ZF is readying a new generation of electric range extenders

Bringing back nostalgia like chomping on a childhood chocolate bar, ZF has developed a new generation of - wait for it - electric range extenders.

Yep, its eRE (electric Range Extender) and eRE+ will be available for various platforms including 400V and 800V architectures. They'll use an integrated inverter and planetary gearing to propel cars on electrons generated from a smaller petrol-powered generator, but the Plus-flavoured RE will also come with a clever clutch and a differential, making it capable of over 200bhp.

Range extenders – still considered battery-electric vehicles (BEV) even though they have a bit of fossil-fuelled action in there – debuted on the Vauxhall Ampera in 2010, and have not been seen since the BMW i3 went out of production in 2022 (if you momentarily pause that time Mazda did that thing with the MX-30 in 2023 and forget the Ineos Fusilier that never happened).

In a sign of the times – those being ones in which people are not snapping up purely electric cars with quite as much gusto as the government (or the industry) would like – ZF plans to start production of two systems next year, reckoning that drivers are still a bit put-off by the lack of reliable charge points to go fully electric.

Senior VP and chief boffin of ZF’s electrified powertrain technology, Dr. Otmar Scharrer, said: "Although the all-electric range of passenger cars is around 500km on average, range anxiety still influences a wide range of buyers when choosing their next vehicle. This is especially true in regions where charging infrastructure is not yet universally available.” Today, folks in central Wales, Northern Scotland and pretty much all of Ireland finally feel seen.

The serious cost savings in using range extending tech over hybrid tech come from easier and cheaper integration with existing ICE powertrains. Scharrer added: "The new interest and the increased demand for range extenders shows that the potential of this technology is far from exhausted – in particular for model platforms that are already designed for battery-electric drivelines." What do you think?