The thermal management circuit of the Leapmotor B05, a new model from major Chinese EV maker Leapmotor, was independently diagrammed following a teardown, revealing a system that uses motor heat to warm the battery. The HVAC is reportedly made by サンデン.
The team from Nikkei xTECH and the Nikkei BP Research Institute analyzed Leapmotor’s B05 as the eighth installment in a series of teardown investigations of new Chinese EV models and recreated its thermal management circuit. The circuit uses five-way and three-way valves to switch the flow of refrigerant and water, managing the temperatures of the battery pack, drivetrain and ECU.
This thermal management design is said to help reduce power consumption even in EVs, which have relatively few heat sources. The investigation aims to examine the characteristics of the disassembled components in detail and identify the source of the vehicle’s cost competitiveness.
The B05 was presented as featuring a design philosophy that achieves a low price while incorporating a driver-assistance system equipped with 1 LiDAR unit, 3 millimeter-wave radars and 11 cameras. The configuration of components including the battery pack and electric axle was also explained.
The HVAC is reportedly made by サンデン and is said to manage battery temperature in coordination with the thermal management components. The article also includes content limited to paid members, but its analysis focuses primarily on the vehicle’s thermal design.