Are Gas Engines The Answer To America's EV Problem?

Last week, Ram announced it was canceling its repeatedly delayed all-electric pickup truck. Instead, it’s moving forward with the Ram 1500 REV (formerly called the Ramcharger), which could be one of America’s first EREVs when it arrives in 2027.

Ram’s EREV truck carries a 92-kilowatt-hour battery pack, backed up by a 3.6-liter V6 engine that recharges it. The total range should be 690 miles—trumping any current EV.

Scout Motors, the revived retro truck and SUV brand from the Volkswagen Group, will launch its built-in-America EVs with an option called the Harvester: a four-cylinder generator engine that’ll make it good for more than 500 miles.

Scout executives have said pre-orders have been overwhelmingly in favor of the Harvester over their all-electric versions.

Hyundai Motor Group offered new details about its EREV plans this week, too. It’s working on EREVs for Hyundai and Genesis that aim to “achieve full EV power performance with less than half the battery capacity” of a standard EV, while “eliminating range anxiety.”

Ford, eventually, wants to get into this arena too. And in China, it’s making an EREV Ford Bronco, which assuredly won’t be sold in the West. (Bummer.)

Unsurprisingly, China is years ahead on EREVs already. Some boast 700-1,000 miles of range, albeit on China’s more generous testing cycle.

Multiple Chinese auto brands now offer EREVs. They’re becoming a big part of electrified vehicle sales—especially for larger SUVs, where a big battery can be a pain to live with.

In general, this is seen as a solution for larger vehicles like trucks and three-row SUVs—the kinds of vehicles Americans love to buy. (And China’s very fond of the latter.)

By adding the gas engine, drivers should get more range without needing such a big battery. And large EV batteries carry their own environmental challenges. They also need more energy and time to charge.

The Ram 1500 REV’s battery is big, but the all-electric truck’s battery was gigantic at 229 kWh—and still would have come with the usual penalties for towing and hauling that EV trucks are infamous for.

At a media roundtable at its CEO Investor Day in New York that I attended yesterday, Hyundai chief executive José Muñoz confirmed as much.

“We see them more useful for larger vehicles,” he said. “Today, we see the utilization of commuting in battery vehicles is very common, especially in California. If you want to go for a long weekend and have to make a lot of miles, you need a different technology.”

First and foremost, they don’t exist yet. No EREVs will be sold in the U.S. for years. And while surveys show Americans are excited about EREVs, that’s only in a conceptual sense.

They also extend our reliance on fossil fuels for transportation, which are a proven driver of air pollution, childhood asthma and global warming.

It’s unclear what their carbon footprint will be, and if that’s any better than conventional hybrids or even gas engines.

Ram is targeting 20.5 miles per gallon for the 1500 REV’s engine—not exactly mind-blowing. And what that means for emissions and energy efficiency remains to be seen.

And it’s another new technology that American drivers need to be taught how to use. EVs come with a learning curve, too. Who’s going to explain to them how EREVs work and how to live with them?

A recent study by market research firm Escalent echoes these concerns: “Consumers are confused by the name itself, and the industry’s lack of consistent terminology only makes it harder to understand the powertrain’s value proposition.”

In the U.S., the EV tax credit is ending soon, and the Trump administration has ended any meaningful fuel economy regulations. Both are expected to contribute to an EV slowdown—at least for a few years.

Yet most automakers know the future is electric, and to compete in China and Europe right now, they have to invest in this growing field.

But they’re also spooked by the slow growth of EV trucks in particular. That’s a big problem for automakers in America, where big trucks are the primary profit drivers.

EREVs are seen as a way for everybody to have their cake and eat it too. Sales of purely internal-combustion vehicles peaked almost a decade ago, and it’s unlikely the world will go back entirely.

In theory, EREVs will help automakers build up things like EV platforms and EV batteries, then one day be able to remove the gas engine entirely when charging infrastructure is better and people are “ready” to move on from gas.

I also have real doubts about American car dealers’ ability to sell these things—or teach drivers how they work.

They probably have to be plugged in, too, and we’ve seen data that indicates people often don’t do this with plug-in hybrids.

Done wrong, it could be a kind of security blanket that people only think they need. As battery technology improves and EV range gets better, these may be less necessary than people think.

But if they’re done right, they could represent an intriguing solution to the challenges of big-battery vehicles.

Above all, the rise of EREVs—if they do take off—shows that while the future is almost certainly zero-emissions, the road to get there is anything but straightforward.

Lately, we’re seeing more and more signs that China’s domestic auto industry is slamming into a wall. A flood of cars, cutthroat competition, and a bruising price war are dragging the sector back to reality. [Financial Times]

China’s government pushed its auto industry to become a powerhouse—but maybe too well. This must-read story explains the looming crash from its “vastly oversupplied market”, including too many car brands, dealers going broke and dumping unwanted vehicles. [Reuters]

Case in point: BYD has recently seen a $45 billion stock selloff. [Bloomberg]

China’s now revising its 2025 auto sales target downward. [Reuters]

Plus, here’s how that country and the U.S. wound up with such dramatically different versions of Buick. [Motor1]

The Hyundai Motor Group had several major announcements at its event besides the EREVs: Improved EV batteries, a next-generation software system coming in 2026 and increased investments in U.S. production.

That includes its Georgia Metaplant, the site of a massive immigration raid—which could reset how the U.S. handles visas for skilled workers. Meanwhile, patching up U.S. relations with South Korea may take some doing.

Mercedes-Benz has a crop of very impressive new EVs coming to market soon as a do-over after its EQ strategy fizzled, like the 400-mile CLA-Class. But can it convince buyers in America to go for them without the tax credit? [Automotive News]

As an addendum to the above: “The automaker will focus on markets friendly to EVs, such as California.” Expect more allocation decisions like this soon, with fewer EVs sold nationwide.

What really happens to Tesla, and perhaps to all of us, if Elon Musk becomes a trillion-dollar man? [The Atlantic]

The all-new $30,000 Nissan Leaf is… actually good! It’s getting consistently strong early reviews. But thanks in part to tariffs, the larger Nissan Ariya is canceled for the U.S. in 2026. [InsideEVs]

Like many automakers, Mercedes is getting into bidirectional charging: an EV’s ability to put energy back into the electrical grid. The MB.CHARGE pilot program launches next year in Germany, France and the UK. [Mobility House]

Toyota wants to deliver “just-in-time reminders” to get drivers to charge their EVs and plug-in hybrids regularly. It’s unclear when or if the latter group even does. [Axios]

Dow Jones has acquired Netherlands-based EV charging station data manager Eco-Movement. The financial giant gets a broad portfolio of charging-related data analytics. [Globe and Mail]

Rivian is adding a Smart Charging feature to an upcoming software update that could save at least 20% in home charging costs. [InsideEVs]

Brooklyn’s own it’s electric is coming to California. The startup is getting $1.1 million to add curbside Level 2 vehicle-to-grid chargers that can even add energy back into the grid. [Electrek]

Speaking of: the city of Prague aims to turn some 1,500 lampposts into curbside EV chargers over the next few years. A brilliant idea. [The Cool Down]

Illinois has successfully sued the Trump administration for the release of federal grant funding for electric vehicle charging stations. [Capitol News Illinois]

At the Terawatt station in LA, Waymo autonomous vehicles roll in and out and get charged constantly in a “well-choreographed dance.” [Dan Wilson via LinkedIn]

Korean battery giant SK On and U.S. start-up Solid Power are getting closer to making solid-state batteries a reality. [InsideEVs]

Panasonic says its next-generation anode-free batteries could boost the range of its client, Tesla, well past 400 miles. [Reuters]

Meanwhile, one battery startup mainstay is running into trouble. Our Next Energy is set to lease out most of its Michigan factory space, which its founder blames on declining EV demand. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

A zoning fight over Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park plant in Marshall, Michigan is headed back to court. [WWMT]

One more Hyundai tidbit: it says its next-gen battery packs will be 30% cheaper while delivering 15% more energy density for even more range than today’s EVs. [InsideEVs]

The Waymo takeover continues. Google’s autonomous ride-hail service is coming to Nashville in partnership with Lyft. [TechCrunch]

Waymo will also partner with recently-IPO’d transit tech company Via to provide autonomous taxis for public transit. [Reuters]

Tesla clearly wants to bring Robotaxis to New York City. But how would Full Self-Driving handle such a chaotic city? My colleague Suvrat Kothari found out. [InsideEVs]

Using a $1,000 Comma 3X unit, this couple claims to have driven their 2017 Toyota Prius coast-to-coast—99% autonomously. [The Drive]

Forget taxis. The next big proving ground for autonomous vehicles will be airports, including baggage unloading. [CNN]

Where is the Volkswagen Group leveraging artificial intelligence? Pretty much everywhere now, “from vehicle development and production to cybersecurity.” [Volkswagen]

Case in point: the new Porsche Cayenne Electric skipped an entire prototype phase thanks to virtual testing instead. [InsideEVs]

But Mercedes’ design chief says AI still can’t style a car that looks halfway decent. [MotorTrend]

The AI-powered car inspection industry is expected to be worth $6 billion by 2032. Let’s hope it actually gets things right. [BusinessWire]