China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has urged vehicle and battery manufacturers to research to improve the driving performance of electric vehicles in cold weather in order to improve user experience.
The significant performance degradation of electric vehicle batteries in low-temperature environments, battery capacity decay, and range shrinkage have sparked widespread concern. Especially with the recent plunge in temperatures in northern Chinese cities, the problem was highlighted even more.
The MIIT encourages vehicle and power battery enterprises, industry institutions, and universities to carry out research and development to accelerate the development and industrialization of low-impedance film-forming additives and all-climate batteries to improve the driving performance of electric vehicles in cold weather, said Huang Libin, a spokesman for the ministry, on Tuesday.
On January 8, the vice-minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin also said that the issue of electric vehicle use in cold weather concerns the vital interests of consumers, which needs to be taken seriously, and auto companies should optimize after-sales service to solve user demands in a timely manner.
When the temperature drops from 25 ℃ down to -20 ℃, the power battery can release 30% less power, while the charging time will also increase. When the vehicle uses air conditioning, the range of pure electric vehicles will be further reduced by 17%, according to third-party data.
More than 65% of vehicle owners believe their pure electric vehicle models have a range shrinkage of more than 20% in winter, with 20% of them believing their vehicles have a range shrinkage of more than 40%, according to survey data cited by Beijing Business News.
The charging effect of pure electric vehicles in low temperatures will also be greatly reduced, especially when the lithium iron phosphate battery itself is less resistant to low temperatures.
Companies can design thermal control systems to keep the battery temperature in a reasonable state, slowing down the electric car battery capacity decay in low temperatures, according to Yan Jinghui, an auto expert quoted by Beijing Business News.
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