Is the range extender making a comeback?
A range extender from Mazda.
Mazda
It became clear not only during a tour of the IAA in Munich: the much-maligned range extenders could become a topic for us again. Suppliers are working hard on the drive technology - not just for customers in China.
There were not too many models with range extenders on the European market that ultimately achieved significant volumes. There was the anything but successful Opel Ampera and the hardly more profitable BMW i3, both of which achieved longer ranges with a range extender than the corresponding battery sizes in the vehicle would have allowed. However, after the Ampera was quickly removed from the Opel model range, BMW also let the drive alternative of the BMW i3 fade away when a version with a 42 kWh battery pack was introduced. Prototypes like the Mazda 2 or an Audi A1 - each with a range extender in the form of a particularly compact rotary engine - never made it into series production.
Using a rotary engine as a range extender for a hybrid drive is not a completely new idea. Thirteen years ago, Audi, in collaboration with the development service provider AVL, packed a rotary engine into the spare wheel well of an Audi A1 and combined it with an electric motor. At Mazda, the rotary engine made it as a range extender into the MX-30 EV, which suffered greatly from its minimal electric range. Especially the German manufacturers want purely electric drives and have been arranging themselves for years with the expensive plug-in technology and therefore rely on cheaper 48-volt on-board networks with starter generators in many models, which are supposed to reduce real consumption.
What is a range extender?
“German manufacturers force their customers to choose between combustion engines and electric cars. More and more Chinese providers are showing their customers a way out of this dilemma: range extenders,” says Thorsten Rixmann, CMO of the Obrist Group. “The drive works with an electric motor, but the power supply is provided by a fuel-efficient mini petrol engine instead of large and heavy battery blocks. Driving electrically and refuelling with ranges of over 1,000 kilometres meets customer needs today and in the coming years.” The Obrist Group offers energy concepts such as range extenders as a supplier. The so-called Zero Vibration Generator is used solely for power generation with a consumption of 1.5 litres per 100 km of petrol or 3.3 litres of ethanol. Despite compact dimensions, the Hyper-Hybrid is said to have purely electric ranges of 80 kilometres; together with the combustion engine, that’s around 1,000 kilometres, without needing to charge or refuel.
But what exactly is a range extender? Strictly speaking, a range extender in an electric car is a second combustion engine drive, powered by a small fuel tank. When the installed battery pack runs low, the combustion engine kicks in and supplies the battery pack with fresh energy. Some range extenders also had a motorway mode, where the combustion engine had a direct drive to the axle at higher speeds. However, there was a lack of customer acceptance and manufacturers themselves were not keen on range extenders, as they brought effort and complexity to the car - just in case the battery should run out.
Range extenders are becoming increasingly popular
The streets in China are becoming increasingly electric. However, every tenth car is a model with a range extender. The share of the total market is currently around five percent - this is expected to double by the end of the decade. No wonder that numerous suppliers and even European manufacturers are paying close attention to the once thought dead area of range extenders. What is even more important for many than the high acceptance among customers are the contribution margins. While the lower class battery electric models hardly yield anything, according to analysts from Alix Partners, the situation is quite different with the range extender. Solid margins are proof of economic viability. A prestigious example is the powerful Yangwang U8 off-roader, which supplies its four electric motors with a total of 800 kW / 1,197 hp from a battery pack that is charged by a two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.
No wonder that the variety of models has developed accordingly. In 2020, there were just one range extender model from three OEMs, but currently, over 50 models are offered by 20 brands - with an increasing trend. In the USA, too, some brands are increasingly getting a taste for range extenders - also because the charging network is lacking. The best example is the Ramcharger from Dodge, because after the electric Ram was pushed further back, as electromobility in the USA is progressing very slowly outside the coastal regions, the Stellantis Group has launched the Ramcharger 1500, an off-road capable full-size pick-up with a range extender. The Ram 1500 Ramcharger, produced at the Sterling Heights / Michigan plant, is powered by a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine, which is used solely as a 130-kilowatt strong generator. "With its unlimited battery electric range, the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is the pinnacle of the light pickup segment and the ultimate electric truck," says Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, "the new Ramcharger is a beast among light commercial vehicles - 663 hp, 900 Nm torque and no need for a public charger."
VW also relies on range extenders
It is quite similar in Japan, where Nissan has been relying on a combination of internal combustion engine and electric drive under the name e-Power for years. Here, a combustion engine is coupled with an electric machine and a small battery, serving as a range extender. The petrol engine never delivers power to the drive wheels, as this is solely the responsibility of the electric motor. At Nissan, the drive package is successfully used in models like the Qashqai. So far, more than 1.6 million cars with the e-Power drive have been sold in 68 countries. The heart of the third generation is a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that can continuously adjust its compression ratio during operation. Through continuous adjustment, the combustion engine always operates at optimal efficiency, leading to low consumption. As the new e-Power drive module will also be used in North America and Europe, it is optimised for higher speeds on motorways. At higher speeds, consumption is expected to decrease by 15 percent.
Volkswagen has also been experimenting with range extender technology for some time. Initially focusing only on the Chinese market, the range extender will also come to the USA from 2027. The newly created off-road brand Scout will not only offer pure electric models of Scout Traveler and Terra with ranges of over 500 kilometres, but also versions with range extenders, which can extend the range to the next charging stop to more than 900 kilometres.
This article was first published at automotive.eu
