As EVs stumble, automakers are bringing back a kind of hybrid that promises long range
Volkswagen is planning to begin production of an EREV pickup truck and SUV under the Scout brand name starting in 2027.
Volkswagen
Major automakers are set to resurrect a type of hybrid vehicle that seemed dead in the U.S. just a few years ago to meet a changing consumer demand landscape.
Extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are a form of plug-in hybrid that falls midway between traditional hybrids and full EVs. EREV cars and trucks rely on battery powered motors for propulsion (like an EV) but also have a relatively small gas engine to use as a generator to keep the batteries charged up (like a typical hybrid). A key difference between EREVs and other hybrids is the relative size of their batteries and gas engines.
Mainstream hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) like the Toyota Prius still rely on combustion engines as their main means of propulsion. Thus, they have proportionately smaller batteries, but substantial gas engines that are directly connected to their drivetrains to help move the car. EREVs are much more focused on the electric side of the equation, so they tend to have bigger batteries than other hybrids, but comparatively small gas engines that solely function as generators to top off the batteries when needed.
Earlier examples of this type of vehicle – the Chevy Volt and Fisker Karma – were introduced to the U.S market in 2011. These were followed by the BMW i3 and Cadillac ELR in 2014. But EREVs (also known as Range Extended Electric Vehicles, or REEVs), never attracted much interest from American consumers. The Volt was the most popular EREV by far, with GM selling 157,000 over nine years, until it ended production in 2019. That may seem impressive, but it’s a blip in the overall U.S. new vehicle market, which saw about 16 million sales each year in that timeframe.
The last EREV sold domestically was the i3, which BMW discontinued in 2022. While there are no new EREVs for sale in the U.S., several are in the pipeline.
This includes an upcoming version of the Ram 1500 pickup truck, set to come to market in early 2026. A Ram spokesman noted that it will have the longest driving range the company has ever offered in a light-duty truck, up to 690 total miles between its gas engine and battery power. An EREV version of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer is also under development, according to the company. Volkswagen is planning to begin production of an EREV pickup truck and SUV under the Scout brand name starting in 2027.
Ram 1500 extended range hybrid pickup, set to come to market in early 2026, will have the longest driving range the company has ever offered in a light-duty truck, up to 690 total miles between its gas engine and battery power.
Ram | Stellantis
Hyundai Motors plans to introduce EREV versions of its mid-sized SUVs by the end of 2026, according to a spokesman. The vehicles are expected to have more than 560 miles of range, and be sold under the Hyundai and Genesis brands. In addition, a Nissan spokesman confirmed that the company is considering offering EREV options in its mid-size and larger SUVs. “They do offer advantages versus 100% EVs when it comes to hauling and towing,” he said, “allowing greater driving range without the need for a large capacity battery, as well as faster refueling.”
James Martin, the director of consulting services at S&P Global Mobility, says one reason manufacturers are turning to EREVs is lower production costs. EREV use of smaller and less expensive batteries than full EVs allows manufacturers to keep their expenses down. EREVs are also less complex than plug-in hybrids, Martin said. PHEVs have two functioning propulsion systems and sophisticated controls to allow them to communicate with each other. Most EREVs, by contrast, are solely propelled by their electric motors.
Range anxiety, and cost, still big factors in EV adoption
But one of the biggest advantages of EREVs is range. In China, where EREVs are gaining in popularity, the manufacturer BYD offers mid-sized sedans with more than 1,300 miles of claimed range. EREVs also alleviate range anxiety due to the ubiquity of gas stations. Consumers can just fill up with gasoline to charge the battery if a charging port is unavailable. The new EREVs can travel more than 100 miles on batteries alone, then hundreds more using gasoline.
“Range anxiety is still a factor when it comes to choosing an electric vehicle over an internal combustion vehicle,” said K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior vice president of research and chief innovation officer at the Center for Automotive Research. “EREVs, allay the range anxiety concern,” he said.
These hybrids may especially appeal to consumers who frequently travel long distances, and getting more consumers used to plugging in their vehicles might also appeal to manufacturers. “The actual charging experience of EREVs is very similar to that of BEVs,” Prasad said. “So, the market adoption of EREVs is likely to be seen as a good ramp to future BEV purchase considerations,” he added.
Charging infrastructure is still lagging in many areas of the U.S., according to iSeeCars.com executive analyst Karl Brauer, which can make a full EV impractical for consumers. EREVs avoid that issue and may also be attractive to consumers who live in apartments or houses that lack charging stations.
A recent report from McKinsey noted that EREVs could also combat cost concerns among consumers, noting that the smaller batteries can shave off as much as $6,000 in powertrain production costs, compared to BEVs. Another factor, according to McKinsey, is that both domestic and European manufacturers have seen how EREVs have gained sales momentum in China, a sign the technology may help to increase electrification adoption in their own marketplaces.
“We expect all levels of hybridization to increase production in North America throughout the decade,” said Eric Anderson, the associate director of Americas light vehicle powertrain forecasting for S&P Global Mobility. Hybrids, including EREVs, are a “relatively affordable way for consumers to move up the electrification ladder without a significant monthly payment increase, he said.
While the EV vehicle market continued to grow last year, the pace of growth has slowed considerably. “The BEV market is in the process of shifting from early adopters to a more price-conscious buyer,” Anderson said.
Domestic sales of hybrids grew from 1,175,456 in 2023 to 1,609,035 in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a 37% increase. Plug-in hybrids grew 10% in the same period — from 293,578 to 321,774. By comparison, fully electric EVs saw 7% growth, from 1,164,638 to 1,247,656. While overall sales of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles continues to dominate, its market share has fallen every year since 2015, according to Edmunds. Last year, ICE vehicle sales fell to 80.8% of total U.S. sales, down from 84% in 2023.
Another attribute that might make EREVs popular with consumers is resale value. Hybrids – which includes EREVs and more common plug-in hybrids – depreciate less than EVs or traditional gas vehicles. Since depreciation is the most expensive part of car ownership, finding a vehicle that better retains its value can provide consumers with significant savings. By contrast, electric cars and trucks lose value faster than any other vehicle type – dropping by 58.8% after five years, compared to the overall vehicle depreciation average of 45.6% and only 40.7% for hybrids, according to research from iSeeCars.
“Electric vehicle sales have been slowing on both the new and used market, with EVs sitting on dealer lots longer despite falling prices,” Brauer said. “Consumers are showing increasing appreciation for hybrid vehicles, creating a friendly environment for automakers to introduce more plug-in hybrids as an intermediate step toward full electric vehicles.”
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A $5.7B lawsuit filed in Federal court alleges that Toyota operated what amounts an organized, fraudulent enterprise that intentionally concealed known, catastrophic safety defects associated with their hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai sedans.
Originally passed as part of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is designed to help prosecutors go after people or companies that commit a pattern of crimes as part of an ongoing organization or enterprise — like the Mafia (which doesn’t exist), or large-scale fraud operations at a corporation.
That RICO statute is now at the center of a new case against Toyota. In it, the plaintiff’s attorneys argue that Toyota knowingly engaged in a decade of fraud surrounding the hydrogen fuel cell-powered MIrai sedan that jeopardized public safety and breached the terms of a previous DOJ settlement.
The case, filed by Jason M. Ingber, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the US District Court for the Central District of California, is a 142-page RICO complaint alleging that Toyota, its financing arm, and its California dealerships coordinated conspired to market and finance HFCEVs that technicians allegedly referred to as, “ticking hydrogen bombs.”
“This lawsuit isn’t about a simple defect, it’s about organized fraud,” argues Mr. Ingber. “Toyota engineered, financed, and controlled California’s hydrogen network, then used that control to hide safety failures and financial harm to consumers.”
According to the complaint, Toyota and its hydrogen partner, FirstElement Fuel (True Zero), intentionally concealed evidence of:
- hydrogen leaks near hot engine components, creating explosion risks
- sudden power loss, acceleration, and braking failures leading to collisions and injuries
- a collapsing hydrogen infrastructure, leaving drivers stranded for weeks without access to fuel
- aggressive financial collection tactics by Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, targeting owners of inoperable vehicles.
The suit further argues that Toyota’s concealment of these facts violates a 2014 Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), in which the company admitted to concealing safety defects surrounding the highly publicized incidents of unintended-acceleration and agreed to report all (emphasis mine) future safety issues truthfully.
Ingber is seeking treble damages for the class, injunctive relief, and a federal order halting Toyota’s hydrogen enterprise, citing a continuing pattern of mail and wire fraud.
“Toyota built its reputation on trust,” Ingber said, in a statement. “Our case will show how that trust is violated and why consumers deserve accountability now.”
The case is titled Aminah Kamran et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation et al., and is docketed as Case No. 2:25-cv-09542.
Electrek’s Jo’s Take
Despite the ebb and flow of media chatter about hydrogen fuel, the simple fact is that America’s hydrogen infrastructure isn’t, and what little infrastructure we did have took a hit last January, when Shell abruptly closed its publicly-accessible charging stations. That left precious few open and operational hydrogen stations available for public use – and the ones that are open don’t seem to be reliable, with Car Complaints reporting that Toyota Mirai owners say they can’t find working hydrogen refueling stations while others complained they had to park their cars for weeks because they couldn’t find hydrogen.
As a result, with supply issues impacting the few stations that are still available (see the DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center map, below), it’s tough to argue that Mirai buyers may not have gotten what they were expecting – regardless of the killer, 50% off plus $15,000 in free hydrogen fuel deals that were being offered.
Loading alternative fueling station locator…
SOURCE | IMAGES: CBS News, via CarScoops; Car Complaints.
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Solar and wind together accounted for 88% of new US electrical generating capacity added in the first eight months of 2025, according to data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign. In August, solar energy alone provided two-thirds of the new capacity, marking two consecutive years in which solar has led every month among all energy sources. Solar and wind each added more new capacity than natural gas did. Within three years, the share of all renewables in installed capacity may exceed 40%.
Solar was 73% of new generating capacity YTD
In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through August 31, 2025), FERC says 48 “units” of solar totaling 2,702 megawatts (MW) came online in August, accounting for 66.4% of all new generating capacity added during the month. That represents the second-largest monthly capacity increase by solar in 2025, behind only January when 2,945 MW were added.
The 505 units of utility-scale (>1 MW) solar added during the first eight months of 2025 total 19,093 MW and accounted for 73.4% of the total new capacity placed into service by all sources.
Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for two consecutive years, between September 2023 and August 2025. During that period, total utility-scale solar capacity grew from 91.82 gigawatts (GW) to 156.20 GW. No other energy source added anything close to that amount of new capacity. Wind, for example, expanded by 11.16 GW while natural gas’ net increase was just 4.36 GW.
Renewables were 88% of new capacity added YTD
Between January and August, new wind has provided 3,775 MW of capacity additions – more than the new capacity provided by natural gas (3,095 MW). Wind thus accounted for 14.5% of all new capacity added during the first eight months of 2025.
For the first eight months of 2025, the combination of solar and wind (plus 4 MW of hydropower and 3 MW of biomass) accounted for 88.0% of new capacity, while natural gas provided just 11.9%. The balance of net capacity additions came from oil (20 MW) and waste heat (17 MW).
Solar + wind are almost 25% of US utility-scale generating capacity
Utility-scale solar’s share of total installed capacity (11.62%) is now almost equal to that of wind (11.82%). If recent growth rates continue, utility-scale solar capacity should equal and probably surpass that of wind in the next “Energy Infrastructure Update” report published by FERC.
Taken together, wind and solar make up 23.44% of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.
Moreover, almost 29% of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind to more than a quarter of the US total.
With the inclusion of hydropower (7.59%), biomass (1.06%), and geothermal (0.31%), renewables account for a 32.40% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables make up more than one-third of total US generating capacity.
Solar is still on track to become the No. 2 source of US generating capacity
FERC reports that net “high probability” net additions of solar between September 2025 and August 2028 total 89,953 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (23,223 MW), the second fastest-growing resource.
FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (566 MW) and geothermal (92 MW), but a decrease of 126 MW in biomass capacity.
Meanwhile, natural gas capacity is projected to expand by 8,481 MW, while nuclear power is expected to add just 335 MW. In contrast, coal and oil are projected to contract by 23,564 MW and 1,581 MW, respectively.
Taken together, the new “high probability” net capacity additions by all renewable energy sources over the next three years – i.e., the Trump Administration’s remaining time in office – would total 113,708 MW. On the other hand, the installed capacity of fossil fuels and nuclear power combined would shrink by 16,329 MW.
Should FERC’s three-year forecast materialize, by early fall 2028, utility-scale solar would account for 17.1% of installed U.S. generating capacity, more than any other source besides natural gas (40.0%). Further, the capacity of the mix of all utility-scale renewable energy sources would exceed 38%. Including small-scale solar, assuming it retains its 29% share of all solar, could push renewables’ share to over 41%, while natural gas would drop to about 38%.
“Notwithstanding impediments created by the Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, solar and wind continue to add more generating capacity than fossil fuels and nuclear power,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director Ken Bossong. “And FERC foresees renewable energy’s role expanding in the next three years while the shares provided by coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear all contract.”
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage dominate, fossil fuels stagnate to August 2025
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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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