Aito, Great Wall Motor, and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group have doubted Dongchedi's tests on their vehicles' battery life performance in winter, claiming the media platform's findings were based on unequal conditions and made-up scenarios.
Opening the car windows and doors several times and for a long period in extreme cold and heated by air conditioners severely deviates from what users do, according to Aito, the electric vehicle brand of Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies and Seres Group. The car was also not fully charged, and the range extender was opened too late, it noted.
Dongchedi, a unit of Douyin, TikTok's sister app in China, published its results of the battery life tests of 19 hybrid EVs in winter conditions on Dec. 6, with the top four spots earned by EV and battery giant BYD.
BYD's Yangwang U8 ranked first in the tests with a battery life of 105 kilometers, falling short of its claimed 124 km range. Fourteen vehicles, including Great Wall Motor's Wey Lanshan and Tank 400 HiT, Geely's Galaxy L6, and Huawei's Aito M7, achieved less than 50 percent of their claimed battery life, with the figure for the Aito M7 at only 32 percent.
Richard Yu, head of Huawei's intelligent automotive solutions business unit, reposted Aito's message and commented that the tests "misled the public!" and that "Science and preciseness are the basic rules that should be followed!"
Formed in 2018, Dongchedi provides vehicle information and services, so it is not a specialized authority to do such trials, and whether its tests and standards align with everyday driving habits is worth discussing, industry insiders pointed out.
According to Dongchedi, the tests were done with fully-charged batteries in extremely cold weather at minus 20 degrees Celsius, and all autos used in the trials were under unified standards for preparation and departure, in line with what users will do in winter. There was no unfair treatment, it noted.
Great Wall Motor doubts the results about its vehicle's battery life, fuel consumption when the battery is dead, and climbing performance, it said on Weibo yesterday. The carmaker will hold a communications meeting about the findings in Beijing on Dec. 14, it added.
The tests are not scientific and precise, so the results are not convincing, said Yang Xueliang, senior vice president of Geely. The vehicles were not given equal time to prepare, and the battery power before departure was not recorded, Yang added.
（Picture: Veer）
