Chairman of BAIC: There is no point in having an electric car with a long range, 300 kilometers is enough

The vigorous development of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market has made many consumers pay more attention to the direction of the new energy industry. For consumers, there are two key pieces of information that they care about: driving range and charging time. If these two points can be solved well, electric vehicles will at least be more convenient to use. However, as the company with the largest sales of electric vehicles in China, BAIC believes that a driving range of 300 kilometers is enough.

The picture comes from BAIC's official website

In a recent interview, Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC, said, "After the new battery swap technology is popularized, no one will question the range anxiety of new energy vehicles. In the future, the range of new energy vehicles will be gradually standardized. In my opinion, a range of about 300 kilometers is a very economical and reasonable value. If it is too short, frequent battery swaps will be inconvenient, and if it is longer, it will be meaningless. When the battery is out, just swap it, just like refueling a fuel car."

Xu Heyi also believes that the longer the range, the better. "The battery for a 600-kilometer range is twice that of a 300-kilometer range. Not to mention idling, the battery's own weight is increased, which will aggravate the wear and tear of the tires. In addition, the operating costs will also increase significantly. The battery of an electric car with a range of 600 kilometers is equivalent to pulling itself every day, and the power consumption per 100 kilometers will also be very high. We calculated through a variety of comprehensive factors and found that a range of 300 kilometers is enough."

According to Xu Heyi of BAIC, as long as battery swapping technology becomes popular, the 300-kilometer range of electric vehicles will no longer be a shortcoming. BAIC claims that the latest generation of battery swapping technology only takes 30 seconds and is expected to be launched this year.

BAIC, which is betting on new energy vehicles, has announced earlier that it will withdraw from fuel vehicles in 2025. Xu Heyi said that the development of new energy vehicles is the only way for China to go. If Chinese automakers do not engage in new energy, they will have nowhere to go. Moreover, we can accelerate the development of new energy vehicles and make China's auto industry go from big to strong.

Earlier, Li Bin, chairman of NIO, also said something similar. He said that simply increasing battery life does not require much technical content. For example, as long as more batteries are installed, the car is made as streamlined as possible, and some space is sacrificed, there are only a few tricks. Li Bin believes that simply increasing battery capacity is not a good method, as it will affect the performance of the vehicle. As long as it is moderate, it will be fine. What is really needed is to provide good charging services.

As figures with relatively strong voice in China's electric vehicle sector, Xu Heyi and Li Bin's views on the future development of electric vehicles have indeed caused considerable controversy.

In the future, electric vehicles will have longer driving range and higher charging efficiency, and the core is still "technology". For example, the energy density of batteries, technological breakthroughs will increase the energy density, and the driving range of electric vehicles will be longer and longer with the same weight of batteries.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.