From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 203 Polaris Mobile Phone Battery Cell Rolls Off the Production Line
Huang Yongqiang posted a targeted Weibo post.

The Camry is one of GAC Toyota's main models, occupying a significant share of the mid-to-high-end sedan market with sales of around 200,000 units. Both its gasoline and hybrid configurations sell well.

During periods of high demand in offline channels, prices often need to be increased.

The manufacturers and distributors were eating with their mouths greasy.

The marketing slogans also remain unchanged.

They've been spreading propaganda and brainwashing people for over a decade.

Does it need to be changed?
Not a single word needs to be changed!

Stable and reliable! Durable! Fuel-efficient!
But the common people at the grassroots level in China fall for this.

It doesn't matter if the configuration is a bit weak, as long as it's stable.

It doesn't matter if the acceleration is slow, as long as it saves fuel.

Paying extra for the car is fine; you can make up for it by saving on fuel.

There's also a hybrid version that can save even more fuel.

Adding another 20,000 wouldn't be too much, would it?
According to incomplete statistics.

In some regions, the price of the eighth-generation Camry has increased by more than 2.5 yuan through dealerships.

If you're unwilling to pay extra or add optional extras.

Then you'll have to wait, for three to five months.

If you're willing to pay extra, you can pick up the car in three weeks.

This is the current state of purchasing.

……

however.

The Starry Night S7, which appeared in March, completely changed this situation.

Its strong competitiveness allowed it to enter the field dominated by joint venture vehicles in just two months after its launch.

This has impacted the Camry and many other joint venture models.

The most significant change.

Although Camry's sales figures remain unchanged, it's clear that prices can't be increased. Order statistics have shown a downward trend for two consecutive months. In major cities, there's a growing discussion about electric vehicles for the new era.

What's so great about saving fuel?

They don't even need to add oil.

Even charging is free!
This has completely undermined the once-proud advertising slogans of Japanese car manufacturers.

As for battery life, the manufacturer has promised a ten-year warranty.

This already covers the car ownership cycle for most Chinese people.

Order data declined.

Huang Yongqiang keenly sensed that this was a bad sign.

While browsing industry news, I finally felt the urge to blurt it out.

Because it's unfair.

On the sales side alone, domestically produced new energy vehicles have consumed tens of thousands of yuan in national subsidies.

This includes government support for both production and R&D, as well as new energy R&D subsidies supplemented by specific catalogs.

The most crucial point is that the Starry Sky S7 can also get a free green license plate in cities with license plate restrictions.

This has a significant impact on their customer base in major cities.

For people in big cities, if the cost of a green license plate is taken into account and additional subsidies are added, the difference in the cost of buying a car can be as much as 100,000 yuan.

This explains why their orders changed so significantly in just two or three months.

While the Camry does have a hybrid version, it is a self-charging type and has no pure electric range, so it cannot be included in the new energy vehicle catalog.

By contrast.

It’s so unfair!!!
But can you say this?

Obviously can't say.

So he changed his approach.

When there is no proper reason, environmental protection is the biggest reason.

After sending it.

Huang Yongqiang then put the matter out of his mind.

Two hours later.

A phone call from the board of directors interrupted his good mood.

"Dad, what have you posted?!"

"what happened?"

"See for yourself, delete that Weibo post immediately!"

"what?"

……

Huang Yongqiang's eyes were as bewildered as his tone.

I opened my phone and browsed through it.

After a few seconds.

The hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly.

"..."

The outpouring of public opinion far exceeded his expectations.

The soaring stock price left him utterly astonished.

Why is public opinion so one-sided?

It didn't follow the usual script of big companies bullying small companies at all.

And this label isn't environmentally friendly...

Why is it happening to me again?
No.

What the hell is going on?!

-

The online discourse isn't entirely one-sided.

But it's at least 99 to 1.

Mr. Xu's anecdotes cover a wide range of topics.

A deeper analysis would not only cover Toyota, but also reveal a series of historical events stemming from hydrogen energy patents, including past lithium battery and patent disputes, all of which can be seamlessly connected with relevant historical precedents.

no way.

Life has been going on for so many years, and the routine hasn't changed at all.

Many big names in the new energy sector have entered the fray.

The fact that BYD and Tesla liked the same Weibo post is quite unusual and has caused quite a stir in the industry.

Hydrogen energy is undoubtedly a novelty for ordinary netizens and consumers.

But some genius somehow managed to find pictures of hydrogen storage tanks and post them under a trending Weibo post.

The angle of the shot is quite unique. Its rounded and slender outer shell, curved and pointed head, along with the special steel shell and related high-pressure labels, make it look like a hydrogen bomb that has been shrunk many times over.

These remarks immediately caused an uproar among netizens.

The reviews were overwhelmingly negative.

"Pfft! This is hard to hold!"

"It perfectly solves the problem that the explosive power of new energy vehicles is not strong enough."

"This jar looks so sturdy, the contents must be very safe, right?"

"I've heard... I mean, I've heard that the steam pressure in a supercritical power plant is only around 30 MPa, which is already terrifying. And hydrogen storage tanks are said to reach a maximum pressure of 70 MPa, which is incredible for carrying in a vehicle..."

"Compared to hydrogen, ternary lithium becomes so much more attractive."

"Brother, I'm begging you, brother. If you want to do environmental protection, go abroad and do it. I just want to drive a regular gasoline car. If that's not possible, a hybrid will do too. At most, I'll accept a lithium iron phosphate electric car. I'm really afraid of driving that thing on the road!"

"It's alright. One canister is at most equivalent to 150 kilograms of TNT. Currently, some hydrogen-powered vehicles in the industry have already installed four of them. The power is at most about the same as sixteen 155mm artillery shells. If no one dies, there's no big problem. If something goes wrong, at most it'll just be some bruises here and there, which is perfect for a grand celebration."

"I'm fucking begging you..."

……

……

The online buzz is huge.

"Mr. Xu, you've really exposed my true colors now."

Yu Nian marveled at this.

Toyota, as a car manufacturing giant, has openly launched a media offensive, and now the roles of offense and defense have been reversed, which makes him feel excited.

If it weren't for Mr. Xu saying that this would be the end of it.

He'd been wanting to chime in for a while.

"Do they even have underwear?"

Xu Yi replied humorously.

These car manufacturing giants, deeply entrenched in the evils of capitalism, have developed for many years without any bottom line. Where do they even begin to hide their true colors?
It's just that the sales are so good that the brilliance is too dazzling, making it difficult for people to look directly at it.

This issue is often overlooked.

That's how the world works; it judges success by results.

The success of Xingchen Motors is acceptable if it is limited to this small scope.

It is not suitable for large-scale collisions at present.

This is not good for either side.

of course.

If we really want to argue about it, the Japanese cars they disassembled internally, which they intended to reverse engineer, turned out to have abnormal safety data. If they actually released that data, it would probably cause quite a stir in the industry.

……

"Mr. Xu, our Polestar mobile phone battery cells have completed verification and rolled off the production line."

Dong Yuxuan sent a message from the battery R&D center.

Seeing this, Xu Yi immediately perked up, "Let's go check out our newly produced mobile phone battery cells."

Xingchen's mobile phone battery cell has been under development for nearly half a year. Because the technology and upstream and downstream materials have been integrated, and the patent reserves are comprehensive, the process has been very smooth.

Most of the time was actually spent on verification.

We sent a message to Xu Yi last month saying that the phone battery cells were in the final stage.

The day has finally come for it to be taken offline.

On the tray on the tempered glass in front, there is an ordinary-looking battery cell, but the outer aluminum-plastic film looks brighter than that of the external supply chain.

"This batch of battery cells has passed all the verifications, including the life verification of charge and discharge. We have run it 700 times with the standard of 'capacity decay to 80% of the initial value'. Currently, it still maintains 83% of the estimated battery health. The maximum lifespan is about 800 cycles. Even the worst performing cells in the batch can still reach at least 700 cycles."

Dong Yuxuan pointed to the SOC sampling data on the machine screen and explained.

"The best-optimized flagship battery cells on the market, based on the standard of 'capacity decay to 80% of the initial value,' have a lifespan of about 500 to 600 cycles. In comparison, our cells can extend the average battery life of users from one and a half years to two years."

It is common knowledge in the industry that mobile phone batteries are consumables.

Claims that slow charging maintains the battery and fast charging damages the battery cells are just marketing rhetoric.

Even the best mobile phone battery cells can't escape the limited number of cycles.

Since batteries have become non-removable and non-replaceable, this issue has become an inescapable source of anxiety for consumers.

"In addition, our specifications are designed according to last year's flagship phone, and the current capacity can reach 4100mAh. Through the Type-C interface, the battery cell can support up to 30W flash charging."

30W? Flash charging??

These two adjectives felt somewhat unfamiliar to Xu Yi.

He immediately opened his phone and started searching on Baidu.

I surfed the internet for a total of five seconds.

Ok.

The fastest proprietary charging protocols for mobile phones currently available, such as OPPO VOOC Flash Charge and Huawei SuperCharge, mostly only support up to 20W-22.5W.

And the term "flash charging".

It was officially mentioned in this year's marketing campaign; in previous years it was called Super Fast Charging.

Many flagship Android phones still use "Micro-USB", which is the Android trapezoidal interface.

Due to physical design and protocol limitations, the upper limit of fast charging is locked.

The charging power only saw a significant improvement after switching to the Type-C interface.

This year can be considered a crucial transition year for charging interfaces and charging protocols.

"Among its peers, our Polar Star battery cells not only boast the largest capacity and longest cycle life, but also the fastest charging speed," Dong Yuxuan said with a hint of pride.

The word "most" was used three times in a row.

Fast charging protocols are one aspect, but whether high-power fast charging is possible also depends on the battery cell's capacity.

However, the research and development cycle is limited, and their current verified samples have only reached this stage.

Given enough time, implementing 60W fast charging shouldn't be a problem.

"In addition, in terms of safety, we have continued our tradition of not only conducting compression and collision tests on mobile phone supply specifications, but also conducting needle penetration tests."

He pointed to the test bench on the other side.

"When fully charged to 4.2V, the voltage is pierced by a steel needle, and the temperature is controlled at 120 degrees Celsius. Although there is some bulging and smoke under extremely high energy density, it is still controlled within a safe range. This should be considered a good selling point this year."

Dong Yuxuan smiled.

The reason for doing this is, on the one hand, to continue the excellent tradition of battery research and development within their StarCraft team.

On the other hand, it's because Samsung made a big fuss last year.

More than 35 explosions of the Samsung Note 7 have occurred in various regions.

A nationwide mandatory recall was implemented.

The meme about the bomber hasn't faded from the internet for very long.

The issue of mobile phone battery cell safety has been seriously brought to the forefront for the first time.

……

　The next chapter will be a little later~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)