Chinese passenger vehicles will not meet EU fuel consumption standards

According to a report released on July 15 by the Energy and Transportation Innovation Center, by 2015, Chinese passenger vehicle companies will not be able to meet the fuel consumption standards of the European Union, Japan, and the United States.

On the day of the “2012 Annual Average Fuel Consumption of Chinese Automobile Enterprises” and “2012 China Environmental Friendly Vehicle Rankings” conference, An Feng, President and Executive Director of the Energy and Transportation Innovation Center, stated that according to the current development trend Few Chinese car manufacturers can meet the European Union or Japan's 2015 fuel consumption standards in 2015; most Chinese car manufacturers can meet the US standards in 2012, but few Chinese car manufacturers can meet the 2015 U.S. standards. .

The Energy and Transportation Innovation Center introduced that after analyzing the parameters of the top 10 models sold in the United States, Japan, Europe and China in 2012, it was found that the best-selling models in the United States are mainly large-displacement, high-power and high-torque models, and their best-selling vehicles are average The fuel consumption is 10.5L/100km, the curb weight is 1,730kg, and the average displacement is 3.3L. The best-selling models in Japan are mainly low-fuel-efficient, energy-saving vehicles. Hybrid vehicles are popular, and the quality and displacement of the hybrid vehicles are also low. Similarly, the best-selling models in Europe are generally based on low fuel consumption and low-emission vehicles.

Compared with the above-mentioned regions/countries, the fuel consumption and curb weight of China's best-selling models ranged between Japan and Europe and the United States, which were 6.9L/100km and 1310kg respectively. The average displacement was equivalent to that of Japan and Europe, which was 1.6L.

“However, the best-selling models in China are relatively weak in the application of energy-saving technologies.” An Feng said that only a few models of China’s best-selling models have applied engine valve technology, booster technology and other fuel-saving technologies. In Japan, the best-selling models mainly adopt stepless transmissions, and in addition to the engine variable valve technology, the best-selling models in Japan also use start-stop technology and hybrid technology to save fuel; in addition to improving fuel economy, diesel models in Europe mainly use diesel engine technology. Some models also apply start-stop technology, booster technology, and other fuel-saving technologies. This is the area where fuel-saving technologies are currently used most.

According to the Energy and Transportation Innovation Center, fuel consumption standards in China, the European Union, and Japan are all based on vehicle weight, and fuel consumption standards have decreased as the vehicle weight increases. The U.S. standard is based on the footprint area (the area between the four wheels), and the fuel consumption standard decreases as the vehicle body becomes larger. The EU will begin to shift beyond standards based on footprint area after 2015. China is currently conducting the fourth phase of the 2015-2020 fuel consumption standard research.

An Feng said that because Chinese vehicles are far smaller than American light vehicles in terms of body, weight and horsepower, the average fuel consumption value of Chinese passenger cars is still lower than that of the United States. If China's 2015 fuel economy standard is converted to a body size (footprint area), it will start to lag significantly behind the US 2015 standard.

In 2012, the average fuel consumption of automobiles in China fell by 2.3% year-on-year, of which domestic cars decreased by 2.2% year-on-year, and imported cars decreased by 5.1% year-on-year. Among domestic cars, the number of joint-venture brand companies fell by 3.6%, while those of self-owned brands increased by 1.0%. The increase in fuel consumption of self-owned brands is mainly related to the development of their products in the direction of large-scale and heavy-duty.

Since 2006, the average annual decline in average fuel consumption in China has been relatively slow, at only 1.3%. In 2012, the average fuel consumption of China's auto companies reached 7.38L/100km. The Energy and Transportation Innovation Center predicts that the development of this goal will not be a problem with achieving the target of 6.9L/100km in 2015, but it must achieve the national target of 5 litres per 100 kilometers in 2020, and it needs to maintain an annual average during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. About 5 percentage points lower.

"The emission of air pollutants such as CO, HC, SOx, NOx, and CO in vehicle exhaust is extremely diffuse, non-point source pollution. Once discharged into the atmosphere, it cannot be controlled and can only be controlled from the source." Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, China Petrochemical Corporation According to Cao Xianghong, a consultant of the Scientific and Technical Committee, the emission of air pollutants in vehicle exhaust is related to automotive technology (including engine technology and exhaust gas converter technology).

On June 30, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a new motor vehicle and engine type that meet the state-approved emission limits for the third, fourth, and fifth phases of the national motor vehicle emission standards. Tao Detian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that pollution emissions from motor vehicles have become an important source of air pollution in China. The Ministry of Environmental Protection will coordinate the promotion of “vehicle, oil, and road” upgrades to ease the impact of vehicle exhaust emissions on the atmosphere.

"New energy vehicles will play an important role in helping companies meet their standards." But An Feng also said that it needs special attention that over-reliance on new energy vehicle indicators will dilute the company's efforts to retrofit traditional models.