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Why don’t manufacturers build range extender cars?
We’re seeing more hybrid and pure electric cars but very few electric range extender cars (e.g. BMW i3 REx). Why do we not see more of these?
Your normal day to day mileage or even long motorway trip is taken care of by the battery and the small petrol engine can be used to get you home or to a charge point if you run low.
Other that the i3 and the Ampera the idea doesn't seem to have caught on. Any technical reason why?
Your normal day to day mileage or even long motorway trip is taken care of by the battery and the small petrol engine can be used to get you home or to a charge point if you run low.
Other that the i3 and the Ampera the idea doesn't seem to have caught on. Any technical reason why?
Asked on 2 September 2019 by martini633
Answered by
Andrew Brady
Range-extender vehicles are pretty inefficient. Under electric power, they have to lug around a heavy engine and then using said engine to charge the battery returns pretty poor fuel economy. Plug-in hybrid vehicles take a similar approach but, unlike range-extender vehicles, they can use the petrol or diesel engine to drive the car.
If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.
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