One of the disadvantages of an electric vehicle is that you are limited to driving certain distances, as the fully charged battery will only take you so far.
However, manufacturers have come up with a solution to further ease ‘Range Anxiety’. Range extenders have been created to solve this problem - we look at electric cars with range extenders and how they work.
A range extender is a secondary onboard power generator. It usually works by charging the electric car’s battery as you drive. It is intended to only be used as a backup when the primary battery is running low.
It is quite similar to the way a hybrid car works but with a range extender, you can’t use the extender to run the car, only to power the battery.
Once the EV’s battery is almost depleted, the range extender turns on and provides electricity to recharge the battery. They aren’t powerful enough to run the car by themselves and act simply as a backup until you can get your vehicle to a charging point.
It can be argued that a range extender can improve the quality of your battery as it lowers the temperature of the battery, extending its lifespan.
An improved range. The obvious advantage of a range extender is that you can drive further than the mileage you would normally get out of a single charge.
Increased comfort. Balancing the other electrical consumption from areas such as air conditioning and heating can make for a more comfortable journey.
Battery health. A range extender stops the battery from running out or overheating, meaning that your battery life is extended, and the health of your battery improves.
Here is a list of the models that you can have range extenders fitted for:
Audi e-Tron
BMW i3
BMW i3 REX
Hyundai Kona
Hyundai Ioniq
Kia e-Soul
Kia e-Niro
Lexus Hybrid
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
Nissan Leaf
Nissan e-NV200
Tesla Model X
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model 3
Tesla Model Y
Toyota Hybrid
Volkswagen e-Up
Volkswagen e-Golf
Mazda has announced they will be releasing a version of the MX-30 fitted with a range extender in the summer of 2023.
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