Writing an article? |? Zhang chuanyu
Editor? |? Old driver; veteran
In June 5438+10, with the soaring stock price, the market value of Tesla once reached the sum of the three major car companies in North America. Among the three major car companies, GM is the most active one to catch up with Tesla.
However, the recent "negative" news about GM has caused many questions. Some time ago, General Motors successively withdrew from several poorly managed markets, and the news of closing all factories in Australia and Southeast Asia sparked heated discussions. From the outside world, GM intends to strengthen its competitiveness by "slimming".
The good news has finally arrived.
On March 4th, US time, at Warren Technology Center in Michigan, GM first demonstrated the core of its electrification strategy-modular drive system and the third generation global electric vehicle platform equipped with Ultium exclusive battery.
"Thousands of GM scientists, engineers and designers are trying to reshape the company's history." GM President Mark Ruth (Mark? Reuss) said at the scene.
At this historic moment, can Elephant GM "dance" again and return to its former glory through the technological transformation of the automobile industry?
Close to $0/00 per kwh/kloc.
As we all know, the core of each car company's new energy strategy is to establish a better battery system. In this regard, Adam Quartkowski, Senior Vehicle Design Director of General Motors (Adam? Kwiatkowski) said, "The battery system itself is the jewel in the crown of Ultium system."
"The new battery energy capacity than bolt? Electric vehicle batteries have increased by 60%, "said Andy Yuri, chief engineer of General Battery Company. Oury) said, "Because of the stackable soft battery design, we can package these batteries into modules stacked like toy bricks, which can be horizontal or vertical." ?
GM said that these flexible modular battery packs can meet the different needs of customers and vehicles. Because there can be 6, 8, 10 or 12 modules in the same car, customers can customize their energy requirements according to the needs of the vehicle to achieve the maximum battery life.
In addition, vertical stacking can be applied to high-energy packaging, such as GMC? Hummer? EV can have two modules, including 24 modules. Horizontal stacking can reduce the height of some vehicle-mounted battery modules, thus realizing the design of low center of gravity.
Gm also said that Ultium battery system supports 50? Kwh to 200? KWh, can meet the cruising range of up to 640 kilometers, and it takes only 3 seconds for the vehicle to accelerate 100 kilometers. Moreover, electric vehicles equipped with Ultium batteries will also support home charging and DC fast charging, and most models will be equipped with 400? Volt battery pack and 200 kW fast charging capacity, while electric pickup truck will be equipped with 800? Volt battery pack and 350 kW fast charging capability.
At the same time, GM will change the battery material from Ni-Mn-Co (NCM) to Ni-Co-Mn-Al (NCMA), which is the result of the chemical cooperation between GM and LG. The plan will also reduce the amount of cobalt material by 70%, thus reducing the battery cost. It is reported that Tesla, with the help of LG, also transferred the models made in China to NCMA? 3。
Andy Yuri thinks that NCMA material is "a big leap towards high nickel and low cobalt chemistry"? He added that this would "break through the target of $65,438+000 per kWh." In fact, Tesla and other car manufacturers have been working hard to reduce the battery cost to below $65,438+000 per kWh, which is widely regarded as the starting point for the price of electric vehicles to be the same as that of fuel vehicles.
At the press conference, General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Bora (Mary? Barra) told reporters: "We think it's time for people to know GM's leading position in electrification, and we are developing rapidly."
Perhaps, a brand-new battery system will refresh the industry's understanding of universal electrification.
That's not enough.
Product strategy of simplifying the complex.
"Our team accepted the challenge, changed the product development of GM and repositioned the company with the future of pure electric vehicles." Mary Bola said in a statement. In fact, GM also understands that to realize the future of pure electric vehicles, it is not enough to rely only on the underlying drive system, but also need a basic platform that can be copied quickly and on a large scale.
Taking Volkswagen's expansion in the global market as an example, both the early MQB platform and ID.3 and ID.4 under MEB platform have shown strong market input ability; Even the relatively mild Toyota has promoted the upgrade of TNGA architecture worldwide in recent years, minimizing the complexity of powertrain.
In fact, compared with traditional fuel vehicles, the structure of electric vehicles is relatively simple. However, GM, which pursues the ultimate, still adopts the product development strategy of eliminating complexity and simplifying, and introduces the method of collaborative development of the whole vehicle and the drive system.
Compared with the 550 kinds of internal combustion engine powertrains currently provided, GM initially plans to introduce 65,438+09 kinds of battery and drive unit combinations, so as to reduce the matching of powertrains, further reduce the complexity of electric vehicles and the number of parts, give full play to the role of technical intermediate platform, and provide consumers with a variety of options such as front drive, rear drive, four-wheel drive and performance four-wheel drive.
So, on the basis of modular drive system and Ultium exclusive battery, GM launched the third generation global electric vehicle platform BEV? 3。 Compared with the "short-lived" first-generation platform represented by EV 1 and the second-generation platform dominated by Chevrolet Bolt, BEV3 has more flexible derivative capabilities with the help of streamlined and modular drive systems.
Gm official said that the new generation global electric vehicle platform BEV3 will cover a wide range of market segments, including pickup trucks, SUVs, crossover vehicles, cars and commercial vehicles. , which can meet the individual needs of different customers in product design, performance, configuration, battery life and economy.
"What we are doing is to build a multi-brand and multi-market electric vehicle strategy with lower complexity and greater flexibility, so that the scale effect of new electric vehicles can be comparable to our full-size truck business." Mary Bola commented on the new electrification strategy.
She also said that between 2020 and 2025, GM will invest 20 billion US dollars in electric vehicles and autonomous driving. "This is a historic moment for GM." ? She said, "No matter what others say, we will continue to work hard. They either believe it now or we prove it to them, and then they will believe it. "
According to GM's official plan, Cruise debuted in San Francisco in June 5438+10? Origin, a pure electric self-driving car, is the first product equipped with the third-generation electric vehicle platform and Ultium battery.
Cadillac Lyriq pure electric luxury SUV will be unveiled in April, 202 1 will be launched in China, and will be launched in North America in 2022. Subsequent Cadillac brands also plan to have a large electric Cadillac SUV and a hand-made Cadillac? Celestiq's flagship electric car.
In addition, GMC Hummer, an electric pickup truck equipped with Ultium battery, will be unveiled in May, and it is planned to be put into production in Detroit-Hamtramck factory in the autumn of 20021. The electric Hummer will be the first pickup truck with new battery technology.
Autopilot, 2022? Bolt? EUV will be launched in the summer of 20021year, bolt? EUV will be the first company outside Cadillac brand owned by GM to adopt Super? Cruise driving assistant technical vehicle. GM plans to be super? Cruise expanded to 22 models.
Is it too late to adopt general electrification strategy?
For GM, its electrification strategy is undoubtedly of historical significance, but compared with most competitors, it is a bit slow. Here, we might as well ask the soul three questions to see what the odds are of GM's electrification strategy.
First of all, compared with other traditional car companies, did GM start late in the field of electrification?
The answer is no.
For a long time, traditional car companies have always maintained a cautious attitude towards electrification, which is a process of continuous layout. As a pioneer in the development of electrification, GM has more than 20 years of experience in the development of electric vehicles and more than 3,000 patents in the field of electrification.
In some respects, GM's electrification strategy is different from other traditional automobile companies, but there are also similarities. For example, like Volkswagen and Ford, GM has launched a brand-new electric vehicle platform, instead of covering the production of traditional models and electric vehicles on the CLAR platform like BMW.
However, GM did not open up a new product series like Volkswagen, but constantly introduced products in electrification based on the three major brands. At the same time, by reviving the Hummer family and using appealing classic brands to reduce the probability of failure, similar to Ford's Mustang as the beginning of electrification.
Secondly, in terms of electrification, how does GM compare with Tesla?
Judging from the current product information, GM is obviously prepared to directly benchmark Tesla's product planning in terms of product parameters and landing time.
For example, the Cadillac Lyriq pure electric luxury SUV with a slip-back shape has a charging capacity of 50-200kWh and a cruising range of 400 miles (640km), so there are face-to-face models? Y even models? The capital of x this product will be launched on 202 1, model number? Y, it's not too late
In addition, the electric Hummer will also be unveiled in May, and its resurrection means direct dialogue with Tesla Cybertruck. For American consumers, the name Hummer is of great significance, but for GM, it is undoubtedly a very smart and shrewd move.
Moreover, the high profit brought by the high price of electric Hummer can make up for the loss of $7,500 federal tax credit that GM no longer enjoys, and Tesla also lost its tax preference.
According to foreign media reports, the Hummer series revived by GMC brand is still preparing product plans for small and medium-sized SUVs and large off-road vehicles. Perhaps Hummer with a stronger product line will become one of the important factors for GM to gain a foothold in the US market.
Of course, in addition to the competition with Cybertruck, the electric Hummer will also compete with Rivian R 1T in the American market. However, the information about R 1T is not clear.
The positioning of GM electric vehicles is more like a defensive product against Tesla's attack, while Ford Mustang? Mach -E and electric F- 150 are more likely to face competition. After all, there is still a certain gap between GM and Tesla in autonomous driving and car networking.
On the whole, for the American automobile market which prefers pickup trucks and SUVs, the general electrification strategy is to develop in parallel in the largest niche market.
Finally, is GM's electrification strategy ready for the China market?
Looking at the current situation, the electrification label of GM in China market is not obvious, Cadillac, its high-end brand, has not yet launched new energy products, and Buick and Chevrolet brands are still playing "doll games" between light blue and long tour.
However, after abandoning the Southeast Asian and Australian markets, the China market began to become an increasingly important territory for GM in electrification.
On March 3rd, Qian Huikang, global executive vice president of General Motors and president of General Motors China Company, said in an interview with the media that by the end of 2020, the plan of "putting 65,438+00 new energy vehicles in the China market in 2065 and 438-2020" will be overfulfilled.
He believes that "China is GM's largest market and one of the most important markets, which plays a key role in the company's successful transformation and long-term development."
In terms of electrification, Mary Bola also has high hopes for the China market. "GM will make a comeback in China. Ten years later, the annual sales of electric vehicles in North America and China will reach 6.5438+0 million. " ?
Conclusion:
The routing agency believes that the new electrification strategy has two major functions for GM.
First, it plays a role in the transition from traditional electricity to electrification. This is a measure to make full use of existing production bases and resources and improve the capital efficiency of electric vehicle business. As Qian Huikang said, "the development of GM has always taken into account the future and the present."
GM predicts that the first generation products of electric vehicle projects will be profitable in the future, which can lay the foundation for long-term sustainable growth. It's like the flywheel effect. Electrification strategy injects new energy into the flywheel restart, but in the constant swing, it also contains various interests, forming a constant superposition of compound interest.
The second is to integrate industrial chain resources and rebuild business models.
GM said that by participating in the manufacture of batteries, it will further integrate the upstream industrial chain in the future and authorize batteries to be used in third-party products. Obviously, this is a different business idea from other car companies, and it is also an important step for GM to move from a simple car manufacturer to a product service provider.
We might as well predict optimistically that with the support of China and the United States, since the new electrification strategy, the giant elephant of General Motors seems to show signs of dancing again.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.