10/25/2024
An extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV can go more than 600 miles on a charge compared with the typical 300, thanks to a small internal combustion engine on board whose sole purpose is to automatically recharge the battery. READ MORE:
As automakers worldwide struggle to persuade mainstream car buyers to go electric, EREVs are emerging as a solution to the two biggest roadblocks to EV acceptance: price and range anxiety. An EREV can be charged by plugging in, like a conventional EV, but it also can be filled with gas to power a small gasoline engine that charges the battery as the car rolls along, dramatically extending how far it can go. Rather than powering the wheels the way it does for a conventional automobile or hybrid, the EREV’s gas engine acts only as an on-board generator. This means extended-range EVs require a battery only about half the size of a traditional EV, which lops about $4,000 off the price of an EREV versus a pure-electric vehicle. And with the engine automatically topping up the battery, long trips don’t have to be interrupted by stops to plug into roadside charging stations.
Automotive experts say the technology could be ideal for powering the models Americans love most: SUVs and pickup trucks. Because an extended-range vehicle requires a smaller battery—the single most costly component of an EV—both the vehicle’s weight and price can come down, while its driving time is extended. And the technology doesn’t require any battery breakthroughs. An EREV relies on existing technology that automakers already build: a traditional lithium-ion battery mated to an internal combustion engine.
“It just makes so much sense for the US market because we like our big vehicles and we like to go at high speeds over long distances,” Michael Dunne, a former General Motors Co. executive in Asia and now a consultant specializing in the Chinese market says. “It’s a lifeline to Detroit. They could adopt a practical power-train, reduce costs, increase range and keep their customers happy in their core segments, SUVs and trucks.”
