The primary reasons for China’s EV market dominance are myriad and well-trod. China put serious government money behind EVs. It cut red tape, incentivized buyers, and provided cheap property. Homegrown companies with minimal or no experience building ICE vehicles saw the transition as an opportunity, not a chore, as many Western companies clearly perceive it. Yet one factor is as under-covered as it is important. A far larger proportion of Chinese EV buyers are first-time car buyers. Many more had owned only one or two cars before. That’s key for one main reason: In China, EVs were free from much of the baggage still weighing them down here. Photo by: InsideEVs Ford’s CEO recently called the economics of large SUV EVs “unresolvable.” I agree, which is why EREVs and hybrids
Tag Archives: FutureMobility
Feb
Extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are a step between hybrids and EVs, with internal combustion motors that act as generators on longer trips. The technology may help Ford get around an “unsolveable” economics problem with large EV trucks: Consumers won’t pay for the super-sized batteries they require. Ram, Scout and General Motors are also betting on EREVs. Extended-range electric vehicles will be essential to the American market, Ford CEO Jim Farley said on the company’s earnings call Wednesday. The reason is simple: “Americans love their big cars. They love their big trucks,” he said. An extended-range EV, or EREV, is a technology that bridges the gap between a conventional hybrid and an electric vehicle. These cars operate as purely electric vehicles, with all of the vehicle’s propulsion coming from electric motors.