Under The Wave Of Electrification: A Peculiar Phenomenon – Independent Automakers Pushing Forward With Large-Displacement
Under the pressure of emission regulations and dual-credit policies, small-displacement engines and electrification have become the mainstream development direction for automakers. Even luxury brands that take a high-end route have launched models with 1.5T displacement engines, and some have even stated that they will fully transition to electrification in the future. However, while most automakers are holding high the banner of small-displacement engines and new energy, some independent automakers are going against the trend. To fulfill their long-cherished wishes in the internal combustion engine field, they have reserved certain resources to develop large-displacement and high-performance fuel engines during the transition process, including Great Wall Motors, Chery Automobile, and FAW Hongqi.
Independent Automakers Go Against the Trend, Great Wall's V6 Engine Attracts Attention
In terms of developing large-displacement engines, Great Wall Motors has attracted much attention this year. It launched a 3.0T V6 engine at the beginning of the year, which is applied to the Tank 500 model, and the Tank 500 has also been unveiled. It is reported that this car is also equipped with a 9AT gearbox. The 3.0T and 9AT powertrain is very rare in independent models, which used to appear in luxury models in the past. Now being adopted by independent models, it is an important manifestation of the progress in vehicle manufacturing technology of independent automakers. It is reported that the 3.0T + 9AT powertrain of the Tank 500 is independently developed by Great Wall.
When it comes to engine capabilities, Chery Automobile, known as a "tech geek", has absolute say. Its independently developed 1.6TGDT engine has outstanding performance and has been highly recognized by the market in terms of quality. Chery Automobile also launched a high-performance engine this year, which is applied to models of its high-end brand EXEED. The 2.0T engines equipped in the Moon (configuration | inquiry) and Linyun (configuration | inquiry) have performance surpassing that of joint-venture cars. In particular, the 2.0T displacement engine of Linyun has a maximum horsepower of 261Ps and a maximum torque of 400N・m, which is even stronger than Volkswagen's high-power 2.0T engine.
Presumably, everyone has a question: when the entire automotive market is calling for environmental protection, why are some independent brands still clinging to high performance and large displacement?
The author of "Car Buying" believes that it is inseparable from two major aspects. One of them is that fuel engines are still the mainstream engines. Even though the sales of new energy vehicles are rising rapidly, the market volume is far less than that of fuel vehicles. At the same time, limited by the imperfect charging facilities, the convenience of using new energy vehicles is not as good as that of traditional fuel vehicles. Therefore, many people in the market believe that traditional fuel vehicles will not be replaced by new energy vehicles for a long time.
On the other hand, it is to demonstrate their own technology and enhance the brand image. Large-displacement engines are one of the upward paths for independent automakers. As we all know, engines used to be a shortcoming of independent automakers, and vehicle manufacturing was highly dependent on Mitsubishi's engines. After years of development, some automakers now have the technical strength to independently develop fuel engines. To reflect the automakers' engine manufacturing capabilities, large-displacement engines are a good carrier because they have more stringent process requirements and technical standards than small-displacement engines, requiring strict adjustments in NVH levels, fuel efficiency, parts processing, raw material control, etc. Therefore, automakers with mature engine manufacturing technology are basically powerful independent brands, among which Great Wall Motors and Chery Automobile are two examples.
In fact, the cost of building a large-displacement engine is not low, which is reflected in the high price of the models. For example, it is reported that the price of the Tank 500 may be between 300,000 and 400,000 yuan, which is enough to buy a mid-level car of BBA brands. It is believed that more people will choose BBA models, so large-displacement domestic cars will not contribute much to sales. Presumably, Great Wall Motors has predicted this result, but the purpose of independent automakers building large-displacement engines is basically the same as that of joint-venture brands building supercars at a loss: brand image is more important than sales mission.
With Technological Progress, Domestic Large-Displacement Engines Gradually Gain Recognition
Large-displacement engines are basically equated with high-end positioning, and independent automakers that are determined to move upward all want to gain market share in the field of large-displacement models. Therefore, there are not only Great Wall and Chery that are pushing forward with large-displacement engines. Earlier, FAW Hongqi and Geely Automobile also launched large-displacement models, but unfortunately, the projects ended in failure.
In the early years, when FAW Hongqi developed its first mass-produced luxury sedan, it launched a V8 engine and even invested tens of billions of yuan in developing a V12 engine. However, due to unqualified technology, FAW Hongqi's large-displacement engines did not deliver good performance, with relatively weak power. In addition, the price was high, and finally, they did not achieve the desired sales results.
Geely Automobile built a 3.5L V6 engine, whose performance was not strong either, with a maximum horsepower of 275Ps and a peak torque of 326N·m, which was inferior to the performance level of international engines of the same displacement. This engine was also equipped on the Geely Borui, and finally, the V6 version of the Borui was also well-received but not well-sold in the market.
Of course, in addition to engine performance, there are many factors affecting the unpopularity of domestic large-displacement engines, including brand strength and automobile consumption culture. Many people have the perception that domestic cars are low-end and cheap, and it is difficult for them to accept high-end positioned large-displacement domestic cars. Therefore, domestic cars with engine displacements such as V6 and V8 were basically in a state of unsalable in those years.
Today, the technology of independent automakers and consumers' perception of domestic cars have undergone significant changes, and high-end models are gaining more and more recognition. Large-displacement models and performance cars launched by Hongqi and Geely are also well-received by the market.
In terms of FAW Hongqi, the representative models are HS7 and H9. Even though their sales mainstay is the 2.0T version, the 3.0T displacement models also contribute a lot to the sales volume. As for Geely Automobile, the representative is the Lynk & Co 03+, which has a small market volume but a very good market reputation.
The change in consumers' attitude towards large-displacement domestic cars has created a good development environment for the Tank 500 and EXEED Linyun . More people's recognition of large-displacement models is helpful to the progress of automakers' vehicle manufacturing technology and domestic automobile culture.
Unfortunately, Developing Large-Displacement Engines Is Filled with Difficulties
High-endization is the development trend of independent automakers, but high-endization is not limited to large-displacement engines. Automakers that push forward with large-displacement engines will also encounter no small difficulties. It is estimated that in the future, not many automakers will follow Great Wall Motors to launch V6 engines, and at most, they will launch low-displacement and high-performance engines like EXEED Linyun .
As we all know, Chinese automakers are subject to the dual-credit policy, which requires the proportion of new energy vehicle credits of automakers to reach 14%, 16%, and 18% respectively in the three years from 2021 to 2023. This means that the production volume of new energy vehicles will increase year by year, and automakers that fail to meet the standards will face huge fines. If automakers spend resources and energy on developing large-displacement engines, it is obviously against the development direction of the market.
The reason why Great Wall Motors dares to launch the 3.0T V6 engine is closely related to its advantages in the new energy vehicle field. Its Euler brand's pure electric vehicles and WEY brand's hybrid vehicles have accumulated a lot of positive credits for Great Wall Motors. In addition, Chery Automobile also has a large market volume in new energy vehicles, which has also accumulated a lot of credits for it. In 2020, Chery New Energy's average fuel consumption credits even ranked among the top ten. Therefore, for both Great Wall and Chery, they can be more "capricious" in developing large-displacement engines and high-performance engines.