Recently, a Li One equipped with an inline three-cylinder 1.2T engine caught fire after rear-ending a JAC Weilai EC6 on the highway. Pictures from the scene show that both vehicles suffered varying degrees of damage after the collision. The rear of the JAC Weilai EC6 that was rear-ended was severely deformed, the rear trunk glass was cracked, one side of the bumper was dented, and the taillights were completely cracked. The front power compartment of the Ideal One caught fire. As of November 15, 2021, Li Auto has not officially issued a relevant statement, and it is reported that the car owner has deleted the post after posting it on some social platforms.
Objectively speaking, as long as a rear-end collision occurs, most of the vehicles behind will suffer a greater loss and will have to replace the most important engine and transmission. For vehicles that are rear-ended in front, the sheet metal rear body part needs to be welded, and even needs to be cut first and then re-welded and reshaped. Whether the engine is replaced or the car body is cut and welded, not only does the quality of repairs lead to a reduced experience when using the car, but also the economic losses caused by the secondary depreciation of the residual value of the new energy vehicle are considered.
The JAC Weilai EC6 body structure material is mainly composed of aluminum alloy and some carbon fiber composite materials. All-aluminum welding is also different from the traditional welding process, because there is a high-hardness dense oxide film on the surface of the aluminum alloy, which has a greater impact on the welding, making Weilai The cost of manufacturing and repairing cars is relatively high.
In the collision, the JAC Weilai EC6's rear door (pointed by the green arrow) was damaged, the rear body welded side panels (pointed by the white arrow) were damaged, the body welded rear panel (pointed by the yellow arrow) was damaged, and the rear body welded floor was damaged. (red arrow) damaged.
In addition to the rear door that can be replaced as a whole, the rear side panels, rear quarter panels and rear floor that are welded to the body must be cut first and then welded. However, as a stamped assembly (side panels, rear panel and rear floor), after a round of cutting and welding, the rigidity and strength are not as good as the "original" state. If the accuracy of the girder calibrator is insufficient and the maintenance accuracy of the technician is insufficient, it will easily become the root cause of driving resonance and deviation in the future.
On the one hand, the maintenance technology and maintenance equipment of the all-aluminum body are very demanding, and secondly, the level of the maintenance staff is also very high. At present, JAC NIO mainly entrusts local luxury brands such as Audi to perform daily after-sales maintenance. In areas where Weilai's sales are relatively high, the quality of repairs can be guaranteed, but it is unclear whether such repair quality can be guaranteed. One more important thing is that the cutting and repair of the trunk aluminum body basically means that the car has become an accident car, which will have a greater impact on the value preservation of subsequent car owners' products.
The car in front of the rear-end collision, the Lili One equipped with a three-cylinder engine, uses a relatively common steel material for its body structure, so maintenance is cheaper than the JAC Weilai EC6. But what is puzzling is that it actually caught fire after the collision.
Red arrow: Front-mounted inline three-cylinder 1.2T engine
Blue arrow: The power battery system in the middle of the body welding
Previously, Zhihu Auto released a video of dismantling the Ideal ONE, "The chassis of the Ideal ONE is the same as that of the Highlander, and the parameters of many parts are exactly the same." In fact, by analyzing the model platform and 3-cylinder engine of the 2021 Ideal ONE More interesting information can be seen on the layout of the exhaust system and the technical status of the front and rear suspensions.
Lideal ONE uses a three-group circulation system to provide cooling servo with different temperature requirements for the three-cylinder engine, front and rear electric drive systems, electronic control systems, and power battery systems. As a range-extended hybrid vehicle, special attention must be paid to the heat dissipation efficiency of the power cabin when the SOC value of the power battery is low, urban congestion is low-speed driving conditions, and the three-cylinder engine is "driving to generate electricity" at high speed. If the power cabin is at high temperature for a long time under full load, it may not catch fire. But under the action of "external force", will the physical destruction of the oil pipe cause a combustion and explosion of the entire vehicle?
At about 11:30 on May 8, 2020, a fire accident occurred in Changsha, Hunan Province. Through the analysis of multiple on-site shooting videos, it was found that the open flames ejected outwards from the front power compartment of the Ideal ONE, and the cockpit and the center-mounted power battery were not affected.
In August 2020, a three-cylinder Ideal ONE was involved in an accident at a high speed in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, causing the vehicle to catch fire. Subsequently, it was concluded that an object suspected to be a piece of iron penetrated the high-pressure oil pipe, causing fuel to splash and be discharged. The high temperature of the trachea ignites. Therefore, whether Ideal ONE spontaneously ignited due to this situation or other reasons remains to be seen, waiting for the follow-up inspection report.
The author has something to say:
No matter whether it is a new car-making force or a traditional car manufacturer, as long as the customer completes the purchase and registration of the car, it will transform from the pre-sales stage to the after-sales stage. If choosing, selecting and buying a car is romantic, then using a car, repairing a car and making a prototype are realistic.
The advantage of new car-making forces lies in their appropriate service concepts, which can give full play to the subjective initiative of sales staff and make customers truly feel cared for. The shortcoming of the new car-making forces lies in the speed and coverage of after-sales network construction, which does not match the slow sales growth.
The advantages of traditional car manufacturers lie in their complete R&D, testing, and mass production cycles as well as their complete 4S\2S store support system. The shortcomings of traditional car manufacturers are the slow adjustment of market strategies and the uneven service quality of 4S stores.
Judging from this typical example of the accident where the three-cylinder Ideal ONE rear-ended a JAC Weilai EC6, the all-aluminum body maintenance technology requires high standards, and the rear car that caught fire was almost scrapped, ultimately forming a "lose-lose" situation. Even if both cars are fully repaired, the decline in the residual value of the old car is unacceptable.
Of course, what the author is most concerned about is the real reason why the Ideal ONE equipped with a three-cylinder engine caught fire.
Produced by the evaluation team of New Energy Intelligence Analysis Network
