Infiniti bets its future on electric cars–and hybrid tech it hasn’t yet named It appears to be based on Nissan’s e-Power series-hybrid system. 3.5-5.1kWh batteries to supplement the engine.
The best takeaway from the article (imo) seems to be what Honda has to says about Infiniti/Nissan concept claims; Considering how crappy the Nissan battery's thermal management system is (measly/convection air) - it may very well be that Nissan hasn't put much thought into noise/vibration & highway efficiency at all. BTW - have they let their president Carlos Ghosen out of jail yet? Is the Arrest of Nissan's Carlos Ghosn A Case of Japanese Xenophobia? | JAPAN Forward Nissan's crappy EV might make some no fan of Carlos ghosn - but if an entire country's manufacturing culture doesn't want pure Electrics, but rather wants to take different routes like hydrogen & /or hybrids .... It might sound conspiratorial to say "do it our way - or hit the highway". .
Part of the reason Nissan has this e-Power hybrid system is that it lets them spread the development costs of BEVs and FCEVs out over more cars. Their FCEV van test mule was just the electric NV200 that uses a Leaf battery and drive train with a small, 5kW fuel cell installed. This just basic KISS. it is shame that they keep applying that principle to battery thermal management. Series hybrids do have drawbacks, but they are a simple way of adding a range extender to an EV with a good electric range.
not to deliberately complicate the technologies between series & the often more efficient parallel hybrid- our plug in minivan is a series/parallel hybrid, where through clutches is able to both run one electric motor as generator for another that propels you forward, or, couple the ice for direct propulsion. Series/parallel typically makes the system more efficient at a cost of being more expensive. Haven't yet determined if it can perform the head scratching "heretical mode". .
And when the PHEV design has an EV range getting over 50 miles, the added cost, plus weight and space, takes away from the battery. While the highway efficiency of a series hybrid will be lower than a power/split hybrid, the long EV range means lower overall fuel consumption for most.
that setup is going to make for an interesting BMS with the Lithium pack between the generator and the motors. Remember the first Volts pack overheating on occasion
