EREVs in America: A Look at The Future

By Fred Surr, EREVNow 

October 30th, 2025

Here’s an article for the time capsule.  We’re writing this today to paint a picture of the future we could all have in 2030.

Fred

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It’s September of 2030, and by now, most Americans have at least one electric vehicle in the driveway. For many, it’s not a battery-only model but an EREV - an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle - driven mostly on electricity, with a small gasoline generator that quietly takes over when the battery runs low.It’s hard to remember that back in 2025, EREVs weren’t even sold in the U.S., and most who wanted to go electric hesitated to buy an EV, concerned with range and charging.

Michael Chen of Providence recalls how EREVs changed that. Last winter, when his mother called with chest pains, he didn’t have time to charge up – and he didn’t have to. He jumped in his EREV and drove 140 miles straight to her side.

“I usually do about 60 miles a day, all electric,” Chen says. “But that night there was no time to plug in. The battery got me most of the way, the generator covered the rest. I didn’t even think about it.”

Chen admits his next car might be a full BEV once charging is everywhere. “But for now, this is perfect. Ninety-five percent of the time I’m electric. And for the five percent I’m not – I’m covered.”

Family Friendly

 As the Ramirez family of Kansas City packs up their SUV for the 800-mile drive to visit relatives in Colorado, they’re worried about whether they’ve packed enough movies to keep the kids happy, not about plotting charging stops on a dozen different apps.

“We’ll leave with a full charge, and the generator will kick in after 150 miles or so,” says Andrea Ramirez, wrangling two kids and a cooler into the back seat. “When we get hungry, we’ll stop for lunch, top off the tank, and keep going. On long trips, the gas station is our charging station.”

For the Ramirez’s, getting an EREV wasn’t about rejecting battery-only EVs. It was about making electric driving fit their life. “We wanted to go electric, but the idea of being stranded in western Kansas where there are almost no fast chargers - no thanks,” Andrea laughs. “With this car, we didn’t have to choose between electric driving and peace of mind.”

Winning Over Skeptics

In 2025, rural contractors like John Peters were among the loudest critics of EVs. They saw them as cars for city folks and soccer moms, totally out of touch with the reality of rural distances and small towns. “I used to say, ‘mind your own business, EVs make no sense in real America,’” Peters recalls.

That changed when he saw a friend’s EREV pickup run on electric all week and then haul a trailer 300 miles on gas when needed. “That clicked for me, especially once I drove it. That things hauls”! Today, Peters owns one himself. “Out here, a pure EV still doesn’t make sense. But this does.”

The Broader Picture

What once looked like a niche market - In 2025, BEVs made up just over 7% of new U.S. sales - is now THE market. In 2030, electric cars represent 50% of new car sales, about evenly split between EREVs and battery only EVs. Together, they’ve pushed electric miles to more than half of all passenger travel.

It’s also easy to forget that in 2025 headlines obsessed over range anxiety and the need for a massive investment in charging infrastructure. EREVs resolved the mismatch: plenty of electric range for daily life, with a generator that only stirs when needed.

For the Ramirezes, the Chens, and Peters, those arguments now feel distant. “We just live our lives,” Andrea Ramirez says, strapping her youngest into a booster seat. “And now, most of the time, we live it electric.”