What is an EREV and why do we need them?

Getting Americans to adopt Electric Vehicles (EVs) is a critical component to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. And the public is interested, with 18% (Source: AAA) of drivers saying they’d like to have an EV as their next car. But EV sales have been anemic at best, with only 1.3M (Source: Cox Automotive) sold in 2024 and less than 1%

Getting Americans to adopt Electric Vehicles (EVs) is a critical component to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. And the public is interested, with 18% (Source: AAA) of drivers saying they’d like to have an EV as their next car. But EV sales have been anemic at best, with only 1.3M (Source: Cox Automotive) sold in 2024 and less than 1% (Source: Edmunds) of cars on the road in America EVs. So why do Americans say they want an EV but aren’t buying?
Research (Source: AAA) indicates two related reasons for consumer reluctance:
Range anxiety.
Lack of a robust nationwide charging infrastructure.
They’re not wrong. While 90% of daily driving can be handled by most current EVs on the market in the US, it’s those days when you need to drive farther that are a problem. It’s inconvenient at best to stop for 45 minutes to charge enroute during a longer drive. And that’s if you can find a working charging station along your route. Estimates to build a reliable nationwide charging network run in the range of $800 billion, and even in the most optimistic projections would take years to achieve.

The good news is that there already exists a market-ready solution to this problem – Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs). EREVs are EVs with a small Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) under the hood, the sole purpose of which is to run a generator to power the electric motors when the car’s battery runs low. This eliminates both rang

The good news is that there already exists a market-ready solution to this problem – Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs). EREVs are EVs with a small Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) under the hood, the sole purpose of which is to run a generator to power the electric motors when the car’s battery runs low. This eliminates both range anxiety and the need for a nationwide charging network. An EREV with a 150-mile battery range will cover most daily needs, with a small 4-cylinder ICE generator and 6-gallon tank providing the electricity to drive an additional 250 miles. If you need to drive further, no problem. Simply fill up at one of America’s 100,000 existing gas stations, as you always have. For EREV owners, America’s gas stations are the nationwide charging network.
While EREVs do have an ICE engine and generator under the hood, make no mistake - EREVs are electric vehicles, with home charging able to cover all but the longest drives. For the average driver, only 10-15% of their 12,000 annual miles will involve the ICE generator, reducing emissions by 85-90% - without range anxiety, without the need to build a nationwide charging network.