China New Energy Vehicles Driving Mileage in Winter

The weather is getting colder, and for the owners of new energy vehicles, the "curse" of greatly reducing the cruising range of the car is facing the test again. The attenuation of cruising range has become the biggest pain point in the use of new energy vehicles in winter. In order to break this "curse" and compete for the winter market, new energy vehicle companies "show their magical powers" and show their "internal strength" around "endurance".

In a parking lot on the North Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, a row of new energy vehicles are charging.

New energy vehicles are also "afraid of cold".

"I used to be able to drive for two or three days on a single charge, but when the weather is cold, sometimes a single charge a day is not enough. In order to extend the driving time, I rarely turn on the air conditioner, but the battery still loses power very quickly." Lives in Beijing Mr. Zhou of the East Third Ring Road summed up the experience of "wintering" with his new energy vehicle last year with the word "difficulty".

In addition to "fast power failure", many new energy vehicle owners also face the problem of "difficulty charging" in winter. "In winter, the charging speed of the car will also slow down. It can be fully charged in seven hours in spring and autumn, but it takes at least ten hours in winter." Mr. Zhou recalled, "Last winter, I and a group of new Not to mention how uncomfortable it is for energy car owners to queue up to charge in the cold wind, so this year, I learned a lesson, purchased a parking space in the basement in advance, and installed charging piles, and finally no longer need to 'snatch' public piles with others."

In recent years, under the joint promotion of policies and markets, my country's new energy vehicles have achieved rapid growth. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to September this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 4.717 million and 4.567 million respectively, an increase of 1.2 times and 1.1 times year-on-year respectively. It is expected that the sales of new energy vehicles in 2022 are expected to exceed 5.5 million. .

As more and more car companies enter the new energy vehicle market, the level of key technologies of new energy vehicles has been greatly improved. However, when the new energy vehicle is in a low temperature environment, the battery power and driving loss of the new energy vehicle will decrease at an accelerated rate, and the battery life will "shrink". The problem has become a major worry for car owners when using their cars in winter.

"How to have a good battery life is currently the biggest problem faced by new energy vehicles in winter, especially in northern China, the low temperature in winter leads to an increase in energy consumption, coupled with the opening of functions such as warm air and seat heating, power outages The speed is faster and the battery life is greatly reduced." A staff member of a new energy vehicle told reporters.

Winter battery life problems to be solved.

The phenomenon of "shrinking" of the battery life of new energy vehicles in winter has attracted the attention of relevant departments. At the China Electric Vehicle 100 Forum held in March 2022, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that there are still many deficiencies in the low temperature adaptability of new energy vehicles, and it is necessary to further innovate ideas, improve measures, and focus on solving related problems question.

Dai Kangwei, deputy dean of BAIC New Energy Engineering Research Institute, analyzed and summarized three major factors for the decline of electric vehicles' battery life in winter: "One is the battery itself. As a chemical product, once the temperature of the battery decreases, the internal electrolyte will become viscous, and the lithium ion will become viscous. The migration rate will slow down, resulting in lower battery activity, affecting battery performance and capacity. The second is the air conditioning system. In a fuel vehicle, the air conditioning system relies on the waste heat of the engine for heating. However, electric vehicles do not have an engine and rely on batteries for heating, which consumes a lot of money. The third is low temperature This leads to an increase in the resistance of the drive train. The air density in winter is not the same as the air density in summer. The air density increases in winter, which leads to an increase in wind resistance and a sharp increase in power consumption.”

In response to the problems encountered by new energy vehicle batteries in winter, major car companies are actively responding to their technical advantages. For example, some models of Tesla, Weilai and other car companies use liquid-cooled thermostatic systems; BYD is equipped with blade batteries on some models, using "internal heating of the battery"; Weimar's diesel heating system heats the battery by burning diesel . In addition, many car companies have also launched "winter package" software auxiliary functions such as "timed charging" and "preheating on the go" to provide protection for winter battery life.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, believes that most new energy vehicles now have a standard range of 400 kilometers to 500 kilometers, and can basically achieve around 300 kilometers in winter, but it is not realistic to completely solve this problem. The solution to the problem of new energy vehicle power failure in winter is destined to be a gradual process. With the increase of new energy vehicles in the north and the accumulation of relevant data, this problem can be gradually solved.

Offensive on the technical track

In order to solve the "range anxiety" of car owners, some car companies and new energy battery companies are committed to the research and development of long-range products, and recently launched a marketing offensive around the car's winter endurance, setting off a wave of chasing high cruising range.

Xiaopeng Motors has launched a battery preheating function. The owner only needs to plug in the charging gun to the vehicle and then open the application on the mobile phone to heat the battery through an external charging pile.

Geometry Motors announced that its two new models use Ningde era ternary lithium batteries. Compared with lithium iron phosphate batteries, ternary lithium batteries perform better in low temperature environments;

While carrying CATL's ternary lithium battery, Avita also applies Huawei's integrated intelligent thermal management system to ensure battery life at low temperatures.

In addition, many car companies such as Weilai, Aian, and Zhiji have announced that they will successively launch models with a battery life of up to 1,000 kilometers. Even if the battery life in winter decreases, high-endurance vehicles can still meet the daily driving needs of consumers.

Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the innovation of battery materials is a process of accumulation, which requires long-term efforts to balance the conflicting performance indicators such as energy, life, fast charging, safety, and cost. Although 1,000 kilometers of battery life is not the main goal of pursuit, the energy demand of electric vehicles is definitely still rising. "If you have an electric vehicle with high battery life, you are not afraid of discounts on battery life. Of course, the more important thing is to improve the technical level of vehicle integration, that is, the energy saving level of electric vehicles."