When it comes to battery life, OPPO is the originator｜Automobile Industry Economics

Horsepower, fuel consumption, wheelbase, acceleration from 100 kilometers...the automobile industry has always been unable to avoid the competition of quantitative figures.

If there is a hot search list in this circle, then the number one recently ranked is undoubtedly the number "1000".

From Weilai, Zhiji, and GAC successively announcing that they have entered the "1,000-kilometer club", to academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences bluntly saying "impossible", to a certain CEO mistakenly raising his middle finger when clarifying, companies intend to or The unintentional addition of drama and the slight or heavy fanning of the flames by the media created the most exciting drama at the beginning of 2021.

However, in a dispute that seems to be a swordsmanship, under the strong traffic exposure, there is actually no loser.

People’s discomfort mostly comes from overly advanced publicity and doubts about whether it can really be implemented. How to elegantly sell oneself and boast without being dissed will obviously become a long-term issue in the field of automobile marketing.

From this point of view, OPPO’s phrase “charge for 5 to 5 minutes and talk for two hours” ten years ago is still the pinnacle.

1? Their starting point

The three car companies currently claiming to launch 1,000km electric vehicles have adopted different material innovation routes, namely NIO’s “inorganic pre-lithium ionization” "Carbon-silicon negative electrode" semi-solid battery, Zhiji Automobile's "silicon-doped lithium-replenished" square shell battery and GAC's graphene-based super fast-charging battery.

These three routes seem to be carrying out "dynamic innovation" to some extent, but in fact, their respective purposes are different. This article does not focus on the actual effects of technology, but focuses on the meaning of "dynamic innovation" to the brand itself.

|About solid-state, it is not about "showing off skills" but conveying ideas

On January 9, NIO released a 150kWh solid-state battery, saying that the NEDC battery life of models equipped with this battery can reach 1,000 kilometers and plans to launch it on the market in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Once the news of "solid-state batteries" was released, it attracted heated discussions in the industry. Many experts said that solid-state batteries will not be commercialized so soon. This concept has been around for a long time and has not seen further expansion in the market.

Faced with many speculations in the industry, Li Bin hopes that the outside world can understand that Weilai is not trying to promote and emphasize that it has launched a solid-state battery, but to convey the concept that the battery can be upgraded.

In Li Bin’s mind, even if 99% of current travel needs have been met, NIO still wants everyone to see that the remaining 1% of needs is not a problem. This is exactly the significance of NIO’s launch of a 150-degree battery pack.

Whether it is solid state or semi-solid state, a common understanding from car companies and car owners has long been reached - if new energy vehicles are regarded as a power change, then solid-state batteries are undoubtedly the key to this change. A milestone leap.

|Regarding silicon doping and lithium replenishment, newcomers “have to” make some appearances

On January 13, Zhiji Auto, a subsidiary of SAIC, announced that it would cooperate with CATL for its first model. Equipped with a "silicon-doped lithium-replenished" battery, the maximum cruising range will exceed 1,000 kilometers.

“Silicon-doped lithium supplementation” may sound unfamiliar. In fact, this technology is not essentially different from the “pre-lithiated carbon-silicon anode” used in NIO solid-state batteries. Its main function is to improve battery performance. .

In the smart car track where players gather together, as a young brand, the first thing Zhiji has to do is to make its products truly attractive to users. In terms of brand attributes, the concept technology of "doping silicon and adding lithium" is more meaningful or to demonstrate the strength behind it.

The Internet genes of emerging automobile brands are becoming more and more intense, and it is particularly important to find a balance between traditional industry and modern technology. Facing strong competitors and market scrutiny, Zhiji Auto must have outstanding differentiated advantages in order to survive. ?

|About graphene, the secret behind the “big fuss”

On January 15, GAC Aian released a graphene-based battery with the slogan “80% rechargeable in 8 minutes” "Super fast-charging battery" and posted a poster saying "NEDC has a battery life of 1,000 kilometers without having to wait until next year."

The next day, Ouyang Minggao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences expressed his opinion: 1,000 kilometers of battery life, fast charging, safety, and low cost cannot be met simultaneously with the existing technology. However, judging from GAC’s external information and propaganda rhetoric at the time, graphene batteries can be realized, so they have become the focus of controversy.

This sudden out-of-circle spread is also related to the mystery of graphene itself.

Since its advent in 2004, graphene has become synonymous with "miraculous materials" and shoulders the important task of "qualitative change" in the industrial field. Although graphene batteries have been around for a long time, their large-scale industrialization still faces problems such as high costs.

A forgotten concept has been brought back into public view, which inevitably makes people question the hype of GAC Aian’s move.

“In the past, new technologies launched by traditional car companies would be researched and developed under confidentiality for 5-10 years, and only when mature would they be a blockbuster at new car launches. Now Tesla and others are being sought after by capital. Coupled with the decline in sales and profits of traditional cars, they can no longer remain calm and reserved," said Zhu Xichan, professor at the School of Automotive Industry at Tongji University and director of the Institute of Automotive Safety Technology.

2? Behind the competition is anxiety

When you lift the veil of the "concept", you will find that three car companies are rushing to promote uncertain technologies. Similar anxieties.

According to data from the China Automobile Association, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in 2020 hit a record high. Production and sales increased by 7.5% and 10.9% respectively year-on-year, and the growth rate turned from negative to positive. The market is expected to grow by 30% in 2021, reaching 1.8 million vehicles.

The rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market has brought huge opportunities to car companies. However, as Tesla increases its presence in China and joint venture brands accelerate their electrification transformation, local companies need to form their own competitiveness.

As the "heart" of new energy vehicles, the performance of power batteries is crucial. Therefore, many car companies have put their tentacles on this "heart" and inevitably start to "make a fuss" about it.

However, using a "speech" to attract and cater to the market in the short term is not a real underlying technological breakthrough.

“For professional capital and investment institutions, this so-called ‘new’ technology is just a marketing concept to gain market attention.” Yang Ge, founding partner of Xinghan Capital, said in an interview with Automotive Industry News said during the interview.

In his view, new technologies that are truly industry-promoting are on the one hand complex technological research and development and the synthesis of technical processes, which are difficult to appear in a commercial company in the short term; on the other hand The market will give relatively direct and positive feedback. Usually some new concepts that are vague and virtual are not really effective physical technologies.

Feng Sihan, CEO of Volkswagen Group China, also emphasized that in the absence of substantial breakthroughs in battery technology, long-range electric vehicles need to be equipped with heavier batteries. For this reason, they must be equipped with extremely high-cost, heavier batteries. With a lighter body, the cost of the entire vehicle will become higher and higher, so this is a vicious cycle.

Therefore, many people believe that one of the important purposes behind the commercial applications of uncertain technologies currently released by car companies is to increase valuations.

“There are many kinds of processes in batteries, and each company has similar changes. It doesn’t matter what term is used to package it. New concepts are particularly easy to fool the capital market and attract investment from some venture capital institutions by telling stories. "Senior industry analyst Zhong Shi told Automobile Industry Economics.

As expected, the graphene concept opened higher on the 18th, and Guangzhou Automobile Group A shares (601238.SH) once hit the daily limit and closed up 5.43%. However, the stock prices of A shares and Hong Kong stocks (02238.HK) have fallen since the 19th. As of the close of trading on January 20, A-share stock prices fell by 10.06% to 11.88 yuan/share; Hong Kong stocks fell by 2.91%. It is HK$8.35/share.

When marketing is ahead of the real level and the significance of hype is greater than the actual effect, the market will always calm down one day.

“For capital, investing in technology is a very cautious process. The concept of graphene has been hyped too much in the past two years. It is just a material in itself. How it is applied to batteries depends on Comprehensive results such as production efficiency, energy consumption, and adaptability require a process to be verified by the commercial market.”

3?Written at the end

On the battery track, many new energy car companies are competing for excellence. In the past year, various "PPT technologies" of new car-making forces have triggered The soaring stock price may provide a reference sample for traditional cars.

“From another perspective, there is no economy without bubbles, and there is no way to talk about business growth without enthusiasm, so it is normal and understandable to look at this from a commercial marketing perspective.” Yang Ge express.

Everyone has the element of "bragging" to a greater or lesser extent, but the difference is that some people may just "paint the cake"; others brag and finally explain a good result to everyone.

“Everyone is used to hearing Tesla’s ‘bragging’. From now on, traditional automobile companies will also be allowed to brag. We hope that the boasts of all automobile companies can be realized.” Zhu Xichan said.