The comeback of the range extender

When e-mobility started to gain momentum in the early 2010s, electric vehicles with range extenders (EREV) were supposed to take away the worry of breaking down prematurely due to an empty battery. It was actually a good idea. Opel launched one of the first EREVs on the German market in 2012 with the Ampera. It could drive up to 80 kilometers purely on electricity, after which a petrol engine kicked in and supplied electricity for another 500 km.

A year later, BMW followed suit with the battery-powered i3, which could also be ordered with a range extender – but not in Europe. However, EREVs never really caught on here – and disappeared almost as quickly as they had arrived. They were therefore simply regarded as a bridging technology.

But now they are back. Range extenders are currently experiencing a renaissance. At least in China. EREVs remain a viable alternative, especially for long-distance drivers and in regions with insufficient charging options. Ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers are possible – roughly twice as much as with average battery electric vehicles (BEV).

Simple technology – multiple advantages

In a range extender, a small petrol engine usually drives a generator that produces electricity for the electric car’s traction battery while driving. Unlike a hybrid vehicle, the engine does not usually drive the wheels. It usually runs in the load-optimized speed range, which means that fuel consumption is lower than if the engine were used for direct propulsion. The vehicle drives like an electric car, including all the typical features and benefits. And the drive technology is simpler and therefore cheaper than in a plug-in hybrid.

What works in China could actually work here too. So is the time ripe for a comeback in Europe? Could EREVs perhaps even provide a new boost for electromobility? After all, apart from the price, “range anxiety” is still the main argument used by car customers against e-cars – even though it has long since become almost impossible to justify objectively. On the other hand, car manufacturers also need new and attractive models with low fuel consumption for the European market, otherwise they will soon face fines for excessive CO2 fleet limits.

EREVs play no role in Germany

Data analysts from automotive market researcher JATO Dynamics have compared sales of EREVs in Germany and China since 2019: How high is their market share now? And how do they compare with other drive types? How many models were sold with a combustion engine or electric drive during this period?

Six years ago, more than 3.2 million cars with combustion engines and just under 298,000 electric vehicles were registered in Germany. Of these, 63,000 were BEVs and a good 45,000 were plug-in hybrids. But only 265 vehicles equipped with range extenders. In the following years, there were even fewer EREVs, whereas sales of pure e-cars, mild hybrids and plug-in hybrids increased sharply. Petrol and diesel cars, on the other hand, sold less and less. In 2023 and 2024, combustion engines did not even reach 1.5 million registrations per year. However, the number of vehicles with range extenders increased again. Last year, a good 1,100 new models with range extenders rolled onto German roads. “Nonetheless, compared to the more than 1.3 million electric vehicles registered in Germany in 2024, this number is negligible. That’s not even 0.1 percent,” says Eric Haase, Managing Director of JATO Dynamics in Germany.

China once again leading the way

The situation is very different in China. Here, too, EREVs played virtually no role until 2021. Battery-powered electric cars already had a market share of 11.3 percent. And by the following year, almost one in five new cars was a BEV. The market share of range extenders, on the other hand, was only 1.2 percent – but it made one thing clear: this is the start of a trend. Just one year later, the share had more than doubled, increasing faster than that of comparable plug-in hybrids.

And the boom continued unabated. “In 2024, China could already record one million EREV registrations,” says Haase. “That’s an impressive 72 percent growth compared to the previous year.” This means that the market share of range extenders has already reached five percent. By contrast, sales of vehicles with combustion engines have fallen from a market share of almost 92% to just over 42% since 2019.

Conclusion: Chinese car manufacturers have fully recognized the potential of vehicles with range extenders. “The Chinese are using various means to promote electromobility. Including a classic bridging technology,” says Haase. “And they will certainly soon be offering their new EREVs in other parts of the world too.” This should give European carmakers food for thought. Perhaps, after more than ten years, the time really is ripe for a comeback of range extenders here. And electric mobility will soon really take off in Germany.

More information on JATO can be found here.