(Yicai) April 1 -- Changan Automobile is doubling down on gasoline-powered vehicles, even as electric cars surge in popularity in China and oil prices climb. The Chinese automaker has unveiled a new hybrid system that boosts fuel efficiency without requiring any external charging.

Changan Auto rolled out its new energy-saving solution for fossil fuel-powered cars, the Blue Whale Super Engine Hybrid System, on March 30. The system is deeply electrified but does not require external charging. It is composed of a 500Bar ultra-high pressure direct injection hybrid engine, a high-magnetic flux high-power hybrid electric drive system, a high-performance and high-security battery as well as AI cloud control.

The aim is to use electric tech to upgrade traditional gasoline-powered cars, moving away from hybrids that rely mainly on fuel and setting up a more balanced “fuel + electricity” approach, the Chongqing-based firm said.

The hybrid engine reaches close to 45 percent thermal efficiency and the fuel injection pressure is about 42 percent higher than the industry standard, General Manager Zhao Fei said at the launch press conference. It is paired with an industry leading motor that can hit up to 98.1 percent efficiency, helping the engine run more smoothly and burn fuel more completely.

One of the biggest problems with traditional gasoline-powered cars is wasted energy and limited efficiency. Internal combustion engines typically convert only 35 percent to 40 percent of energy into usable power, with the rest lost as heat. In urban congestions, fuel consumption can be 30 percent to 50 percent higher than on highways, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said in an article published earlier.

According to Changan Auto, the new system can make a big difference. In tests, the fourth-generation EADO model that uses the technology consumed about 2.98 liters per 100 kilometers in urban driving, Executive Vice President Yang Dayong said at the press conference. By comparison, similar conventional gasoline-powered autos use around 6 liters, double the amount.

“Electric vehicles are indeed the future, but over 70 million people still buy gasoline-powered cars every year,” Yang said. As a global enterprise, Changan Auto aims to offer its customers a range of solutions for many different scenarios.

Fossil fuel-powered cars still account for more than half of Changan Auto’s sales. The firm’s technological foundation in fuel- powered autos, along with rising sales, mean that continued innovation in this area is essential. In the first two months of this year, the company sold 286,623 cars, of which 27.5 percent, or 78,816 autos, were new energy vehicles, according to the firm’s production and sales reports.

Editor: Kim Taylor