Gastronic Automobile Research Institute

Thermal management of new energy vehicles is not only related to driving comfort and safety, but also the key to ensuring the safety of the battery system, improving the low-temperature performance of the battery, reducing the power consumption of the whole vehicle, and achieving the standard range of the vehicle. It is one of the key factors in the sustainable development of the new energy vehicle industry. Compared with traditional fuel vehicle thermal management, the value of core components of the thermal management system of new energy vehicles has increased significantly (3~4 times). In 2024, China's new energy passenger car sales reached 12.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 37.0%. The rapidly growing new energy market provides huge market space for thermal management of new energy vehicles.

Based on this background, this report focuses on understanding the development direction of the new energy vehicle thermal management industry from the perspectives of the development background, industry status and development trend of the new energy vehicle thermal management industry. Part of the report is as follows:

Core components such as batteries and motor control are highly sensitive to temperature and must be at appropriate temperatures to achieve efficient and stable output. The frequent thermal out-of-control incidents of new energy vehicles in recent years have made consumers pay more and more attention to the safety of new energy vehicles. How to do a good job in thermal management of new energy vehicles has become the focus of industry research.

Compared with traditional fuel vehicle thermal management, the thermal management system of new energy vehicles is more complex, and high-value components such as electric compressors, battery cold plates, Chiller and solenoid valves have been added. The overall cost of the system has increased significantly, bringing huge development space to the thermal management market of new energy vehicles.

With the cross-border entry of traditional white appliance giants represented by Midea, Gree and Hisense, the competition in the thermal management market for new energy vehicles is becoming increasingly fierce, and the market structure is also changing. At present, international leading suppliers such as Denso, Mahler, and Hanang are expanding to integrated solution providers with a longer value chain based on their relatively complete product layout and market first-mover advantages. Top, Sanhua, Yinlun and other companies have certain competitive advantages in certain single-product parts fields. Through mergers and acquisitions and technological research and development, they continue to expand and improve their product line layout and move towards system integrators. New players such as Midea, Hisense, and Gree have entered the thermal management core components market by relying on their own technical accumulation in the field of home air conditioning.

In recent years, the new energy vehicle industry has flourished. Under the wave of technological innovation, heat pump systems are becoming a key configuration for car companies to improve their competitiveness. Brands such as Tesla, BYD, Zhiji, and Avita are taking the lead in taking action. Their mid-to-high-end pure electric models are equipped with heat pump solutions, and some companies have achieved standard configurations for the entire series. Data shows that the penetration rate of heat pump and air conditioners in the pure electric passenger car market in 2023 has reached 35%. With the maturity of technology and cost optimization, this number is expected to climb to around 50% in 2025, accelerating the industry's technological iteration and upgrading.

With the deepening of platformization and modularization of electric vehicles, the thermal management system ushers in a new round of technological iteration. On the basis of the integration of original functions, system control is further integrated, and by building a unified software architecture and integrating advanced and efficient control strategies, precise control of the temperature of key components such as batteries, motors, electronic components, etc., greatly improving the control accuracy, response speed and reliability of the system.

In order to further improve the energy efficiency of the heat pump and air conditioning system and reduce the energy consumption of the whole vehicle. Many companies including BYD, Tesla, NIO, Volkswagen and other companies have introduced gas replenishment and enthalpy and waste heat recovery technologies in the heat pump system, and have laid out gas replenishment and enthalpy and waste heat recovery heat pump systems. By optimizing the heating performance under low temperature operating conditions and the secondary utilization of vehicle waste heat, the energy consumption of the whole vehicle is reduced and the battery life is improved.

From: Gastronic Automobile Research Institute