by policies and supply, hybrid vehicles are experiencing a period of rapid development.
In fact, the market performance is exactly like this. Take the BYD DM model as an example. Since this year, BYD has publicly apologized twice due to consumers being unable to get their vehicles. After BYD launched the Super Hybrid DM-i platform, Great Wall Motors also announced the launch of the Lemon DHT hybrid platform, and Geely announced the launch of the god-like hybrid - GHS2.0 in October.
The analysis report of Zheshang Securities states, "It can be seen that the new generation of hybrid technology launched by the brand itself is equipped with a high-performance dedicated hybrid engine. The system has a high degree of integration, a simple structure and a lower cost. Its overall performance has basically reached the same level as Japanese cars."
In fact, not only have the vehicle manufacturers made rapid progress in the field of hybrid power systems, but the subsequent supply chain has also grown along with them. Nantong Ruidong New Energy Technology Company (hereinafter referred to as Ruidong New Energy Technology) is a company that has grown up under such circumstances.
In 2021, Ruidong New Energy Technology launched its first EcoDrive electric drive product, the EVT300 gearbox. This gearbox was developed based on the rapidly growing hybrid vehicles in China. Unlike the hybrid configurations of BYD and Great Wall, Ruidong New Energy Technology's EVT adopted the power splitting technology (Power Split), achieving a zero breakthrough in efficient power splitting technology in China and breaking the dominant position held by companies such as Toyota and General Motors in this field.
EVTR300
Dr. Liang Wei, the chairman and founder of Ruidong New Energy Technology
Dr. Liang Wei, the chairman and founder of Ruidong New Energy Technology, disclosed: "Compared with the major players in power splitting technology such as Toyota, Ruidong New Energy Technology's EVT products are more distinctive in multiple aspects. Starting from the first generation, they have adopted multi-layer flat-wire high-efficiency oil-cooled motors and integrated transmission controllers. In the domestic market, the EVT electric drive products provided by Ruidong New Energy Technology to customers have more advantages in terms of power density, envelope size, and weight compared to other DHT electric drive transmissions in China."
In terms of specific data, the EVT300 product of Ruidong New Energy Technology has the advantages of 5-3-1-1:
1. The volume is 5% smaller. The envelope dimensions (in mm, length * width * height) are: 370 * 527 * 580. This size is approximately 5% smaller than that of Changan DHT100, Changan DHT130, and BYD Super Hybrid DM-i envelopes.
2. Significantly lighter by 30%. The EVT300 has a much lighter weight: only 100 kg (excluding oil). In contrast, the weight of series-parallel DHT products typically ranges from 120 to 140 kg, and the two-speed DHT model weighs approximately 138 kg. The lighter weight not only saves costs but also achieves the goal of reducing the overall vehicle energy consumption.
3. Significantly higher efficiency by 10%. The efficient power-split system employs an NGW-type planetary gear with a gear ring, which has high transmission efficiency and avoids various losses of the DHT system with clutches. Real vehicle data shows that there is a 10% advantage in fuel consumption.
4. The price is 10% lower. Compared with various DHTs equipped with clutches, the EVT has fewer complex hydraulic-valve-clutch components, resulting in a lower price.
In fact, it is the overall improvement of technical strength that has led to the current design of Ruidong New Energy Technology's EVT. The control strategy of the EVT system is more complex, involving dynamic torque coordination and smoothness control, which is the core technology of EVT. Ruidong New Energy Technology has fully mastered all the core technologies of EVT independently. This is partly due to the Ruidong New Energy Technology's research and development capabilities, and partly due to the rapid development of new energy vehicle components in China.
It is well known that currently, the nearly 50 hybrid vehicle configurations of major global automakers can be classified into three categories: parallel, power splitting, and series-parallel. The core members of Ruidong New Energy Team led and participated in the development of three different hybrid products, possessing rich production experience. They can provide a series of services including system simulation, configuration selection, structural design, and electronic control system design based on the vehicle model requirements of the enterprises. The EVT type technology is the optimal solution. The domestic development capability is weak, but Ruidong has achieved a breakthrough and has a very wide range of applications.
EVTF300
The successful development of Ruidong New Energy's EVT300 is merely a small part of the vast ocean of China's new energy vehicle industry. According to Qichacha data, there are currently 435,000 enterprises in China registered with the term "new energy technology" in their names. It is these enterprises that together have supported the gradual increase in market penetration of China's new energy vehicles.
The research report of Tianfeng Securities states, "Due to the long period required for the complete realization of pure electricization, and the increasingly strict regulations on fuel vehicle emissions and energy consumption by policies and laws, hybrid vehicles will gradually become the main force in the market over a certain period. After years of development and accumulation, China's hybrid technology has gradually matured. With the gradual introduction of related products to the market, the penetration rate of hybrid vehicles is expected to experience a rapid increase starting from 2021. According to our calculations, hybrid vehicles may have a growth space of over 16 times in the 5-year period from 2020 to 2025."
This indicates that the demand for hybrid technology and related products in the entire market will continue to grow steadily. Against this backdrop, core technologies such as BYD DM-i, Great Wall DHT, Geely "Super Hybrid" GHS2.0, and Ruodong New Energy EVT, among others, will further become powerful tools for the further development of the entire market.
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