Currently, the new energy transformation of China’s commercial vehicles is at a crucial stage, and the competition for the right to speak of core technologies has entered the deep water zone. Against this backdrop, FORLAND MOTORS took the lead in releasing its first semi-solid battery truck, the Xiangling Q, which undoubtedly injects a shot in the arm into the industry. This milestone event not only marks that China’s commercial vehicles have entered the era of “high energy density”, but also, with its outstanding performance in cruising range, safety, and adaptability, provides a highly valuable new model and a strong driving force for the industry in the key processes of technological innovation, product iteration, and transformation to new energy.
The Implementation of Semi-solid Battery Technology Solves the Pain Points of the New Energy Transformation of Micro-trucks
The newly released Xiangling Q semi-solid battery model is equipped with two types of semi-solid batteries, 40 kWh and 50 kWh, independently developed by Foton Motor. Different from the liquid batteries commonly used in the industry currently, it has six core competitiveness features: “long cruising range, fast energy replenishment, long lifespan, high safety, wide temperature range, and more intelligence”, making every effort to solve the pain points of traditional liquid batteries in terms of cruising range, degradation, and energy replenishment.
First, in terms of the cruising range that truck drivers care about the most. This battery adopts a solid-liquid composite electrolyte system, which significantly improves the energy density of the battery. This means that under the same volume or weight conditions, it can store more electric energy, endowing the vehicle with a more durable cruising range. The Xiangling Q equipped with a 50 kWh semi-solid battery has a cruising range of up to 290 km. Coupled with its 1.2C rate fast charging technology, it can achieve a cruising range of 70 km after charging for 10 minutes, and it only takes 25 minutes to fast charge from 30% to 80% of the battery capacity. For truck drivers engaged in urban distribution transportation and individual short-distance transportation, this technological innovation brings tangible value and greatly improves transportation efficiency.
Moreover, the IECO semi-solid battery also comes with a quality guarantee of 8 years or 400,000 kilometers. The cycle life of a single cell reaches 6,400 times. Even if the battery system cycles more than 3,000 times, it can still maintain a battery health level of over 70%, greatly reducing the degree of degradation. Compared with the current conventional liquid batteries with only about 2,500 times of cycle life, the IECO semi-solid battery can be used for one and a half years longer, which is very suitable for various scenarios of high-frequency vehicle use.
In terms of battery safety, this semi-solid battery has passed the vibration durability test 2.5 times the national standard. The strictness of this standard is almost equivalent to the test of driving 800,000 kilometers in China. For micro-trucks, this means that the battery system can cover the entire service life of the vehicle. In addition, this battery is also equipped with four fire prevention measures. The battery cells will not catch fire even when punctured or shot from all directions, and its functions will not fail even when immersed in water 1 meter deep for 96 hours, achieving the state of being “invulnerable to water and fire”. At the same time, the ground clearance of the battery also reaches 260 millimeters, greatly avoiding the collision risk caused by the battery hitting the ground.
In addition, this semi-solid battery also has the characteristic of wide temperature adaptability ranging from -30°C to 50°C. Even in severely cold regions in winter like Northeast China, its low-temperature discharge efficiency is 20% higher than that of traditional batteries, ensuring that the battery can maintain a stable cruising range under different ambient temperatures.
In terms of intelligence, the battery system, through algorithm optimization, provides intelligent guidance for truck drivers’ charging behaviors to avoid unexpected battery risk problems during the charging and use of the vehicle. From hardware technology to software support and then to data intervention, it comprehensively helps truck drivers improve their vehicle and electricity usage experience.
The IECO semi-solid battery endows the Foton Xiangling Q with strong market competitiveness. Coupled with the large space, high comfort, and high reliability of the five-row double-seat configuration, whether it is for urban distribution, short-distance transportation, or operation under complex road conditions, the Xiangling Q can provide users with a more efficient and reliable vehicle usage experience.
IECO’s All-domain Layout of Three-electric Products Injecting New Momentum into the “Double Carbon” Goal
The performance of the three-electric system of new energy commercial vehicles not only depends on the technical level of each module but also on the matching and coordination degree among them. As the first all-domain intelligent ecological brand of commercial vehicles in China, Foton IECO has reshaped the R&D ecological chain of the three-electric system with the innovative model of “0+1+3+4+N”, where “3” refers to the full-stack independent research and development of the three core modules: battery, electric drive, and electric control. And this three-electric system has fully considered the coordinated work among the battery, electric drive, and electric control since the beginning of its R&D, achieving the optimized matching of the three-electric integration, maximizing the advantages of independent research and development, and achieving the effect of 1+1+1>3.
The breakthrough of the industry under the “Double Carbon” goal is essentially a competition for the right to speak of core technologies. As the core of BAIC Foton’s “dual brand strategy”, FORLAND MOTORS’ new energy strategy is anchored to the goal of achieving new energy sales of 80,000 units in 2027, ranking first in the micro-vehicle industry, among the top three in the light truck industry, and leading in the engineering vehicle field. To this end, FORLAND MOTORS actively arranges the R&D and application of Foton IECO’s three-electric coordination system. In the future, FORLAND MOTORS will also successively launch 48 IECO three-electric products, constructing an all-domain product ecosystem covering light and micro trucks, small trucks, and engineering vehicles, so that advanced electrification technologies can truly benefit all industries and provide new momentum for the future development of the global logistics industry.
The propositions of the era call for the key to innovation, and technological innovation unlocks new development areas. In the wave of global automotive industry transformation, FORLAND MOTORS has never stopped its exploration in the new energy field. With Foton IECO’s three-electric coordination as the fulcrum, it will leverage the qualitative change of the commercial vehicle industry from “fuel substitution” to “technology defining standards”, and contribute the strength of the era to promoting the green transformation and sustainable development of the global commercial vehicle industry.
