Automakers are keen on longer-range electric vehicles. They hope buyers like them too

EREVs also have some manufacturing advantages, says Steven Ewing, editor in charge of editorial content at Edmunds. Details on Scout production are scant, but at least the Ramcharger uses components and technology that Stellantis already incorporates into other cars. “They’re not introducing this huge new propulsion system,” Ewing says. As for EREVs (and PHEVs): It will always be expensive to fit two powertrains in one vehicle.

An emissions gain?

Some climate advocates who hope the world quickly switches to battery-electric vehicles to stave off the worst of climate change say EREVs could be part of a cleaner transportation system, even if they still use gasoline in their construction.

“The future is all-electric,” said Kathy Harris, who leads the clean vehicles policy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. “But many drivers are afraid of driving fully electric. As the country continues to build a robust charging network, EREVs may be a good choice for some of them.”

EREVs could prove to be less emissions-intensive than their PHEV cousins ​​because drivers can't simply choose to forego charging and run solely on gasoline — a phenomenon that some researchers say is hurting the real-world emissions levels of many plug-ins.

Other researchers are less convinced by automakers' “bridging technology” arguments, but say EREVs could still be helpful. EREVs are used in heavy vehicles such as trucks and SUVs because they require more battery power to move, especially when hauling or towing. The technology could address the complaints of some Ford F-150 Lightning owners, for example, who say they want to use their all-electric trucks to work and load tools but can't get enough done on one charge. A fully battery-powered electric drive may never be suitable for everyone.

“For drivers who live in rural areas or drive long distances every day, a range extender with a very efficient generator could be a great technology,” says Gil Tal, who directs the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. “I think this will be the way to go 100 percent electric.”

Older technology, new interest

Technically, the Chevrolet Volt, which marked General Motors' first modern foray into electric vehicle technology in 2010, was an EREV, although it was marketed as a PHEV. Jaguar wanted to produce a limited-edition concept car, the C-X75, in 2010, but canceled the project amid the Great Recession. (A C-X75 appeared in the James Bond film spookand a design firm created a gas-powered conversion, but otherwise the car never saw the light of day. A few years later, the BMW i3 EV came with a range extender option, with a very small generator that allows the driver a few extra miles to get to a charger. However, according to Edmunds data, this choice wasn't popular with buyers.

The EREV story began to change in China. Chinese automaker Li Auto was a global outlier in 2019 when it introduced its first model, the Li One, a range-extended SUV. According to research firm BloombergNEF, EREVs accounted for 1 percent of all PHEV sales this year. But by 2023, Li Auto had led EREVs to account for 28 percent of PHEV sales – accounting for 9 percent of all electric vehicle sales in China. That's not a huge share, but the technology has been “transformative in a pretty short period of time,” says Corey Cantor, an analyst at BloombergNEF who covers electric vehicles. The world could learn from this experience.