The powertrain venture majority-owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and French manufacturer Renault will show up to next week’s Shanghai auto show with a concept aimed at car buyers still reluctant to go fully electric.
Horse Powertrain will tout what it’s calling Future Hybrid Concept — an engine, electric motor, and transmission bundled together in a package compact enough to replace the drive unit of a battery-electric vehicle.
The joint venture between Geely, Renault, and Saudi Aramco will offer the product to carmakers as a way to hybridize their EVs without having to develop new platforms or production lines.
“We can deliver a full hybrid powertrain system that seamlessly integrates onto a battery-electric vehicle platform,” Horse Powertrain Chief Executive Officer Matias Giannini said Thursday in a statement.
The concept will allow automakers to “offer powertrain diversity with minimal disruption to production process and resource expenditure.”
Plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs have become increasingly popular even in China, the world’s biggest market for fully electric cars.
While consumers have taken to the longer driving range and relatively cheaper prices new models are offering, BloombergNEF has cautioned hybrids will buoy oil demand if drivers fail to fully utilize their potential to drive on battery power.
Horse Powertrain’s concept features the power-electronics systems needed for an efficient hybrid — a controller, inverter, DC/DC converter, and on-board charger.
It also is equipped with an 800-volt booster for faster charging. The combustion engine can run on gasoline, ethanol, methanol, and other synthetic fuels.
The first cars using the powertrain will reach roads as soon as in 2028, Giannini said.
Geely and Renault set up Horse Powertrain last year.
With 17 plants and 19,000 employees, the company has the capacity to supply more than 5 million internal combustion, hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines annually.
Saudi Aramco last year purchased a 10% stake in Horse Powertrain in a deal valuing the venture at €7.4 billion (R158 billion), with Geely and Renault each retaining 45% stakes.
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