盡管大馬力 Hellcat 和Demon V8 已經(jīng)在 FCA 北美市場(chǎng)占據(jù)絕對(duì)主力位置，Ram和 Jeep 車(chē)型也大賣(mài)特賣(mài)，但混動(dòng)和純電動(dòng)汽車(chē)似乎“還沒(méi)站到主角的位置”，F(xiàn)CA 動(dòng)力總成發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)研發(fā)新任領(lǐng)頭人Michael Bly 如是表示。Bly 還同時(shí)承認(rèn)，F(xiàn)CA 公司在新型推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)領(lǐng)域顯然看起來(lái)處于落后地位。
在 FCA 近期舉辦的 2020 年產(chǎn)品預(yù)展活動(dòng)中，Bly 告訴《汽車(chē)工程》，“正如采訪(fǎng)剛開(kāi)始，我在回答自己為何選擇這個(gè)職位時(shí)所言，我的腦海里也有一些問(wèn)題：‘FCA現(xiàn)在（在業(yè)內(nèi)）處于什么地位？’”他說(shuō)，“因?yàn)?，我希望看到的是新型混合?dòng)力技術(shù)與傳統(tǒng)內(nèi)燃機(jī)技術(shù)齊步前進(jìn)，共同發(fā)展。”
事實(shí)上，在正式加入 FCA 之前，Bly已經(jīng)因“FCA 的未來(lái)產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略”及“90 億歐元電氣化研發(fā)投資承諾”而深受鼓舞。“實(shí)際上，這個(gè)投資已經(jīng)體現(xiàn)了公司未來(lái)產(chǎn)品組合的發(fā)展規(guī)劃。”Bly 斷言，“無(wú)論是從技術(shù)角度（電動(dòng)汽車(chē)、插電式混合動(dòng)力車(chē)、輕混合動(dòng)力車(chē)研發(fā)），還是我們正在合作的供應(yīng)商選擇，又或是在遍布世界各地的生產(chǎn)基地和工程設(shè)施推進(jìn)轉(zhuǎn)型來(lái)看，這無(wú)疑都是體現(xiàn)。”
Bly 在 OEM 和一級(jí)供應(yīng)商領(lǐng)域都有豐富經(jīng)驗(yàn)。在加入 FCA 之前，他曾擔(dān)任 American Axle 公司產(chǎn)品管理電氣化全球副總裁，在歐洲辦公。更早時(shí)候還曾在通用汽車(chē)（General Motors）公司擔(dān)任動(dòng)力總成和車(chē)輛電氣化方面的關(guān)鍵工程管理職位。近日，自 FCA 動(dòng)力總成上任老板 Bob Lee 正式退休以來(lái)，Bly 與全球動(dòng)力總成開(kāi)發(fā)負(fù)責(zé)人 Jeff Lux 將暫時(shí)共同分擔(dān) Lee 之前的工作。
目前，F(xiàn)CA 的先進(jìn)推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)研發(fā)計(jì)劃規(guī)模有限，但意義重大。FCA 是北美市場(chǎng)采用 48V 輕混合動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)的先鋒，且已經(jīng)與大陸集團(tuán)（Continental）和 Magneti-Marelli 公司簽訂供應(yīng)協(xié)議，由這兩家供應(yīng)商分別為旗下 Ram 和 Jeep 使用的汽油 V6和 V8 發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)生產(chǎn) “eTorque” 系統(tǒng)。此外，公司的 Pacifica 插電式混動(dòng)休旅車(chē)也受到行業(yè)工程師的廣泛贊譽(yù)。
與此同時(shí)，F(xiàn)CA 還在積極改變市場(chǎng)對(duì)我們的“感覺(jué)”。“現(xiàn)在，我們正在投放現(xiàn)場(chǎng)解決方案，”Bly 表示，“混動(dòng)休旅車(chē)Pacifica 就是一個(gè)很好的例子，性能出眾、功能明確、能耗出色。我們現(xiàn)在需要解決的就是‘如何讓它變得更好一點(diǎn)’？”
目前，Bly 和 Lux 的團(tuán)隊(duì)正處于制定推進(jìn)技術(shù)發(fā)展路線(xiàn)圖的關(guān)鍵時(shí)期，并致力于在關(guān)鍵電氣化領(lǐng)域建立完善的供應(yīng)商關(guān)系。
“電機(jī)：電機(jī)可以幫我們實(shí)現(xiàn)哪些目標(biāo)？我們的技術(shù)是什么？我們的合作伙伴又是誰(shuí)？”Bly 問(wèn)道，“電池：10 年前當(dāng)我剛剛從這個(gè)領(lǐng)域起步時(shí)，電池領(lǐng)域還有很多初創(chuàng)公司，但現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)優(yōu)勝略汰到就這么三到四家了，也就是 LG、三星、松下和 CATL 這四大巨頭。我們?cè)陔姵仡I(lǐng)域投入了很多精力，主要集中在如何使用電池更好地配合我們的戰(zhàn)略開(kāi)發(fā)與產(chǎn)品路線(xiàn)。”
Bly 認(rèn)為，動(dòng)力電子元件是 FCA 公司的核心技術(shù)領(lǐng)域。他說(shuō)，“我們正在尋找最佳做法。如今，領(lǐng)域內(nèi)有大量元件供應(yīng)商，我認(rèn)為你必須把大家全部整合到一起、明確價(jià)格定位、投入軟件和控制系統(tǒng)，最終才能確立我們?cè)趧?dòng)力電子元件方面的核心優(yōu)勢(shì)。在我看來(lái)，這是推動(dòng) FCA 前進(jìn)的動(dòng)力，也是我們可以真正發(fā)揮影響力的地方。”
電動(dòng)汽車(chē)和供應(yīng)挑戰(zhàn)
Bly 承認(rèn)，電氣化將給供應(yīng)商帶來(lái)巨大壓力。所有供應(yīng)商都必須在“正在為公司‘買(mǎi)單’的現(xiàn)有產(chǎn)品”和“近期很難真正盈利的新興技術(shù)”之間謹(jǐn)慎平衡投資，哪怕這些新技術(shù)可能需要數(shù)年才能初現(xiàn)規(guī)模并真正賺取利潤(rùn)。
Bly 舉了一個(gè)之前在動(dòng)力傳動(dòng)系統(tǒng)供應(yīng)商工作時(shí)的例子。“有四到五家供應(yīng)商在車(chē)橋和變速箱方面非常專(zhuān)業(yè)，每年都要奮力競(jìng)爭(zhēng) 1 億輛汽車(chē)應(yīng)用的訂單，每家都希望增加自己的市場(chǎng)占有率。”
“在這 1 億輛汽車(chē)訂單中，電氣化汽車(chē)的市場(chǎng)份額可能在 2％、5％，甚至 10％。”Bly 解釋道，“我們假定 10%，那現(xiàn)在有 1,000 萬(wàn)輛汽車(chē)訂單，有 10 家供應(yīng)商希望將市場(chǎng)份額從 10% 增加到 20％、25％，甚至是 30％。那么他們面臨的將是什么？一場(chǎng)血戰(zhàn)！這種現(xiàn)實(shí)下，如何推出過(guò)硬的技術(shù)至關(guān)重要。”
Bly 表示，美國(guó)市場(chǎng)對(duì)小型汽車(chē)的“不待見(jiàn)”和仍舊高昂的電池成本將進(jìn)一步拉大全球汽車(chē)市場(chǎng)的差異，而且各地的監(jiān)管限制也有不同，這也勢(shì)必帶來(lái)影響。FCA 必須“小心對(duì)待（燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性）合規(guī)性問(wèn)題，”他指出，目前，我們正在從特斯拉（Tesla）購(gòu)買(mǎi)碳排放額度。我們必須謹(jǐn)慎對(duì)待合規(guī)性問(wèn)題。我們的車(chē)型以大型為主，我們不能一直貼錢(qián)賣(mài)車(chē)。”
Bly 對(duì)電池和電機(jī)的價(jià)格下降持樂(lè)觀態(tài)度。“如今，只要來(lái)點(diǎn)電氣化，無(wú)論多少。都可以在這個(gè)市場(chǎng)中發(fā)揮作用。”
內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的未來(lái)
Bly 表示，對(duì)于底特律“汽車(chē)三巨頭”及其主營(yíng)的皮卡業(yè)務(wù)來(lái)說(shuō)，目前，內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的處境很好，甚至柴油發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的機(jī)會(huì)也不錯(cuò)。但他也同時(shí)承認(rèn)，內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的活躍年限在縮短。
Bly 預(yù)測(cè)，柴油發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)在本世紀(jì) 20年代結(jié)束前仍將保有一席之地，但已是“夕陽(yáng)行業(yè)”，這是因?yàn)椴裼桶l(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)為滿(mǎn)足法規(guī)要求而必須額外支出的后處理成本“非常高昂”。
除了柴油發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)，其他內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的整體情況也是“日落西山”嗎？Bly 表示，“我認(rèn)為，有的公司可能已經(jīng)停止研發(fā)內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)了，但我們還沒(méi)停。FCA 還將至少完成一個(gè)內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)開(kāi)發(fā)周期。”
“我認(rèn)為，我們還將繼續(xù)推進(jìn)優(yōu)化，比如將燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性再提高一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)、馬力輸出再增加一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)、尺寸再縮小一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)等，直到我們找到性能與成本的最佳平衡點(diǎn)。”
在此背景下，F(xiàn)CA 動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)集團(tuán)正在同時(shí)招聘內(nèi)燃發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)和電動(dòng)推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)方面的人才。未來(lái)，推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)將繼續(xù)是 FCA 集團(tuán)的核心競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力，“我們總得想辦法把這 90 億美元花掉吧？”Bly 笑稱(chēng)。
With its asphalt-ripping Hellcat and Demon V8s dominating the engine headlines at FCA North America, and boom times for Ram and Jeep sales, hybridization and battery electric vehicles (EVs) have “not been the leading-edge story,” notes Michael “Micky” Bly, the company’s newly arrived head of Powertrain Engine Engineering. And, he acknowledged, the company is clearly perceived as trailing the industry in the new- propulsion space.
“When I started the interview process to come to this position, that was one of my questions: ‘Where is FCA? Give me some insight,’” he told Automotive Engineering at the company’s recent 2020 product preview. “Because what I’m intrigued about is seeing this technology develop—as well as ICE’s continuing progress at the same time.”
Before hiring in, Bly was encouraged by a peek behind the future-product curtain, and by FCA’s commitment to invest nine billion euros in electrification over the next few years. “And that number is a reflection of what’s really coming in the portfolio,” he asserted, “either from a technology point of view— whether it’s EVs, plug-in hybrids, mild hybrids—or suppliers we’re working with, or conversion around the world of our manufacturing sites and engineering facilities.”
FCA is expected to benefit from Bly’s extensive experience on both the OEM and Tier-1 sides. He was previously American Axle’s global VP for Product Management Electrification, based in Europe. Before that, at GM, he held key engineering management positions for powertrain and vehicle electrification. With veteran FCA powertrain boss Bob Lee’s recent retirement, Bly is teaming with Jeff Lux—named head of global powertrain development—in an interim arrangement to fill Lee’s position.
Their current advanced-propulsion initiatives are limited but significant. FCA is in the vanguard of adopting 48-volt mild-hybrid systems in North America, with Continental and Magneti-Marelli “eTorque” systems in production on both its gasoline V6 and V8 engines, respectively, for Ram and Jeep. There’s also the Pacifica plug-in hybrid that’s widely lauded by industry engineers.
Meanwhile, FCA is catching up in the perception battle. “Right now, we’re kind of putting in spot solutions,” he said. “The [PHEV] Pacifica is a good example: a good vehicle with a good purpose. It’s demonstrated fantastic fuel-economy performance. How do we make it a little better?”
What to do, what to let others do
Bly and Lux’s team are deep into establishing FCA’s propulsion-tech roadmap and are focused on building supplier relationships in the key electrification areas.
“Motors: where are we going to go with motors? What is our technology; who’s going to be our partner?” he said. “Batteries, it’s boiling down to maybe three suppliers after all the startups maybe 10 years ago when I was starting in this space. And we know who they are—it’s the LGs, it’s the Samsungs, Panasonic, CATL. Those are kind of the four biggies. Spend a lot of time with it, see how those road- maps can fit into our area.”
Bly believes power electronics is a core technology area for FCA. “We’re trying to understand where we take that,” he said. “There are a lot of component suppliers; with power electronics you’ve got to pull them all together, right price point, throw in software and controls and that’s where we have a core fundamental advantage, I think. That’s one area I see as a thrust; we can make an impact.”
EVs and the supply challenge
Bly acknowledges that electrification presents a tremendous pressure for suppliers, who must carefully balance their investments between “pay the bills” legacy products and new technologies that may take years to build scale and earn a profit.
He uses his previous experience in driveline supply as an example. “There are four or five suppliers that are really good at axles and transmissions and they’re fighting for 100 million cars every year. They want that volume split up.
“In the electrification space, you go all the way down to 2%, 5%— even 10% if you stretch it—of the market,” he explained. “Let’s say 10 million cars—you’ve got 10 suppliers fighting like heck for 10% of the market today to grow to 20%, maybe 25%, maybe 30%. It’s a blood- bath right now for the suppliers,” he noted. “How do they bring a technology forward that’s compelling?”
And the U.S.’s shift away from small cars, combined with the still- high cost of batteries means there is a widening divide regarding what works in various world markets, Bly said. Or what’s possible in relation to varying regulatory strictures. He noted that FCA has to “be very careful of our [fuel economy] compliance. We’re buying credits—European consolidation credits with Tesla. So, we’ve got to make sure we get a compliance play. We’re not in position to spend any money to sell cars. We have a large [model line] footprint, we have big vehicles.”
Bly is optimistic about the decreasing price points of batteries and electric motors. “You’re almost getting to a crossover point where, within a couple percentage points electrification—either light or heavy—can play in this market.”
For the Detroit Three and their dominating pickup business, it’s a great time for internal combustion—even diesel. But Bly concedes that the ICE’s time in waning.
Diesel will have a place until the end of the 2020s, he predicts, but the technology is “sunsetting.” The cost of aftertreatment to meet regulatory compliance is getting “really expensive,” Bly explained.
What about ICEs in general: are they in their descendancy? “I think there are certain companies that are done,” Bly stated. “We’re not in that place. We probably have one more [engine development] cycle for sure that we have to execute.
“We’re going to turn one more, I think, to get all of our highest fuel-efficiency numbers, get the output up a little bit more, maybe downsize it a little bit more— find that sweet spot in that space.”
That’s why FCA’s powertrain group is hiring engineers—to do both ICE and EV development, Bly concedes. “I’ve got to find a way to spend nine billion dollars,” he said with a laugh, noting that propulsion technology will continue to be an FCA core engineering competency going forward.
Author: Bill Visnic
SAE Automotive Engineering
在 SAE 采訪(fǎng) Micky Bly 之后幾天，F(xiàn)CA 和 ZF 公布了 ZF 將為 FCA 大規(guī)模供應(yīng) 8 速自動(dòng)變速器的消息。ZF 表示，最新一代 8HP 設(shè)計(jì)“采用集成電動(dòng)驅(qū)動(dòng)器，適用于混合動(dòng)力車(chē)型?！狈治稣J(rèn)為，這份史上第二大變速器訂單將允許 FCA 為旗下一大批最暢銷(xiāo)車(chē)型提供混合動(dòng)力版本，包括 Jeep 大切諾基和 Ram 皮卡車(chē)。
FCA 公司的標(biāo)志性 Hemi V8 發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)是公司北美市場(chǎng)最重要的推進(jìn)系統(tǒng)之一，2019 款產(chǎn)品更是搭配了來(lái)自 Magneti-Marelli 的 “eTorque” 48V 輕混合系統(tǒng)（可選配置），從而使效率和性能都有所提高。目前，這也是全尺寸皮卡領(lǐng)域唯一的混合動(dòng)力技術(shù)。
“如今，只要來(lái)點(diǎn)電氣化，無(wú)論多少都可以在這個(gè)市場(chǎng)中發(fā)揮作用?！?/span>