Chery Power – New Technology For World-Beating New Cars
The heart of a car is its engine. If the engine is too weak, too thirsty or unreliable, the car will be rubbish, no matter how great the rest of it is. Since the oil crises of the ‘70s, carmakers have been in a technological race to make their engines do more with less. As a result, you get 1.0-litre engines driving cars that would have been a 1.6litreL at least, and a 1.5 or 1.6-litre in place of a 3.0-litre. It has become clear though that the race is not over, it has barely begun.
This brings us to Chery, who recently unveiled its new phase of tech development called “Chery Power” at the 2021 Chengdu International Auto Show in China. Chery Power underlines the company’s core focus on the technological development of internal combustion and future proof vehicles. The latter refer to electric, hybrid and fuel cell drives. In South Africa we are more concerned with ICE engines, although the arrival of significant future engines is just a matter of time.
Thermal Efficiency
When fuel and air ignite in an engine’s cylinder, the expanding gas pushes up the piston, the conrod turns the crank and so on until your car goes vroom. But most of the energy so produced gets lost in heat, about half goes down the exhaust pipe and a large part heats the engine and gets absorbed by the cooling system. There is also some loss to friction and so on, but the big loss is in heat. Thermal efficiency is expressed as a percentage of the fuel/air burn that actually becomes mechanical force. Most road-legal cars are between 20% and 35% thermally efficient, and raising this number has become an automotive quest. Every percentage point gained is a massive boost.
As part of the Chery Power initiative, the company has developed a new range of ICE engines that will be available on the next generation of its world-beating Tiggo models. These engines may well touch 45% thermal efficiency, which would dramatically cut fuel consumption.
Chery Engines
Chery has been making cars only since 1999, but its early focus on engine technology has made it a world leader. These engines were designed, developed and built completely by Chery. Since those early days, it has built over 9.5 million engines, ranging from 0.8-L to 4.0-L.
During 2021, with the effects of the pandemic still keeping markets down, Chery invested heavily in the research and development for the Chery Power project. An early bonus of this programme is the ACTECO 1.6 TDGI engine fitted in the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro, just launched in South Africa. This motor produces 145 kW and 290 Nm with a thermal efficiency of 37.1%.
These strides were possible because Chery sees itself as a technology company, working with vehicle and propulsion development, safety systems, new types of engines, electric propulsion and artificial intelligence. The fact that they make great cars is almost a bonus.
Please stay tuned to this blog for new stories about Chery, their new cars and fast-moving technology.
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