Semi solid state batteries in MG car - 2025

[neptronix]

https://insideevs.com/news/745068/mg-semi-solid-state-ev/

"China’s SAIC now owns MG and it makes all its cars in China. It plans to launch the new EV in 2025 and says the semi-solid state battery won’t raise the vehicle’s price. It will come standard and likely related to (or the same as) the pack in another SAIC-owned brand, IM Motors, which unveiled its semi-solid-state sedan earlier this year.

The IM L6 has a 133-kilowatt-hour semi-solid-state battery pack, giving it a claimed CLTC range of over 1,000 kilometers (623 miles). It’s built on an 800-volt platform and its maker says it can charge at 400 kilowatts, adding 400 km (249 miles) of range in 12 minutes.

However, unlike the IM L6, which gets the semi-solid-state battery as an option in the highest trim (you can also get it with two cheaper NMC packs), the MG derivative will be semi-solid-state-only. The L6 with the mid-tier NMC battery costs the equivalent of around $41,500, while the top “Lightyear Max” trim with the special battery costs $45,650."

 

[A-DamW]

133-kilowatt-hour

Thatsa lotta battery for that size of car.

 

[neptronix]

Dude, yeah.
The car looks approximately Honda Civic / Mazda 3 sized.

I'd bet that thing is rocking >= 350whrs/kg cells.



Looks like a massive leap in the direction of functionality/technology parity with ICE. pretty exciting.

 

[raylo32]

What about this battery's weight and volume? Is that improved much compared to standard wet batteries? I would assume so since they crammed such a big KWh battery in that car. I assume you were just guessing about the 350?

]The IM L6 has a 133-kilowatt-hour semi-solid-state battery pack, giving it a claimed CLTC range of over 1,000 kilometers (623 miles).

 

[neptronix]

Dunno the specifics, sorry.

 

[classicalgas]

From the link...

"The IM L6 has a 133-kilowatt-hour semi-solid-state battery pack, giving it a claimed CLTC range of over 1,000 kilometers (623 miles). It’s built on an 800-volt platform and its maker says it can charge at 400 kilowatts, adding 400 km (249 miles) of range in 12 minutes

"....WOW! that takes care of range anxiety and charge times....but charging at home will be more expensive, for sure.

Purchase cost is pretty high as well..."the MG derivative will be semi-solid-state-only. The L6 with the mid-tier NMC battery costs the equivalent of around $41,500, while the top “Lightyear Max” trim with the special battery costs $45,650"

This just points up how fast EV tech is moving.

 

[raylo32]

I would say that it "appears" to point up how fast EV tech is moving. This is totally irrelevant to those of us who will never see Chinese vehicles or tech. IOW, the mainstream mfgs that make vehicles for our markets really need to show us that they can also do this, and produce EVs at a cost point and with ranges comparable to their ICE counterparts. I am not optimistic that will happen anytime soon. Nor am I optimistic about building out charging infrastructure or keeping public DC fast charging costs reasonable. The bottom line is that most consumers will vote with their wallets and won't move to a more expensive vehicle that is far more difficult to refuel and just as or more expensive to refuel at public charging stations.

From the link...

"The IM L6 has a 133-kilowatt-hour semi-solid-state battery pack, giving it a claimed CLTC range of over 1,000 kilometers (623 miles). It’s built on an 800-volt platform and its maker says it can charge at 400 kilowatts, adding 400 km (249 miles) of range in 12 minutes

"....WOW! that takes care of range anxiety and charge times....but charging at home will be more expensive, for sure.

Purchase cost is pretty high as well..."the MG derivative will be semi-solid-state-only. The L6 with the mid-tier NMC battery costs the equivalent of around $41,500, while the top “Lightyear Max” trim with the special battery costs $45,650"

This just points up how fast EV tech is moving.

 

[neptronix]

The battery is going into a MG car... so.. we expect Europeans to have access to this battery this year.
USA wise, i don't see any projected launches for solid state or semi solid state batteries until 2026.

 

[raylo32]

I was wondering about that... I guess this MG has as much in common with the original MG as my Jenn Air BBQ grill has with that original company. Who's on first? But if and when folks put these on the road that should give us some good data. It's a shame we won't get these here.

 

[classicalgas]

I was wondering about that... I guess this MG has as much in common with the original MG as my Jenn Air BBQ grill has with that original company. Who's on first? But if and when folks put these on the road that should give us some good data. It's a shame we won't get these here.

What makes you think we wont see Chinese EVs in the US in the next few years?

Remember when Korean cars were a joke? Now both Hyundai and Kia have US factories.

 

[classicalgas]

Huh! It looks like way more Chinese cars are sold in the US than I thought....jut not under Chinese brand nameplates.

• Chinese car brands are missing from the US market, but Chinese-made cars are still sold in the US.
• Americans bought 104,000 Chinese-made cars in 2023 and nearly 28,000 in the first quarter of 2024.
• Buick, Lincoln, Polestar, and Volvo all sell cars in the US that are made in China.

Volvo?!!

from here...https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/americans-have-been-driving-these-chinese-built-cars-for-years-and-biden-s-tariffs-likely-won-t-impact-them/ss-BB1msjBS

and here....https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/automotive-industry/chinese-made-cars-in-us-market-a3786571662/

"The Buick Envision SUV (shown below) was the first mainstream Chinese-built car to be sold in the U.S., followed by the Volvo S90 and Polestar 2. Production of the latest Lincoln Nautilus SUV has shifted from Canada to China, and more new models from Volvo and Polestar are on the way"

There's nothing even remotely new about selling foreign made cars under US brand names, that goes back at least 50years.

 

[Grautuefel]

Volvo was one of the first big chinese purchases, most Volvos have been chinese for the better part of the past 15 years. The Chinese hardware isn't terrible (fit and finish shits all over telsa), but from what I've seen they just don't get the functionality of the human interfaces when it is not a product of a western brand. The US and EU companies seem to be significantly trailing on large scale energy technolgies, and our habits of deferring to cheaper chinese products is coming back to bite with a lack of domestic skill and volume in the face of poor china relations.

 

[classicalgas]

Volvo was one of the first big chinese purchases, most Volvos have been chinese for the better part of the past 15 years. The Chinese hardware isn't terrible (fit and finish shits all over telsa), but from what I've seen they just don't get the functionality of the human interfaces when it is not a product of a western brand. The US and EU companies seem to be significantly trailing on large scale energy technolgies, and our habits of deferring to cheaper chinese products is coming back to bite with a lack of domestic skill and volume in the face of poor china relations.

No one's touch screen interface works as well as tactile mechanical control...real knobs and switches you can operate without looking at them.

 

[neptronix]

Huge physical buttons fan.
Still sad that this future didn't pan out:

 

[harrisonpatm]

Huge physical buttons fan.
Still sad that this future didn't pan out:
View attachment 364061

You gotta make your own future:

 

[raylo32]

Indeed. And even the actual Chinese branded vehicles are getting pretty good. But lets just say that the politics of it all is getting crazy, with the promise of tariffs and perhaps even import bans coming on parts and content, not just Chinese branded finished vehicles. We shall see. But I don't expect that Chinese branded products like BYD will ever be allowed here.... or at least for some years to come.

Huh! It looks like way more Chinese cars are sold in the US than I thought....jut not under Chinese brand nameplates.

What makes you think we wont see Chinese EVs in the US in the next few years?

Remember when Korean cars were a joke? Now both Hyundai and Kia have US factories.

 

[raylo32]

IDK... I like keyboards and use my laptop at home instead of my phone for most stuff. But my big mitts could never work a BlackBerry keyboard properly. Keys were just too darned small.

Huge physical buttons fan.
Still sad that this future didn't pan out:
View attachment 364061

 

[amberwolf]

No one's touch screen interface works as well as tactile mechanical control...real knobs and switches you can operate without looking at them.

Since I can't like a post more than once (this would get several thousand from me) I'll just quote it to repeat it.


What I would really like is a touch screen that is *also* a textural screen, in the vein of "braille" screens--every pixel is not just a light, it's also a tactile extender that can be used to create buttons you can feel and push for tactile feedback and ease of control.

I tried to design and make a useful-resolution one out of 2mm LEDs back in the early 90s, like these

but couldn't afford enough of them to do it, and I couldn't build the actuators (essentially linear actuators).


Kinda like a LiteBrite with variable-length pegs.

 

[raylo32]

I'll help you repeat it. It is amazing how some mfgs... ahem, Tesla, can you hear me?... manage to sell this screen-centric system to gullible consumers. They tell them that it is neat, stylish and cool. While in fact it is just cheap. And the cheapness isn't trivial as this avoids doing ergonomic analyses, designing switchgear, sourcing parts, installing all this during assembly and carrying spare parts inventory for many years. Cheap, cheap, cheap. And really unergonomic and even dangerous.

Since I can't like a post more than once (this would get several thousand from me) I'll just quote it to repeat it.

 

[amberwolf]

There is a good reason for aircraft cockpits, even ones called "all glass", to still actually have tactile controls, even when the displays themselves have become virtual instead of mechanical.

I'll help you repeat it. It is amazing how some mfgs... ahem, Tesla, can you hear me?... manage to sell this screen-centric system to gullible consumers. They tell them that it is neat, stylish and cool. While in fact it is just cheap. And the cheapness isn't trivial as this avoids doing ergonomic analyses, designing switchgear, sourcing parts, installing all this during assembly and carrying spare parts inventory for many years. Cheap, cheap, cheap. And really unergonomic and even dangerous.

Since I can't like a post more than once (this would get several thousand from me) I'll just quote it to repeat it.

 

[neptronix]

IDK... I like keyboards and use my laptop at home instead of my phone for most stuff. But my big mitts could never work a BlackBerry keyboard properly. Keys were just too darned small.

I can see that!

 

[neptronix]

I'll help you repeat it. It is amazing how some mfgs... ahem, Tesla, can you hear me?... manage to sell this screen-centric system to gullible consumers. They tell them that it is neat, stylish and cool. While in fact it is just cheap. And the cheapness isn't trivial as this avoids doing ergonomic analyses, designing switchgear, sourcing parts, installing all this during assembly and carrying spare parts inventory for many years. Cheap, cheap, cheap. And really unergonomic and even dangerous.

I'm an interface designer for a living and i totally agree with this.

I'm so glad i bought a Mazda 2 in the late 2010's before the touchscreen took over everything. All the important controls were physical. The car cost $2k more than an equivalent econobox in the USA though and didn't sell well, even though it is has a very high build quality.

 

[classicalgas]

Looks like my "real knobs and switches" post struck a chord.

Remember when Japanese carmakers were spending what seemed like a ridiculous amount of R&D on getting the feel of the knobs and switches just right? They even had a name for it ( not Kansei, or ergonomics. I think? can't find it ) Not only the shape and location, but how notchy the detents were on things like heater, ventilation and fan controls, and how far between detents.

Adding that my 25 year old Miata still has all its original cabin climate controls, and they all still work smoothly. Too bad the turn signal feel isn't as nice.

The mid 50's Mercedes 220 sedan I owned for a while, there you rotated the horn ring five degrees to actuate the turn signals, is still my benchmark for delightful control actuation.

 

[raylo32]

That is actually a big deal. Nicely functioning switches really enhance the driving experience. Many of you may remember the one size fits all GM turn signal stalk switch from the 60s and 70s. Car and Driver used to describe the action like you were breaking off a tree twig or branch. Just ugghh.

.
Remember when Japanese carmakers were spending what seemed like a ridiculous amount of R&D on getting the feel of the knobs and switches just right?

 

[raylo32]

OK, please explain how a Mazda 2 has a Toyota steering wheel??

I'm an interface designer for a living and i totally agree with this.

I'm so glad i bought a Mazda 2 in the late 2010's before the touchscreen took over everything. All the important controls were physical. The car cost $2k more than an equivalent econobox in the USA though and didn't sell well, even though it is has a very high build quality.

View attachment 364128