Ё-auto CEO Andrei Biryukov confidently handed out interviews, which invariably featured the deadline for launching the ё-mobile production near St. Petersburg, at the Marino technopark: autumn 2012.
And then came the fall of 2012. We pay tribute to the team of creators of the E-mobile: they found the courage to invite journalists to the training ground near Minsk, show prototypes of future cars and openly explain themselves.
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… But let us return for a second in the summer of 2012, when several significant events occurred for the Y-car. The hyped-up sports program cracked and soon was completely closed: instead of the promised hybrid cars in rally raids under the ё brand, Mitsubishi turned prototypes with BMW diesels participated, there was no smell of any hybrid drive there. In preparation for the production of the E-mobile, one and a half times heavier and its estimated cost increased by the same amount. They decided to move away from three types of bodies in favor of one - a five-door city crossover, respectively, the design was seriously redesigned and simplified. The rotary vane engine has ceased to be mentioned even as a distant prospect.
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And then we were told that the American company JVIS had missed the deadline for preparing the design of the supporting body, and now the E-car will do this work itself. In this connection, Andrei Biryukov resigned as CEO of the company, transferring the board to the chief designer of the E-mobile, Andrei Ginzburg.
Now back to Minsk.
Andrey Ginzburg is confident and emphasized benevolently. Journalists also listen to him with interest, without interrupting. But I'm still waiting for the main question to be raised: are you lying again or has something changed? Finally, seizing the moment, I ask him Andrew.
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Ginzburg, I must say, is a well-mannered man. He replied like this:
“I cannot answer for the words of other people.” I have been in the position of general director for only two months and have not yet lied. I am responsible for everything that was said today, for all plans and prospects. I, too, may be mistaken, something may not work out. But I won’t lie.
Correctly, clearly, intelligibly. No one directly said that they were ashamed of some overly optimistic statements of the former CEO, but this was what was understood by the equivocations and euphemisms.
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But they invited us not only and not so much for repentance, but to show: the work continues. Yes, the E-Mobile will not be what it was intended two years ago. But he will be - the creators are sure.
Most important: the concept of a sequential hybrid drive has been preserved: the internal combustion engine is mechanically independent of the propulsors and only the generator rotates. The engine will be a four-cylinder, 1.4-liter, "one well-known company." I take this phrase in quotation marks, because the company was not called to us and asked: even if you guess what kind of motor it is, do not say it, please, this may affect our relationship with the supplier.
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Dual-fuel and supercapacitors remained as a buffer drive, but now these are not products of the domestic Elton company, but Korean ones. According to Ginzburg, they did not agree with Elton on the price, and the instability of quality caused concern. But Elton wanted to build a whole factory in Troitsk for this business …
The main conceptual change is in the bodywork. Now the Yoshniks decided to go in a more classical way and make the supporting frame steel. Someone even joked: it’s a hybrid Bear!
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Bear, not Bear - but it turns out exactly what the global automotive industry has long given up. But Ginzburg is sure: the issue is implementation. Lightweight and durable openwork spatial frame is reinforced with a floor panel made of fiberglass reinforced polypropylene. The windshield is also integrated into the power structure. But the hinged panels - light and cheap, made of ABS plastic, and painted in bulk (do not require additional painting).
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The frame will be completely made by ourselves, and different parts by different methods - from stamping to cold rolling (except that there will be no extrusion - it is used for light alloys).
The special pride of “Yoshnikov” is the so-called mechatronic module, which encloses an electric motor, an inverter of a control system based on IGBT transistors, a gearbox and a differential. All this is located in one block, however, with separate crankcases - the gearbox works in gear oil, and ATF helps the electric motor (with permanent magnets, by the way). The cooling system - general, on the classic antifreeze, but whether it is combined with the cooling of the engine - remains unclear.
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In the E-mobile, ready-made components from existing cars will also be used. In particular, the steering rack from VAZ Kalina with electric power on the shaft. But modified to the geometry of the new body. Wheels, brakes are also standard, but suspension elements are not yet clear, an active selection of suppliers has not even begun. But there should be no problems, the suspension architecture is the most common: McPherson with a stabilizer in front and a torsion beam at the rear. The front suspension is mounted on a subframe, and the steering rack is also attached to it (unlike Kalina, where it is mounted on a motor shield).
To date, the guys from Yo-Auto have made three prototypes, or rather a mule - a carrier of units. They were located in bodies from Suzuki SX4, as the closest in size to the projected version (the E-mobile will be larger, but not significantly). We were shown two mules with varying degrees of completeness. And, inviting behind the wheel, they warned: guys, you do not need to evaluate handling and twist “snakes”; we just want to show that our drive circuit works.
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Well, it really works. The car starts with electric traction, but the supply of electricity is not enough for a short time - if you drive at a speed of up to 30 km / h, you can drive 600-700 meters. Then the ICE inevitably turns on in conjunction with the generator and the buffer starts to recharge. It is necessary to say, it recharges quickly: in statics - in just a few seconds. In motion - depends on speed, you understand.
A capacitor bank is especially effective during recovery; it is able to “take” maximum energy in a short time, unlike a battery. Therefore, the battery can be charged with one braking at a good speed! Or on the descent, which we also managed to try.
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The prototype accelerates predictably: up to 50-60 km / h, while there is a supply of electricity - the dynamics are crazy, then the capacitor is empty and the car slows down. But it continues to gain speed, up to the specified 125 km / h (by speedometer). We could not feel the work of the intelligent all-wheel drive, which itself decides which axis how much traction is needed at the moment, for all the habits the car is perceived as front-wheel drive - it also demolishes the front axle and also restores the trajectory for gas discharge. Handbrake "work" failed - it is completely electric.
One of the biggest problems in fine-tuning electric cars is to ensure a comfortable transition from acceleration to recovery and further to braking by wheel mechanisms. In principle, an electric motor in generator mode is able to create such a braking moment that the machine will stand in a dug up at any speed. And then there are two electric motors! But such braking becomes unpredictable, sharp, very uncomfortable. Therefore, the resistance of the electric machine is reduced so that the user does not jerk every time you release the accelerator pedal. The Yoshniki correctly adopted the experience of others and successfully set up the transition - the push, if any, is minimal, on the verge of distinguishability (this is in one, later machine, and in the earlier prototype the push is felt very strongly).
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But we could not feel the increase in electric deceleration when touching the mechanical brake pedal, here the settings are still far from optimal. Laughter with laughter, but recovery works most effectively … when you roll back! I deliberately modeled such a situation on a slope: with free rolling in reverse, there is no charge at all, but it is worth a little slowdown as the inverter comes into operation.
I would venture to give the creators of the E-mobile advice - work on calibrations, increasing the proportion of electric braking torque during mechanical braking. And not only when reversing (here smiley).
Andrei Ginzburg believes that the design of the car is completed, that the parameters of each bolt are known. Now, they say, we can proceed with the selection of suppliers and the purchase of production equipment.
