The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology solicited opinions from the new national standard of braking system. Will the single pedal mode become history？

The single pedal model, which is gradually popularized but controversial in the era of electric vehicles, may have to withdraw from the historical stage.

May 27thThe Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued an announcement to solicit opinions from five mandatory national standards, such as Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Passenger Car Brake Systems. One of the major reforms involves the single pedal driving mode of electric vehicles, which allows the driver to control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle only through the accelerator pedal, even including stopping completely.

The main motivation for this revision comes from the concern for driving safety. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pointed out that with the increasingly wide application of electric regenerative braking system technology, more and more drivers complete braking by adjusting the accelerator pedal, and gradually formed a driving habit of relying on a single pedal to complete all operations.

This habit may cause misoperation during emergency braking and increase the risk of accidents. To this end, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has proposed a new regulation: vehicles equipped with Type A (electric regenerative braking system that does not belong to the service braking system) and both Type A and Type B (electric regenerative braking system that belongs to the service braking system) cannot slow down to a complete stop by releasing the accelerator pedal in the forward gear.

This means that future electric vehicle users must use the traditional brake pedal when they need to stop completely.

This regulation is expected to be implemented in the 13th month after the document is implemented, and it is also applicable to the vehicles that have already obtained type approval. This shows that although the single pedal mode has provided a convenient and comfortable driving experience for many electric vehicle users, safety concerns have prompted the regulatory authorities to take restrictive measures.

It should be emphasized that the focus of this consultation is not to completely disable the single pedal mode. In fact, the term "single pedal mode" covers at least two situations: one is that when the driver releases the accelerator pedal, the vehicle decelerates through the kinetic energy recovery system and supplements the electric energy; The other is that after releasing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle continues to decelerate through the kinetic energy recovery system until it stops completely.

The current regulation change is mainly aimed at the latter, that is, it is not allowed to stop the vehicle completely only by releasing the accelerator pedal. The purpose of this change is to ensure that the driver must use the brake pedal to ensure safety in case of emergency braking, but the mode of releasing the pedal for strong kinetic energy recovery is not involved in the discussion of prohibition at present.

The industry has different views on this change. Supporters believe that this will help unify driving habits and enhance traffic safety, while opponents believe that it will weaken the technical advantages and user experience of electric vehicles.

In fact, the controversy surrounding the single pedal mode has been controversial since the birth of this mode. Multinational brands have put out vehicles with the single pedal mode almost all over the world, and at present, no organization has included the car accidents caused by the single pedal mode in separate statistics.

However, it should be noted that NHTSA data shows thatAbout 16,000 avoidable car accidents in the United States every year are caused by pedal misoperation. It has led to more than 2,600 deaths and 16,000 injuries every year.

Opponents of the single pedal mode believe that,The binding of single pedal and kinetic energy recovery system actually involves a concept stealing. With the appearance of hydraulic power-assisted braking system by wire (such as Bosch’s iBooster), the direct relationship between the depth of brake pedal and braking force has been released..Auto companies can recalibrate the brake pedal to slow down by controlling kinetic energy recovery in the early stage, and then complete braking through the traditional braking system when the pressure exceeds a certain threshold.

According to a source of an automobile calibration unit, most models equipped with kinetic energy recovery devices have integrated the kinetic energy recovery function into part of the stroke of the brake pedal, and the only difference is the amount of energy recovered. Therefore, even if the dual pedal mode is adopted, the endurance performance is unlikely to decrease significantly.

Xiao Cheng, a former Bosch engineer, pointed out that part of the original intention of the development of the fly-by-wire braking system (such as iBooster) was to enable kinetic energy recovery to participate in the braking work.

Experts in the industry pointed out that the latest collection of revised opinions on braking standards is an expression of intention to abolish the "single pedal mode until braking stops" (single pedal). Although this mode can realize braking energy recovery, it can not complete the complete parking of the vehicle only through energy recovery, and the driver still needs to step on the brake pedal in the final stage of parking.

The purpose of this move is to avoid the situation of "stepping on the accelerator pedal by mistake" that may be caused by the "single pedal" operation mode, so as to eliminate potential safety hazards. Accident statistics have proved the existence of this misoperation, so the new standard aims to stop the popularization of "single pedal braking" mode.

Experts said that the introduction of the new regulations will not cause great pressure on auto companies, and the prohibition of single pedal mode can be easily updated through OTA (remote upgrade).

Some technical analysts pointed out that banning the single pedal mode may push vehicle manufacturers to make more innovations in safety technology, such as improving the automatic emergency braking system of vehicles to adapt to the new standards. At the same time, this change may also prompt manufacturers to pay more attention to driver education and training to ensure that they can adapt to different driving modes.

Supporters of the single pedal moderuleIt is believed that this mode does not necessarily lead to driving discomfort. An excellent single pedal system with skilled operation can make the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle extremely smooth, and even achieve near-perfect "non-inductive" parking. Many Tesla users have been able to experience this smooth driving experience.

In addition, the precise calibration of single pedal mode is very complicated, which involves demanding hardware configuration and fine software and algorithm adjustment. Especially, when realizing non-inductive parking, the system needs to activate the handbrake at the moment when the vehicle stops completely, and at the same time maintain the same effect on different slopes. Improper timing will lead to the vehicle nodding or slipping. This hard-to-replicate driving experience is one of the key considerations for many Tesla users when choosing new energy vehicles.

Some supporters said that,Even without considering the complete stop mode, an efficient kinetic energy recovery system is still an important reference item when they buy a car, but the systems that can meet this standard in the market are still very limited. Therefore, banning the single pedal mode will not only make it difficult for car owners to adapt, but also mean that the previous R&D investment in this area may be affected.,Actually hindered innovation..