China's internal combustion engine technology research and development still deserves attention.

On September 4, the 2020 China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum was held in Tianjin. During the first-day Think Tank Perspective Forum, Zhang Jinhua, Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, delivered a speech on the current state and future outlook of China's automotive industry.

Zhang Jinhua believes that China has made significant progress in automotive energy-saving technologies over the past five years. China's new-energy vehicles have essentially reached the international forefront in overall technical capabilities, with pure-electric vehicle technology continuously improving and plug-in hybrid technology also achieving notable advancements. Meanwhile, breakthroughs have been made in fuel-cell technology and intelligent connected systems as well. At the same time, Zhang Jinhua offered several suggestions for the future development of China's automotive industry. Notably, he emphasized that, for the foreseeable future, internal combustion engines will remain a crucial component of China's auto sector, making engine technology a key focus area for industry-wide research and development. Zhang Jinhua stressed that the R&D and continuous performance enhancement of internal combustion engine technologies should continue to receive high priority from both the industry and individual enterprises.
Here is the transcript of Zhang Jinhua's speech:
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, good afternoon! I’m honored to be the first speaker. Today, I’d like to share insights on two key areas. First, let me discuss the current state of the automotive industry. Over the past year or so, we’ve brought together nearly a thousand experts and engineering professionals to conduct an in-depth analysis of the industry’s technological advancements—now updated to version 2.0. This comprehensive assessment has led to several important observations based on our research.
The first aspect is that automotive energy-saving technologies have made remarkably significant progress over the past five years. Average fuel consumption in passenger vehicles has continued to decline, and new types of engines and transmissions in passenger cars are already widely felt—particularly automatic transmissions, such as DCP and CVP, which are now being applied on a large scale across a diverse range of models. While progress in the commercial vehicle sector has been somewhat slower, notable advancements have still been achieved, especially in areas like lightweight design and enhanced efficiency of diesel engines. Perhaps most evident in commercial vehicles is the growing adoption of multi-speed automatic transmissions. As for new-energy vehicles, their overall technological capabilities are firmly among the world’s leading groups. In particular, the technical sophistication of our pure-electric products continues to improve steadily. Notably, several domestically produced vehicle brands have performed exceptionally well in the market, helping to nurture promising new-energy vehicle enterprises as well.
Pure electric vehicles—particularly in areas like our power battery-driven motors—have helped nurture several companies that now boast strong competitiveness. Globally, we’re also leading the way in developing charging infrastructure. Moreover, our plug-in hybrid technologies have made significant strides, with companies such as BYD, SAIC, GAC, and Great Wall Motor already launching products that have been well-received by the market—products that not only showcase attractive technology but also deliver impressive energy efficiency in hybrid configurations. In recent years, fuel cell technology has seen remarkable progress. After years of persistent challenges, especially in localizing key materials and components, we’re now witnessing substantial advancements. These breakthroughs are laying a solid foundation for dramatically reducing costs in the near future. For instance, whether it’s graphite or metal bipolar plates—or even critical system-level components like proton exchange membranes and air compressors—we’ve made notable headway. Additionally, while domestic capabilities in advanced catalysts and carbon-based materials remain relatively underdeveloped, there’s still a growing base of expertise in these areas. Overall, the technological advancements in fuel cell systems are creating an ideal platform for scaling up commercialization efforts in the coming years.
Smart connected technologies are something everyone can already feel—over the past few years, these technologies have advanced rapidly, and their commercial applications are gradually becoming more widespread. In particular, our advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) have become standard features in new vehicle models. Meanwhile, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) coordination technology has already been demonstrated on a small scale in certain regions. Additionally, high-precision mapping, positioning, and even cloud-based control technologies are currently undergoing technical validation in limited areas. Moreover, highly advanced autonomous driving technologies are being deployed in select scenarios—such as parking—as well as in specific regional conditions and on highways, albeit on a limited scale for now.
The second aspect I’d like to address is the general direction of technological development for China’s automotive industry in the future. Personally, I have a few thoughts on this—though they may not be entirely accurate—so please feel free to consider them as food for thought. First of all, I believe that research and development into internal combustion engine technology, along with efforts to enhance its performance, should continue to receive high priority from both the industry and individual companies. In fact, over the past few years, this has even been reflected at the talent level: it’s become quite challenging to recruit students specializing in highly efficient internal combustion engines. This is a very worrying sign, because for the foreseeable future, internal combustion engine technology will remain a critical component of the automotive industry. Beyond purely internal combustion-powered vehicles, even models with varying degrees of hybridization—or even plug-in hybrids—will still rely on internal combustion engines. Therefore, it’s clear that internal combustion engine technology should once again become a central focus of industrial R&D efforts.
I believe that one of the most promising technological directions for internal combustion engines in the future is improving thermal efficiency. Our technology roadmap outlines distinct efficiency targets for commercial and passenger vehicles at different stages. For instance, in the passenger vehicle segment, we aim to quickly surpass 45%, with the ultimate goal of reaching 50%. Meanwhile, in the commercial vehicle sector, we’re striving to push even higher—currently, the best efficiency levels in this area have already hit 50%. This remains our key focus. Another important area is the development of specialized engines tailored for various hybrid powertrain systems. This could become another critical path for our engine innovation efforts, and the industry as a whole is actively working toward these advancements.
Hybrid technology should become the mainstream approach. From my personal perspective, 48V systems will soon gain widespread adoption. Medium hybrids, deep hybrids, and even other hybrid configurations represent crucial solutions for enhancing fuel efficiency in our conventional vehicles. In recent years, our country has made progress in hybrid technologies—several companies now boast a solid foundation—but overall, the industry remains relatively weak, particularly when it comes to industrial infrastructure. While plug-in hybrids and deep hybrids have achieved volume production, they’ve yet to deliver significant profitability. Moving forward, I urge our industry to collaboratively develop one or two common platforms, rather than having individual companies independently pursue their own product platforms. This approach would be far more cost-effective and beneficial for the industry as a whole. Currently, some companies are already showing willingness to share platform resources—for instance, SAIC has taken steps in this direction.
The third aspect is lightweight technology, which should continue to be developed and applied. I believe that especially with the rise of electrification and advanced levels of intelligence, the overall vehicle weight—our existing stock—will inevitably increase. However, leveraging lightweight technologies will be crucial in balancing this growth while maintaining quality. Currently, the focus is primarily on enhancing the quality of high-strength steel, while also advancing the use of composite materials like aluminum and magnesium, as well as carbon fiber. Notably, companies such as NIO and even the traditional Chery Ant have already achieved remarkable success in incorporating aluminum alloys into their vehicles, and these efforts remain economically viable even as production scales up.
The fourth aspect concerns power batteries. I have two key insights here: First, next-generation power batteries featuring novel systems and structures are likely to become the technological focus for future development. Once battery energy density surpasses 350 Wh/kg, achieving safe, large-scale applications may hinge on these new battery systems—especially given the high safety-related costs associated with current technologies. Such innovations could include solid-state batteries in various forms, as well as metal-air batteries. Currently, from a front-end R&D perspective, particularly under the strategic deployment of the Ministry of Science and Technology, significant breakthroughs have already been made in both material research and the development of small-capacity prototype models for these new battery systems. Secondly, I believe that battery safety must receive utmost attention. This starts with ensuring safety in the design phase and maintaining structural integrity throughout the battery’s lifecycle. Equally critical is guaranteeing safety during real-world applications. At present, everyone should pay close attention to the safety of power batteries, as this directly impacts the overall safety of new-energy vehicles. With the rapid expansion of electric vehicles into mainstream markets, frequent accidents—especially those involving battery fires—could severely undermine public confidence and create a highly unfavorable environment for widespread adoption.
In fact, up to now, fire incidents involving new-energy vehicles—especially pure electric cars—have been significantly lower than those of traditional vehicles. From the perspective of spontaneous combustion, they occur roughly at one-quarter to one-fifth the rate. However, the consequences are quite different. Currently, I believe the main safety concerns stem from two key factors: first, in my view, it’s due to excessive usage—when energy utilization is pushed too high, it becomes extremely easy for batteries to experience overcharging or deep discharging, which can degrade their performance. Second, there’s also an issue with inadequate compatibility and proper matching during the charging process.
Fifth, particularly in the context of future new-energy vehicles, these should become key nodes within the energy internet. This approach would significantly enhance the overall efficiency of their lifecycle usage. If we can overcome this challenge, it will enable large-scale adoption of electric vehicles, making them a vital component of the smart energy system—or even the broader energy internet—enabling two-way interaction with the power grid. As a result, we can effectively boost our operational efficiency and better distribute our costs.
The sixth aspect is that lightweight fuel cell technology will continue to advance rapidly, and it will first be scaled up for commercial vehicle applications. As I mentioned earlier, I believe the foundation for large-scale adoption already exists—most importantly, significant localization of many key technologies and products has dramatically reduced costs. This is because hydrogen supply can leverage abundant, low-cost, and clean sources at the energy end, such as industrial byproducts or even wind and gas resources.
The seventh aspect, I believe, is that especially with the advent of highly advanced intelligence, a new automotive technology system—or rather, a new technological ecosystem—centered around a novel electronic motor architecture will gradually take shape. Once vehicles achieve this high level of intelligence, their underlying electrical and electronic architectures should undergo a revolutionary transformation. In today’s global context, it is particularly crucial for China to establish open-source foundational software or develop independently controlled, self-reliant solutions.
Finally, I’d like to say that the industry ecosystem driven by shared intelligent mobile terminals will dominate the competitive landscape. We often talk about a "new industry ecosystem" or simply "industry ecosystem," but what exactly does this ecosystem entail? Personally, I believe the first key aspect is that the functionality of our automotive products will become highly versatile—perhaps extending far beyond mere transportation, evolving instead into multifunctional platforms that serve as hubs for work, services, and information.
On the other hand, there's the increasing trend toward platform sharing. Currently, competition revolves around brands and industrial chains, but looking ahead, I believe the real battleground will undoubtedly shift to ecosystems driven by mobile devices—or rather, smart mobile technologies—as the central hub for shared resources. This, of course, also involves the development of relevant standard systems. That’s exactly what I’d like to share with all of you today. Thank you!

Translated from Sina Auto

Email:
info@adtfm.com

Phone:
021-20532053

Address:
2nd Floor, No. 150 Jindian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai