Among the cars currently driving on the road, the driving force comes mainly from power devices, transmissions, and brake devices. A very crazy idea that existed more than 100 years ago is gradually becoming a reality - in pure electric or hybrid cars. , The motor is arranged in the hub, using the hub motor as the main driving force. With the development of new energy vehicles, will the wheel hub motor technology become the future driving force of new energy vehicles?
Two domestic auto parts companies have joined Protean
The traditional drive system separates power, transmission and braking, while the hub motor technology integrates the power unit, transmission and brake into the hub, omitting clutches, transmissions, drive shafts, differentials, and transmissions. Components and other components, new energy models can use the hub motor as the main driving force. In recent years, the hub motor with the development of new energy vehicles has gradually entered the domestic vision.
At the 2018 China Electric Vehicles Centenary Forum, He Junzheng, president of Hubei Taite Electromechanical Co., Ltd., remarked that 'wheel hub technology can improve the electric vehicle's driving range by 15% compared with that of the central motor.' Triggered by the domestic industry for wheel hub motors Technical attention.
On March 27, Weifu Hi-Tech purchased Protean E-round preferred stock for US$30 million. After the completion of the investment, Weifu Hi-tech will hold 12,775,000 shares of E round of preferred stock and will hold 12.34% of Protean shares. It is worth mentioning that Weifu Hi-Tech and PEL jointly invested US$20 million in a ratio of 80:20. In Wuxi, a Chinese-foreign joint venture company Protean Electric Ltd. was established.
As early as June 2016, when Protean issued D-round financing, Wanan Technology purchased 99.5002 million shares of preferred stock for US$20 million. After the transaction was completed, Wanan Technology held a 10.36% stake in Protean. In December 2017 At the 13th Shanghai International Auto Parts, Maintenance Testing and Diagnostic Equipment and Service Products Exhibition, Wanan Technology displayed Protean's hub motor.
According to Protean's introduction, wheel hub motors are a forward-looking technology and have not yet reached mass production. According to the development of new energy vehicles, mass production is expected to be put into operation in 2019. According to reports, in 2018, both parties will produce a new energy vehicle. The latest accessories.
In this year's layout of the wheel hub motor system, Weifu Gaoke entered the new energy passenger car and light truck core components, reducing the market's concern for Weifu Hi-Tech's growth space. In addition, Weifu Hi-tech Co., Ltd. established 80:20 with Protean at the same time The joint venture company is committed to the R&D of 18-inch wheel hub motor systems, mainly B-class vehicles and light trucks. It is expected that the products will be tested in 19 years and Weifu Hi-Tech will follow-up on the progress of the project.
At present internationally, in addition to Protean, the well-known wheel motor manufacturers are Canadian TM4 companies, the well-known tire manufacturer Michelin and the Bridgestone Corporation of Japan. This can not help but wonder why domestic auto parts manufacturers Love this company?
Wheel motor will subvert the traditional drive?
According to statistics, Protean's ProteanDRIVE drive system provides efficient fuel economy, powerful torque, powerful power performance and a flexible driving experience for newly developed models and models already on the market. Protean's system can handle battery capacity and travel The environment effectively provides more than 30% fuel economy.
In addition, Protean has also developed the world's leading hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric vehicle hub motor system, has the most comprehensive and most comprehensive wheel motor technology, testing and application experience for the Chinese Class B medium-sized vehicle, SUV , MPV and even light commercial vehicle type hybrid electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles provide the power and torque required for driving.
In-wheel motor, when the technology is mature and mass-produced, will have a disruptive effect on components such as clutches, transmissions, transmission shafts, differentials, and transfer units of conventional automobiles. In addition, similar to the difference between electronic watches and mechanical watches, The motor-driven hub has great advantages in response sensitivity, control accuracy, etc. compared to the traditional hub.
Then the question has arisen. With such intrepid hub motors, the above two companies have also stated that the wheel hub drive technology has a great future. Why hasn't it been rolled out yet?
The main reasons are as follows:
1. The operation of Protean has not been improved. According to the 2016 annual report of Wanan Technology, Protean’s annual revenue for 2015 was RMB 4,227,400, and its net profit loss was RMB 92,616,400; in 2016, Protean’s revenue was RMB 342,700, with a net profit loss of 1.44. Billion. In the first half of 2017, Protean’s revenue was 2,503,300,000 yuan and net profit loss was 52,155,000 yuan.
2. The advantages are obvious, but technical problems still remain unsolved. At present, it is generally believed in the industry that the hub motor faces three major problems: Overheating of the motor will cause demagnetization, resulting in motor failure, increased unsprung mass, and ability of the hub motor to be effective with the entire vehicle. Integrated. Because the wheels often need to be under heavy load and low-speed climbing slopes, the motors are placed in narrow wheels, which may cause the motor to overheat due to insufficient cooling. In addition, braking may also cause the motor to overheat. Tsinghua University Automotive Technology Research Institute Dean Song Jian said that overheating will lead to demagnetization of the motor material, which will directly affect the performance of the vehicle. Therefore, some people in the industry think that the bottleneck of the hub motor technology is difficult to break through and it is not suitable for large-scale promotion in the short term.
3. At present, 90% of electric vehicle companies in China are driven by the central motor-driven route. This technology is actually transformed from traditional cars. The chassis of most cars is still the chassis of traditional cars, not according to the characteristics of pure electric vehicles. To develop.
4, in addition to technical issues, for the traditional car companies, has always been the transmission drive, drive driven, the chassis back to the chassis, clearly divided. Once the hub motor is universal, the drive system will be canceled, the drive and chassis will be deeply integrated in the Together, the organizational structure for the traditional car companies is a very big challenge. Traditional car companies want to promote this change, its determination is no less than a broken wrist.
to sum up
Technically, the phenomenon of thermal demagnetization of the hub motor does exist, but in the future, a good cooling system is developed to allow heat to be dissipated in a timely manner to prevent demagnetization of the motor material. In the industry, when a new technology or new product of a disruptive industry emerges , It will have a substitute effect on traditional products, but it may take longer time. However, it is undeniable that wheel hub motor system will be one of the development directions of future new energy vehicle driving force.
