Who Will the Fully-Powered AITO Askey R7 Drive Prices Down?

12/23 2024 347

Prior to December 19, Yu Chengdong stated that the AITO Askey M7 was the most competitive extended-range vehicle priced under 250,000 yuan. However, with the introduction of the extended-range AITO Askey R7, does the M7 still reign supreme in this price bracket? The new R7 initially launched with two rear-wheel-drive versions, each equipped with Huawei's Tuning Flex chassis as standard and, for the first time, featuring Huawei's Owl silent extended-range system. Boasting a 36kWh battery, it offers a pure electric range of 251km (CLTC conditions) and a maximum range of 1,570km with a full tank and battery. During the promotional period, it includes a zero-gravity seat, ADS SE Enhanced Edition, and 21-inch wheels, all for just 249,800 yuan, making it an exceptional value proposition. Will the AITO Askey M7, which slashed its price by 40,000 yuan four months ago by removing LiDAR, face another price reduction? While this is a possibility, there's also a chance that the M7 could undergo further upgrades, incorporating new technology, to justify a starting price around 250,000 yuan.

As the first to incorporate Huawei's Owl technology, paired with Chery's fifth-generation engine for enhanced fuel efficiency?

As a series-parallel hybrid, the power unit of an extended-range vehicle solely relies on the battery. However, neither vehicle has opted for a large-capacity battery. The AITO Askey R7's extended-range version utilizes a 36kWh battery, currently the smallest capacity in the entire HarmonyOS Smart Drive extended-range lineup. Conversely, the AITO Askey M7 recently filed declarations with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for two battery capacities: 37kWh and 40kWh, offering rear-wheel-drive pure electric ranges of 156km and 162km for four-wheel drive, respectively. Despite having 1kWh more battery capacity than the R7, the M7 offers 95km less range. Even with the larger 4kWh version, there's a nearly 90km range difference. Multiple factors influence pure electric range, one being vehicle weight. The AITO Askey R7 has a curb weight of 2,298kg, while the AITO Askey M7 with a 37kWh battery is 177kg heavier, equivalent to carrying an additional 18kWh battery, placing significant strain on the electric drive system for range management. Nevertheless, both vehicles are equipped with Huawei's DRIVE ONE multi-in-one system, essentially similar in functionality. Yet, the AITO Askey R7 offers approximately 300km more in combined range. Why?

The answer lies in the range extender's power generation efficiency. According to official data, the 1.5T Chery fifth-generation hybrid engine in the AITO Askey R7 generates 3.7kWh of electricity per liter of fuel, while the H15RT range extender in the AITO Askey M7 produces 3.13kWh per liter. Both are 1.5L turbocharged range extenders, so why the difference in electricity generation? The key is improving thermal efficiency. The narrow and long cylinder block is crucial for combining the deep Miller cycle. The R7's engine has a stroke of 92mm, while the M7's is only 88.32mm. In the narrow and long combustion chamber, the piston can do more work due to inertia, making it easier for the expansion ratio to exceed the compression ratio. Combined with technologies like 350Bar direct injection, a variable geometry turbocharger, an integrated exhaust manifold in the cylinder head, a variable oil pump, and reduced friction, a thermal efficiency of 44.2% ensures optimal output efficiency and fuel economy. Hence, Chery's hybrid engine can even be used in C-DM plug-in hybrids.

However, a narrow and long cylinder block, without proper injection technology or tumble flow design, can lead to incomplete combustion of the fuel-air mixture in the combustion chamber, resulting in carbon deposits and knock due to wet walling. This affects NVH, fuel consumption, and fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency. The H15RT range extender in the AITO Askey M7 uses multi-point fuel injection instead of direct injection, installing fuel injectors in each cylinder's intake manifold. It calculates the required fuel volume based on RPM, intake air volume, and throttle position, spraying fuel into the intake manifold in a mist to form a fuel-air mixture drawn into the cylinder for combustion. How can it ensure complete combustion at the farthest end? It relies on high-octane gasoline. Therefore, the AITO Askey M7 must use 95-octane gasoline to mitigate these issues through high-grade gasoline's combustion characteristics.

Technically, Chery's solution is more professional. In addition to using 350Bar high pressure to break down fuel particles, the straight intake manifold is changed to a fishbelly structure to optimize intake efficiency. This allows the combustible gas to roll along the cylinder's normal surface, combined with airflow-guided spray, achieving uniform ignition and rapid combustion. This not only addresses tumble pressure in the combustion chamber, reducing the risk of carbon deposits, but also suppresses knock, eliminating the dependence on high-octane gasoline and saving vehicle operating costs. Moreover, it's not surprising that the next-generation range extender will utilize pre-combustion technology. A dual combustion chamber will inevitably further enhance thermal efficiency, elevating fuel-to-electricity conversion capability to new heights.

Notably, the AITO Askey R7 is also the first to integrate Huawei's latest technology, the Owl Intelligent Silent Range Extender System. From the name, one might assume it manages the range extender's NVH. However, this system is a functional module that uses sensors and algorithms to monitor vehicle fuel consumption and power demand, providing control decisions. It can collect road condition data from the chassis, analyze the environment using sensing hardware like cameras for highly accurate energy demand, perform cross-domain coordination, comprehensive perception, and use algorithms to control the range extender's operation. This solution brings the range extender into the realm of intelligent perception, akin to the Tuning Flex chassis using radar sensing hardware to actively control suspension stiffness and height. Thus, the AITO Askey R7 is the most technologically comprehensive extended-range vehicle under 250,000 yuan.

With the Tuning Flex's potential upgrade, price changes for the AITO Askey M7 are not out of the question.

Also priced under 250,000 yuan, the AITO Askey R7 comes standard with the fully-powered Tuning Flex chassis across its lineup. This technology uses sensing hardware from the intelligent driving system to actively adjust chassis components. Its prerequisites include full sensing, algorithm, and execution configurations. The chassis execution hardware must include air springs and CDC dampers, with a combination of double-wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension essential for maximizing active chassis effectiveness. The multi-link rear suspension not only enhances comfort tuning but also allows for high-power electric motor placement in the rear axle, a logic shared by most extended-range SUVs, including the AITO Askey M7.

Focusing on the front suspension, the AITO Askey R7 employs a double-wishbone suspension with a double-ball-joint variant structure, also known as a virtual kingpin type. This ensures stable and effective friction stress between the tire and road surface in both straight lines and curves, enhancing handling response and body stability. Compared to the traditional MacPherson structure in the AITO Askey M7, the former's suspension solution offers significantly higher playability or comfort, naturally incurring higher manufacturing and tuning costs. The AITO Askey M7, without air springs across its lineup, cannot achieve an active chassis that adjusts suspension travel. However, before this chassis technology, the M7 was one of the earliest models to use ADS preview adjustment for damping.

In simple terms, it uses cameras to recognize road information, matched with corresponding data by the control center to adjust continuously variable dampers in the suspension and torque transfer between the front and rear axles. Encountering speed bumps, potholes, or high-curvature curves, it provides damping solutions with varying stiffness levels. Of course, after removing LiDAR, this chassis solution's effectiveness diminished. Based on current active suspension technology evolution, the next generation after air springs + CDC will likely be electromagnetic suspension. To some extent, the AITO Askey M7's chassis control system provides a technical reference for the Tuning Flex chassis. Thus, functionally, ADS preview + CDC can be considered entry-level in future active suspension technology.

Currently, the AITO Askey M7 comes standard with this chassis technology across its lineup, overlapping in price with the fully-powered Tuning Flex chassis of the extended-range AITO Askey R7. Therefore, the M7 needs to create price differentiation. It's possible it may be equipped with air springs + CDC after an upgrade, also pursuing the maximum effect of the fully-powered Tuning Flex chassis. In such a case, there are two potential suspension structures: either switching directly to a double-wishbone front suspension or modifying the MacPherson structure to use a virtual kingpin and double-ball-joint design. This was previously a common front suspension type in sports sedans used by BMW but would require extensive testing and tuning. However, it's certain that comfort and stability will surpass current limits. As for the final technical solution, only time will tell.

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