All-solid-state battery technology will be launched from 2027 to 2028 GAC Toyota's intelligent electric transformation is accelerating

Reporter Chen Jingbin reports from Guangzhou

On June 28, at the scene of GAC Toyota's Technology Day, Wen Dali, executive deputy general manager of GAC Toyota, made a thought-provoking remark: "Technology is not about who says more, but how to do it. Is it the pursuit of short-term so-called disruption, or is it continuous evolution to achieve breakthroughs? In fact, technology should adhere to long-termism. From horsepower to power to computing power, it requires not only the vitality of innovation, but also the determination to continue to improve. Technology is not a one-man show, but a team competition. Technology has not only injected new vitality into century-old enterprises, but also made open cooperation more important than ever. ”

In the current fierce market competition, Japanese car companies, which are known for their cost performance, are facing unprecedented challenges. Wen Dali's speech profoundly reflected GAC Toyota's urgent need to actively seek the transformation of smart electricity in the context of the increasingly fierce domestic automobile price war.

The reporter of "China Business Daily" found that GAC Toyota broke the routine for the first time in 20 years since its establishment, and concentrated on its intelligent electric scientific and technological achievements that are not inferior to the new forces of car manufacturing, including the fifth-generation intelligent electric hybrid dual engine technology that deeply integrates the advantages of oil and electricity and achieves the ultimate balance; Cooperate with leading technology companies such as Huawei, Tencent, and Momenta to deepen local R&D in intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving, with a view to creating a "new joint venture car" that is more in line with the needs of the Chinese market. and the accumulation of full-path electrification technologies such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric and hydrogen electric.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Toyota is working on the launch of all-solid-state battery technology from 2027 to 2028. It is understood that the technology uses a solid-state electrolyte to provide fast charging and discharging capabilities while improving battery safety and life. Models equipped with all-solid-state batteries are expected to achieve a range of more than 1,000 kilometers and a fast charge of 10 minutes. The research and development of all-solid-state battery technology will provide a strong boost to GAC Toyota's electrification transformation.

In this context, GAC Toyota has become more determined in its long-term approach to scientific and technological innovation and emphasized the importance of openness and cooperation. Wen Dali said that through continuous improvement in the field of power and computing power, GAC Toyota not only hopes to achieve breakthroughs in technology, but also hopes to revitalize the market competitiveness of the enterprise through win-win cooperation.

Actively seek the transformation of smart electricity

For the transformation of intelligent electricity, in fact, GAC Toyota has long foreseen and actively responded.

At last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, GAC Toyota made it clear that in the face of the critical period of restructuring the industry pattern in the next three years, as a new joint venture head car company with 8 million users, GAC Toyota will carry out a self-innovation of the system and mechanism, and comprehensively promote the iterative transformation of the field of intelligent electricity.

In the context of self-innovation of the system and mechanism, GAC Toyota's hybrid technology has also made significant progress.

"What does hybrid really mean? Is it a new record? Is it simply to increase the fuel tank battery, simply compete with low fuel consumption and long battery life? Neither. Peng Baolin, deputy general manager of GAC Toyota, said that the essence of hybrid lies in the deep integration of oil and electricity, not a simple combination of electricity first and then oil or electricity and oil, but to give full play to the advantages of fuel and electricity, and achieve all-round impeccable in terms of power, economy, comfort, reliability and safety.

At present, hybrid technology is the main direction of electrification, and major brands are competing for the technological highland, and hybrid routes are emerging in an endless stream, and the market competition is extremely fierce. Peng Baolin believes that the fifth-generation intelligent electric hybrid dual engine technology has led the market in an all-round way by achieving the ultimate balance between oil and electricity, strong power and low fuel consumption, and performance and safety.

This is also evidenced by a number of data and media measurements. Taking media measurements as an example, the fuel consumption performance of GAC Toyota hybrid models is always stable, whether driving in urban areas or at medium and high speeds. During the 150-kilometre test, the average fuel consumption was just over 4 litres, which is lower than that of plug-in hybrids in its class. In addition, the higher the speed, the more obvious the fuel consumption advantage of the GAC Toyota hybrid model. At a speed of more than 120 kilometers per hour, the fuel consumption of the Leiling hybrid is more than 4 liters, while the fuel consumption of the plug-in hybrid model of the same level is more than 5 liters, and GAC Toyota has obvious advantages.

The latest data also shows that hybrid technology is still very popular in the market. According to the data of the Passenger Association, from January to May this year, the sales of new energy vehicles reached 3.255 million, a year-on-year increase of 34.4%. Among them, the growth rate of pure electric vehicles slowed down, increasing by 17.4% year-on-year; Sales of hybrid vehicles increased by 70.1%. Electric hybrid technology products represented by HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles), PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) and REEVs (extended range electric vehicles) have become new market growth drivers.

Solid-state batteries and intelligent driving technologies will be implemented one after another

Toyota's electrification technology will also provide strong support to GAC Toyota.

Yoshihiko Kanamori, executive vice president of the product planning center of Toyota Smart Electric Vehicle R&D Center China Co., Ltd., revealed that the research and development of all-solid-state batteries is also in full swing, with the goal of launching them in 2027-2028. All-solid-state batteries use a solid-state electrolyte that allows ions to move faster, is resistant to high pressures, and is less affected by temperature. Based on these characteristics, all-solid-state batteries are not only suitable for fast charging and discharging, but also overcome the problem of battery life degradation. Combined with aerodynamic improvements and lightweight design, models equipped with all-solid-state batteries will have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers and a fast charge of just 10 minutes.

In addition, in the second half of the intelligent transformation, GAC Toyota chose a comprehensive intelligent technology layout in cooperation with technology giants.

It is understood that GAC Toyota has launched a new intelligent cockpit through cooperation with Huawei and Tencent; In cooperation with Momenta and Pony.ai, GAC Toyota has also made significant progress in advanced intelligent driving technology.

GAC Toyota has continuously deepened its localized R&D system and actively integrated China's superior resources to promote the rapid progress of intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving technology. GAC Toyota plans to achieve a comprehensive leading joint venture brand in 2025 and keep up with new forces; Rank in the first echelon of the industry from 2026 to 2027.

In terms of intelligent driving, GAC Toyota has cooperated with Momenta, a leading autonomous driving technology company, to launch the TOYOTA PILOT end-to-end high-end intelligent driving system, which will be installed on the Bozhi 3X model for the first time, providing a full-scene high-end intelligent driving experience including parking, high-speed and urban NOA, realizing "you can drive when there is a road, avoid obstacles, and stop when you have a position".

At the same time, GAC Toyota and Pony.ai have cooperated to carry out the commercial operation of L4 driverless taxis to promote the large-scale mass production of high-level autonomous driving technology. The Sena fully unmanned Robotaxi equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving system integrates the world's first automotive-grade hardware and multiple safety redundancy design, and has been running continuously for one year without accidents, accumulating rich experience in intelligent driving.

Recently, Toyota China, GAC Toyota and Pony.ai have jointly funded the formal establishment of a joint venture company, Lifeng Technology, and the first phase plans to launch 1,000 units of the Bozhi series L4 Robotaxi in first-tier cities to carry out large-scale operation. In the field of autonomous driving, Pony.ai is the first company to put Robotaxi into commercial operation, with leading technical strength, and has obtained L4 autonomous driving road test permits in many first-tier cities in China.

(Editor: Zhao Yi Review: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Jingning)