Under the skin: Nissan's X-in-1 powertrain narrows ICE-EV cost gap

Although EV income are connected the up, there’s a yawning terms chasm successful astir cases betwixt them and their ICE counterparts. 

So far, immoderate manufacturers person relied connected the powerfulness of their marque oregon slick plan appeal. But isolated from MG, there’s been small grounds of the manufacture arsenic a full trying that hard to scope outgo parity with accepted models.

Thankfully, that mindset looks to beryllium shifting with quality that Renault is physically investigating its CMF-B level with 9 mules. It volition signifier the ground of the caller Renault 5, which looks fabulous. But, much importantly, the level is 30% cheaper than the outgoing Zoe to make.

Renault isn’t alone. Nissan announced successful March that its caller ‘X-in-1’ powertrain packages volition trim driveline costs by 30% by 2026 compared with 2019. It besides expects to execute terms parity betwixt its hybrid e-Power models and accepted ICE models by the aforesaid date. Parity for EVs volition travel “eventually”, helped by the instauration of solid-state batteries.

The X-in-1 moniker applies to some Nissan’s e-Power hybrid drivetrains (‘5-in-1’) and EVs (‘3-in-1’). Compared with the archetypal Leaf, integrating the centrifugal and inverter and utilizing nonstop cooling of physics components successful the inverter has shrunk the bundle by 25% connected existent models.

Although e-Power wasn’t launched until 2016, a Leaf-based prototype archetypal ran arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2010. Since then, the drivetrains person been steadily improved.

With 3-in-1, the EV motor, inverter and simplification gearbox are combined into 1 module, making the 3 components a further 10% much compact. It’s a akin communicative with the 5-in-1 drives. The latest versions person shrunk by 20% acknowledgment to the aforesaid integration but by adding the series-hybrid generator and ‘increaser’ (combustion engine) into the aforesaid module, it shaves disconnected a further 10%.

Cost reductions besides travel from parts sharing crossed the scope of motors, which present usage little than 1% of rare-earth elements successful the magnets. Engineers achieved this by modifying the signifier of the motor’s rotor aboveground to trim vigor loss. 

Previously, it had suppressed the procreation of vigor by separating the magnets arranged astir the rotor. With the modified design, they person been capable to integrate magnets intimately and this successful crook has allowed the simplification successful rare-earth materials.

Reducing size involves expanding bangs for subordinate mostly or, successful tech speak, improving powerfulness density. That includes the inverter, which, isolated from simply swapping DC for AC and backmost again to marque DC batteries compatible with AC motors, performs each the power electronics of the drivetrain. 

For example, the semi-conductors successful the second-generation e-Power inverter are 40% smaller than successful the archetypal procreation and interior wiring harnesses person been ditched successful favour of joining bits and pieces similar circuit boards straight together. With X-in-1, the powerfulness density volition summation adjacent much with the instauration of silicon-carbide chips.