Photo: Geely/edited by autoevolution
On June 6, Lynk & Co decided to share images of its version of the Polestar 5. The concept known as “The Next Day” was a hybrid with a system called E-Motive. That was all the Geely brand was willing to share at the time. Now, it stated that the hybrid E-Motive could travel 180 kilometers (112 miles) in pure-electric mode while the PHEV E-Motive only delivers 150 km (93 mi). We are still trying to figure out how that is even possible.
Hybrid vehicles usually have a smaller battery pack because the electric motor is only there to assist the combustion engine, not to drive the car on its own. That makes them lighter. On the other hand, they also do not move very far with the juice their batteries manage to retrieve.
Plug-in hybrids are heavier because they have a larger battery pack that can be charged to allow the car to move exclusively with the electric motor. Many criticize Nissan’s e-Power system because it has a relatively small battery pack and no way to charge it: it is the combustion engine that generates the electricity that moves the car. Despite that, the vehicle offers a much better fuel economy than regular hybrid vehicles because the combustion engine is not involved in driving the car. That allows it to work in its most efficient range all the time.
Back to the E-Motive, Lynk & Co only informs that the HEV is more fuel-efficient than the PHEV: 4.5 l/100km (52.3 MPG) instead of 5.1 l/100km (46.1 MPG) when the PHEV is in hybrid mode. That makes sense if you consider that the plug-in hybrid is heavier than the hybrid. Again, that makes Lynk & Co’s claim that the hybrid can drive further in electric-only mode than the PHEV even more strange.
We have tried to contact Geely and Lynk & Co to learn their explanation for these claims. While we wait for it, we can talk a bit more about the E-Motive system that the Chinese titan claims offers a hybrid with no compromise.
The system is composed of a three-cylinder 1.5-liter engine, a three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT), and the rear 150-kW (201-hp) rear motor. The hybrid gets a battery pack with the shape of a transmission tunnel, while the PHEV seems to have a more conventional battery pack placed under the seats.
These components would be enough to offer vehicles with a large electric range. That would allow them only to fire their engines if there was no fast charger (up to 50 kW) available, as any PHEV should be. Despite that, the hybrid going farther than the PHEV in electric mode still has us puzzled.
Plug-in hybrids are heavier because they have a larger battery pack that can be charged to allow the car to move exclusively with the electric motor. Many criticize Nissan’s e-Power system because it has a relatively small battery pack and no way to charge it: it is the combustion engine that generates the electricity that moves the car. Despite that, the vehicle offers a much better fuel economy than regular hybrid vehicles because the combustion engine is not involved in driving the car. That allows it to work in its most efficient range all the time.
Back to the E-Motive, Lynk & Co only informs that the HEV is more fuel-efficient than the PHEV: 4.5 l/100km (52.3 MPG) instead of 5.1 l/100km (46.1 MPG) when the PHEV is in hybrid mode. That makes sense if you consider that the plug-in hybrid is heavier than the hybrid. Again, that makes Lynk & Co’s claim that the hybrid can drive further in electric-only mode than the PHEV even more strange.
We have tried to contact Geely and Lynk & Co to learn their explanation for these claims. While we wait for it, we can talk a bit more about the E-Motive system that the Chinese titan claims offers a hybrid with no compromise.
The system is composed of a three-cylinder 1.5-liter engine, a three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT), and the rear 150-kW (201-hp) rear motor. The hybrid gets a battery pack with the shape of a transmission tunnel, while the PHEV seems to have a more conventional battery pack placed under the seats.
These components would be enough to offer vehicles with a large electric range. That would allow them only to fire their engines if there was no fast charger (up to 50 kW) available, as any PHEV should be. Despite that, the hybrid going farther than the PHEV in electric mode still has us puzzled.
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