Hyundai Motor has become the first global car firm to commit to a broad roll-out of extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) as it looks to bridge the gap to sluggish EV demand.
Also known as range-extender cars (REx), EREVs package a large battery and sizeable electric motor alongside a small petrol engine that acts as a generator.
Hyundai Motor will build mid-size SUVs with the technology in the US, launching from 2026, for both Hyundai and its premium Genesis brands. Compact models using a dedicated EREV platform will be made in China.
The US models will “expand into advanced markets”, Hyundai said at its investor day, held on 28 August, suggesting that European sales are also planned.
Hyundai’s shift into EREVs was in “response to the recent slowdown in EV demand”, Jaehoon Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, told investors.
“It’s an opportunity for us to buy more time to be better prepared for EVs,” Chang said.
EREVs have been popularised in China, where local players such as Li Motor, Leapmotor, Neta and Avatr have launched models with drivetrains that combine large batteries with smaller combustion-engine generators.
However, global brands have so far been much less keen on the technology, preferring to concentrate on EVs, plug-in hybrids and hybrids.
Currently, only Mazda sells an EREV model in the UK, the MX-30 R-EV small SUV. Previous models include the REx version of the discontinued BMW i3. Stellantis has said it will sell an EREV version of its planned new Ram electric pick-up, but Ineos has cancelled the Fusilier electric and EREV models, where were originally planned to sit under the Grenadier six-cylinder 4x4.
BMW has ruled out returning to EREV technology and Mercedes-Benz has also said it won’t be participating after reportedly axing a development programme earlier this year. Concerns include the cost of adding another drivetrain as well as the potential difficulty in making the handover between electric and combustion smooth enough for customers of premium cars.
“To have a very large battery plus a combustion engine in there… There is a limit to the financial logic,” BMW CEO Oliver Zipse told investors and analysts on the company’s first-quarter earnings call. He said the substantial electric range of the company’s latest-generation PHEV performs the same function.
Hyundai said it had begun developing its EREV drivetrain two years ago and promised it would be “better than competitive” against rival systems. The company promised a “seamless driving experience” as the drivetrain switched between the battery and motor generator to power the electric motor.
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