What does the 48V mild hybrid system mean?
3 Answers
48V mild hybrid system is a hybrid system that adds a 48V lithium-ion battery to the traditional 12V battery. The 12V circuit is responsible for handling conventional electrical loads, such as lighting, ignition, and audio systems. The 48V circuit supports active chassis systems, air conditioning compressors, and regenerative braking systems. The 48V mild hybrid system mainly consists of three core components: a boost recovery motor, a power conversion unit, and a power battery. In this system, the motor hardly participates in directly driving the vehicle but serves as a tool for energy recovery to assist the engine. This allows all the vehicle's electrical equipment to minimize dependence on the engine, enabling the engine to drive the vehicle more efficiently.
Speaking of the 48V mild hybrid system, it's like giving the car a little assistant. It's much more powerful than the 12V voltage in regular fuel-powered cars, enabling more functions with this system. Simply put, it adds a BSG motor next to the engine, using electric drive instead of fuel during starts and low speeds, giving the engine a helping hand. The most noticeable improvement is the smoothness of the auto start-stop function—the jerky feeling from before is basically gone, and the AC keeps blowing cold air even when the engine shuts off. In city stop-and-go traffic, it can save about 10%-15% on fuel, and the motor can also recover braking energy and store it in the lithium battery. But don't expect it to run purely on electricity; its main role is to assist the fuel engine in working more efficiently.
After three years of using the car, what impressed me most are two points: The start-stop system no longer shakes and it's fantastic! Previously, when the engine restarted at a red light, the car would always jerk. Turning it off felt wasteful in terms of fuel consumption. The 48V system uses an electric motor to start, making it quiet and smooth—now I don’t even need to manually turn off the start-stop. Secondly, the power delivery during acceleration feels more comfortable. The initial push benefits from the small electric motor assist, reducing the engine's burden. During traffic jams, the motor intervenes more frequently, which indeed saves fuel. The manufacturer claims this system is cheaper than plug-in hybrids and simpler to maintain, just requiring an additional small battery pack. The downside is that it doesn’t qualify for green license plates—it’s essentially still a fuel-powered car—but the driving experience has noticeably improved in terms of refinement.
