Wang Hongjun: New energy buses face six development trends

From June 5th to 6th, the 2018 (9th) Global Automotive Forum, co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Automotive Industry Committee, the China Chamber of International Commerce Automotive Industry Chamber of Commerce and the Chongqing Auto Show Organizing Committee, was held at Chongqing Yuelai International Convention Center. The theme of this forum is "Shaping the Future of the Industry in an Era of Change". Guests from the automotive industry around the world gathered together to discuss the new changes and trends in the automotive industry under the new generation of technological revolution. The following is a transcript of the speech by Wang Hongjun, Vice President of BYD Bus Research Institute:

Wang Hongjun, Vice President of BYD Bus Research Institute

Wang Hongjun believes that new energy buses face six major development trends: electrification, lightweight, intelligence, integration, standardization and customization.

At present, energy shortage, air pollution and traffic congestion have become global urban problems. Wang Hongjun introduced that in terms of exhaust pollution, buses account for a large proportion. A 12-meter traditional diesel vehicle is equivalent to the emissions of 30 cars. Although cars are not driven every day, buses are driven every day and the emissions are quite large. It can be seen that promoting new energy buses is an important way to solve the urban energy crisis and environmental pollution.

New energy buses are divided into four categories: hybrid buses, fuel cell buses, gas buses, and pure electric buses. Wang Hongjun believes that pure electric buses have the most development prospects, and they have the advantages of zero emissions, low noise, and low operating costs. In addition to vigorously promoting the development of pure electric buses in China, many international established bus manufacturers have also begun to study pure electric buses.

Since pure electric buses need to carry a large number of batteries, the weight of the whole vehicle will inevitably increase. Therefore, lightweight research is a very necessary topic. Wang Hongjun introduced that lightweighting can help reduce vehicle energy consumption, improve overall comfort and acceleration, and increase customer benefits. Taking a 12-meter bus as an example, an aluminum alloy body can reduce weight by 600 kilograms, and a bus can save 4.5 kWh of electricity per day. Assuming that a bus company has 4,000 buses, it can save more than 6 million per year.

In addition, intelligent development is also a trend that the bus industry should pay attention to. Through intelligent networking, buses can extend many convenient services. For example, buses in Shenzhen can be paid by mobile phone. At the same time, the intelligent dispatching function helps to optimize the operation routes of urban buses and improve operational efficiency.

The trend behind the development of intelligence is integration and standardization. Integration can make the entire operation and control system more concise, while standardization is conducive to regulating industry development and improving the R&D and production efficiency of enterprises.

Finally, customization is a judgment based on the market development trend of new energy vehicles. Wang Hongjun said that as subsidies continue to decline and eventually withdraw, the impact of policies on the new energy vehicle market will gradually weaken, and customer demand will be the main guide for vehicle research and development. For example, vehicles designed for different regions in Beijing and Chongqing can adopt different configurations and improve different intelligent services according to different road conditions and climates.

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.