Changan, one of China's four largest domestic carmakers, has shifted focus to manufacturing new energy vehicles. These are fitted with new-type power systems such as plug-in hybrid, battery electric, or dual-motor hybrid. However, this transformation has also encountered challenges.
The general manager of Changan's EV branch, Yang Dayong, told CGTN that the difficulty for their dual-motor system lies in integrating the electric driving system with a gasoline structure.
Yang says that their most advanced dual-motor car only consumes less than four liters of gas per 100 kilometers. And the battery duration of some of Changan's new energy cars can cover over 600 kilometers.
While battery life is at the core of the new energy technology, carmakers' efforts to build better circuit and power management systems are equally important to offer longer range and better efficiency. And Changan plans to stop selling traditional gasoline-powered cars by 2025.
"New energy is first a national strategy, then it is company strategy. And the end goal is to become a business model accepted by society," said Yang.
While the country's auto market has seen a slowdown, the opposite holds true for N-Vs. Data shows that almost 650,000 NEVs were sold from January to July in China, an increase of over 50 percent from a year earlier. As car buyers' concerns over distance and charging efficiency are being addressed, China is now the world's largest market for new energy cars.
"In fact, battery systems are being programmed well, for example the range per full charge can now reach 400 kilometers, and charging stations are being put up within the radius that people can easily reach in many cities," said Sheng Chiao, managing director of JLL West China.
The southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, for example, plans to install 30,000 new charging poles by next year to support its goal of selling 200,000 NEVs annually. Fast-charging and swappable batteries are also other technologies being developed and will make the purchase of new energy vehicles more attractive.
(CGTN's Wu Siyi filmed the story)