On May 10, 2024, the 8th China Brand Day was held in Shanghai by Xinhua News Agency and China Economic Information Society, co-hosted by SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute and SAIC Passenger Car Roewe Brand. The 2024 China Brand Day series event “Super Fusion is Super Hybrid” DMH Technology Brand Conference was held in Shanghai.
At the meeting, Jiang Wei, Party Secretary of Xinhua News Agency Shanghai Branch, Party Secretary of China Economic Information Society Shanghai Headquarters, Zeng Sijie, Vice President and Chief Engineer of SAIC Group, Wang Jun, General Manager of SAIC Group Passenger Car Company, Lian Ping, Chairman of China Chief Economist Forum, and Yao Chunde, Professor of Tianjin University and Deputy Director of “China Heart” Top Ten Engine Judges, attended the conference to explore new breakthroughs in China’s hybrid technology, and how the new energy vehicle industry can accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces.
SAIC Roewe launched the “DMH Super Hybrid Technology” technology brand at the event, leveraging SAIC Group’s deep technical accumulation in the hybrid field for over ten years, aiming to create hybrid power products for global users and become a new driving force to lead China’s hybrid technology to surpass Japanese hybrids in the future, showcasing the vigorous strength of Chinese automotive brands in the new energy era. Only Chinese car companies can excel in leading plug-in hybrid technology. For the past decade, Chinese automotive professionals have increased research and development efforts in the field of new energy vehicles, persistently innovating on multiple technological paths. By the end of 2023, China’s new energy vehicle production and sales have ranked first globally for nine consecutive years, becoming the world’s largest exporter of complete vehicles for the first time. Chinese people have taken the lead in an emerging industrial field for the first time, relying on innovative technology. In the wave of new energy, plug-in hybrids are an indispensable key lever, whether from the perspective of solving actual pain points for users or from the standpoint of the overall transformation and upgrade of the entire automotive industry chain. Professor Yao Chunde believes that developing plug-in hybrid technology is the trend and the necessary path for Chinese automotive brands to lead the world. Only Chinese car companies can excel in leading plug-in hybrid technology.
Tianjin University professor and deputy director of the “Chinese Heart” Top Ten Engine Judges, Yao Chunde. On one hand, plug-in hybrid technology is driven by strong user demand in China. The US market prefers large-displacement engines, without developing power; the Japanese market focuses on developing HEV and hydrogen; the European market, due to small countries and narrow city streets, lacks a strong demand for plug-in products. China’s market environment and user demand provide a natural “fertile soil” for the development of plug-in hybrid technology. On the other hand, Chinese car companies have made breakthroughs in plug-in hybrid technology based on real-world usage scenarios, combining the advantages of traditional fuel vehicles and electric vehicles to provide users with the best travel solutions. Professor Yao Chunde uses the DMH super hybrid system as an example, innovatively improving the efficiency and optimizing the NVH performance of the entire system, making the system more efficient and the driving experience smoother and quieter. Plug-in hybrid technology is not a transitional technology, but a key technology to drive the transformation of traditional vehicles to electrification and comprehensively improve user travel experience, and is an indispensable technical support for China’s automotive industry to “become stronger from big”. Roewe DMH: Super integration is the key to super hybrid. “At present, hybrid technology is flourishing, with a variety of products and increasing user acceptance. Data predicts that by 2025, the ratio of pure electric and plug-in hybrids will be 1:1. The spring of plug-in hybrids is already here.” Lu Yong, deputy general manager of SAIC Passenger Car Company, executive deputy director of SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute, and executive deputy director of the Technology Center, said.
Lu Yong, Deputy General Manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company, Executive Deputy Director of SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute, and Executive Deputy Director of the Technical Center. Any technology with long-term value must be able to withstand sedimentation and support long-term optimization. SAIC has been focusing on plug-in hybrid technology since 2010, considering it a technology worth long-term investment. In 2017, SAIC’s self-developed first-generation EDU hybrid technology won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, becoming the only automotive project among the award winners that year and the first time new energy technology has won a national-level science and technology award. Thanks to SAIC’s deep self-research in core powertrain technology, SAIC will also break through 46% in engine thermal efficiency, a key indicator affecting hybrid system performance. The DMH super hybrid technology released at this conference takes integration and intelligence to a higher level. The DMH super hybrid technology features modular, integrated, and specialized characteristics. The system is designed modularly and configured serially, matching different hybrid routes such as PHEV/EREV/HEV through a single system to meet the driving needs and fuel consumption regulations of different users worldwide. Additionally, the system has industry-leading technologies such as “energy domain” comprehensive thermal management, powertrain brain PICU, engine+P1 motor coaxial structure, and other leading technologies. With software algorithms as the core, it matches hybrid-specific high-efficiency engines, transmissions, long-range batteries, and other specialized hardware, achieving super integration for strong performance and optimal indicators.
Currently, DMH super hybrid technology has been first equipped on Roewe D7 DMH and Roewe D5X DMH. Recently, Roewe D7 DMH, representing the independent brand B-level car, challenged the 2000km limit range, overcoming the impact of bad weather and achieving a 1962km ultra-long range, with an average fuel consumption of 2.8L per 100km, demonstrating the strength of Chinese brands to break through the hybrid “range myth” of Japanese brands.
Chou Jie, Vice President of Innovation Research and Development at SAIC Group and General Manager of Jieneng Motors, announced that in the next three years, the DMH super hybrid technology brand will achieve higher performance improvements in five key areas: engine, transmission, battery, motor, and energy control. For example, the engine thermal efficiency will surpass 46% and be the first in China to meet the “Euro 7” emission standards; in transmission technology, the target for CO2 emissions on the hybrid route will not exceed 95 grams per kilometer, and the plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric routes will adopt a new dual coaxial configuration; continuous optimization of the energy control brain is expected to release the next generation of vehicle energy center concept in 2025. To establish the SAIC brand and boost China’s automotive industry to become stronger, brand economy is a comprehensive reflection of national competitiveness; brand influence is related to the country’s position in the global industrial value chain. China’s new energy vehicles have entered a new stage of expanding brand influence, and the leap from “big to strong” in the industry must be empowered by brand soft power. Zu Sijie stated at the conference, “Brand building is an important support for further developing China’s intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry. Currently, SAIC is benchmarking to build a world-class enterprise, striving to create a trillion-level automotive industry group with global competitiveness and international brand influence, by creating a technological SAIC, a quality SAIC, and a responsible SAIC, continuously promoting the SAIC brand. The launch of the DMH super hybrid technology is the ‘super fusion’ of technological SAIC, quality SAIC, and responsible SAIC, and is also an important practice to establish the SAIC brand.”
SAIC Group Vice President and Chief Engineer Zu Sijie SAIC always focuses on driving innovation through technology. After long-term investment and cultivation, SAIC’s independent brand R&D platform – SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute has made sufficient preparations in forward-looking technology, R&D personnel, hardware equipment, etc., efficiently supporting the development of Roewe, MG, Zhiji, and Feifan four major brands and overseas markets.
In terms of talent reserves, SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute is committed to building a research and development team with a global vision and competitiveness. Recently, globally renowned automotive designer Joseph Caban officially joined SAIC, which will further drive the upgrade of SAIC’s design. The launch of the DMH super hybrid technology brand marks SAIC Roewe’s more confident brand image and stronger product competitiveness. In the future, relying on the DMH super hybrid technology brand, Roewe will also gather various advantageous resources to provide a new hybrid option for global users of Chinese brands.