The Car That Fits Your Life

By Fred Surr, EREVNow 

September 3rd, 2025

It’s a familiar story: You love the idea of driving an electric vehicle — until you actually get serious about owning one.

The environmental benefits, the sleek design, the silent acceleration — all compelling. But then you start asking real questions: What happens on a long road trip? What if the charger’s broken?  Or I forget to charge it one night.  Do I really want to plan my life around charging my car?

Turns out you’re not alone. Despite surging interest in EVs, the number of electric cars on American roads remains stuck below 1%. And while 18% of drivers say they want an EV next, most aren’t making the leap.

"[Home] charging is one of the greatest benefits of ownership... but it’s the exceptional use case — like a vacation road trip — that’s holding shoppers back," said Stewart Stropp, executive director of EV intelligence at J.D. Power2023 Electronics 360.

Now, a new kind of electric car is emerging — one designed for real life, where the gas station can be your charging station. It’s called an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle, or EREV. And it just might be the EV that fits your life.

All the EV, None of the Anxiety

An EREV is an EV with a small gasoline engine under the hood, the sole purpose of which is to run a generator when the battery gets low.  When that happens, 150 miles into a drive, the engine kicks in to recharge the battery, giving you another 250–300 miles of range.

You don’t plug in at a charging station and wait. You just drive.  And if you need to drive more, just fill up the tank and keep going.

Make no mistake, however, an EREV is an electric car.  “The gas engine doesn’t drive the wheels” writes WIRED's Aarian Marshall. “Instead, the engine only recharges the battery, working as a small generator to give it extra mileage on the go.” (Wired 2024-11-03)

Unlike plug-in hybrids, where the gas engine often powers the car directly, EREVs are electric first — and always. And unlike battery-only EVs, they won’t leave you stranded when there’s no charger in sight.

Real Range, Real Convenience

For most Americans, the EREV formula is a perfect match. According to Axios, the average daily driving distance is under 50 miles — easily handled by an EREV on battery power alone. But it’s the exceptions — road trips, weekend errands, emergency pickups — where regular EVs fall short.

“For those drivers who live in rural areas or who have driving patterns where they go long distances every day, a range extender with a very efficient generator may be a great technology,” said Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. (Wired 2024-11-03) You plug in at home like any other EV. But if you forget, or you’re in a rush, or you’re going 300 miles — you’re covered. America’s 100,000 gas stations become your backup charging network.

The Market Is Catching Up

China embraced EREVs early. In 2024, EREV sales surged 79% to 1.2 million units — the fastest-growing segment in its new energy vehicle market. (Reuters, April 2025) Now, automakers like Volkswagen, Mazda, Hyundai, and Stellantis are getting ready to launch EREVs in the US.

Scout Motors’ EREV SUV is expected in 2027. Stellantis’ Ram 1500 Ramcharger — a pickup with a 145-mile electric range and 690 miles total — arrives in 2025. Hyundai has an EREV on tap for 2026. And Mazda’s MX-30 R-EV, already on sale in Europe, could reach American dealerships soon.

Consumers in the know are noticing.  Scout’s spokesperson told WIRED that the range-extender option is “resonating with consumers,” and that enthusiasm is “reflected in reservation counts.” (Wired 2024-11-03)

What Shoppers Are Saying

“Searches filtered by ‘Electric Vehicle’ on carmax.com have nearly doubled since January 2022,” according to its 2025 EV report. (CarMax, Spring 2025) When gas prices spiked in 2022 and 2024, EV searches jumped. When the White House proposed simplifying the federal used EV tax credit, they jumped again. 

Drivers are interested, but they want confidence. That may be exactly what EREVs provide.

Better for Your Wallet — and the Planet

Since 90% of most daily driving is under 150 miles, an EREVs will let you drive full electric most days with a battery pack half the size of an equivalent EV. McKinsey estimates that this smaller battery means a typical EREV powertrain could cost 30–40% less to produce than an EV powertrain of equivalent range. (McKinsey & Company, Feb 2024 report)

The result? Less need for rare earth metals, less cost, and lower emissions. Because you’re using the generator only 10–15% of the time, real-world emissions from an EREV are roughly 85–90% lower than a comparable gas-powered car — without requiring a massive nationwide charging network.

A Smarter Kind of Electric

For those committed to an EV future, but worried about charging availability on long trips, EREVs are a great transitional vehicle. As Kathy Harris of the NRDC notes, “While the country continues to build out a robust charging network, EREVs can be a good choice.” (Wired 2024-11-03)

And for the majority of Americans who want to go electric without having to change the way they drive, EREVs might be more than a bridge — they just might be the destination.