- BloombergNEF has lowered its global EV adoption projections, mainly due to a slowdown in the U.S.
- But key trends are emerging, like growing popularity of extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs.
- These vehicles run mainly on battery power but have a gas generator as a backup.
Electrified vehicles come in many flavors. Depending on your needs, there’s likely an option that will fit your needs, whether it’s a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric vehicle.
Now, another category is gaining traction: extended-range electric vehicles, or EREVs. They’re not entirely new—the Chevy Volt was what we’d call an EREV today—but a new breed of them is now surging in popularity, especially in China.
Photo by: Ram
According to BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook 2025, EREVs are the fastest-growing drivetrain globally, fueled largely by explosive demand in China. Think of them as hybrids that run primarily on electric power. The wheels are driven solely by electric motors and the battery can be plugged in like a regular EV. But there’s also a gas engine onboard that works as a generator to charge the battery, and it does that by spinning at the most efficient speeds.
So you can recharge an EREV and you can also refuel it at a gas pump, just like a plug-in hybrid but with a package that’s designed to rely more on electricity than gas.
China’s Avatr 11 uses an EREV platform.
In 2024, EREV sales in China jumped 83% to 1.2 million units, trailing behind PHEVs (3.4 million) and fully electric models (6.3 million). EVs still dominate that market, but E-REVs are proving to be an increasingly attractive option for buyers who aren’t ready to go all-electric. These vehicles let drivers cover the majority of their miles without tailpipe emissions, while offering somewhat of a safety net when there are no reliable charging options in the vicinity—although that’s extremely rare in China, where public EV charging stations far outnumber traditional gas stations.
The report adds that the average EREV in China in 2024 had a 39-kilowatt-hour battery pack, an electric-only range of 170 kilometers (105 miles) and operated in electric mode more than 70% of the time. BloombergNEF projects EREV adoption to surpass plug-in hybrids in China by the end of the decade. That’s a huge milestone that could serve as a testbed for other regions in the world struggling with EV adoption, like the U.S.
Photo by: Scout Motors
Studies show that once consumers switch to full EVs, they rarely return to gas. But the broader EV sentiment has kind of dampened in the U.S. this year amid aggressive moves in Congress to dismantle Biden-era climate policies. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, despite once being the president’s “first buddy,” couldn’t do much to course correct the country towards increased EV adoption. While EREVs are yet to proliferate in the U.S., several models are in the pipeline.
Stellantis delayed the fully electric Ram 1500 REV to prioritize the Ram 1500 Ramcharger, an EREV pickup. Nissan doesn’t offer any hybrids in its U.S. lineup, but has promised EREVs as a part of its comeback plans.
Scout Motors will offer EREV trucks and SUVs alongside pure EVs starting next year. And Ford CEO Jim Farley has said that battery-electric trucks have “unresolvable” economics due to their weight and price. The automaker now sees EREVs as a necessary bridge, especially given Americans’ appetite for big SUVs and trucks.
Photo by: Mazda
None of this is to say that EREVs will be a silver bullet to our climate problems. It remains unclear how mainstream buyers will respond to another unfamiliar drivetrain, even one that’s designed to ease those very concerns.
Still, EREVs could be the missing link. They cover most miles on battery power and as the country’s charging network improves, owners will likely plug them in to reap the benefits of lower-cost electricity. And if drivers realize they barely rely on the gas generator, they may eventually ditch it altogether. If that happens, EREVs will have done their job by accelerating the transition away from gas-only cars.
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