Is a range extender electric vehicle a new technology?
Not really, as early as 1901, Porsche's founder, Ferdinand Porsche, invented the extended-range tram. His original intention of inventing the extended-range electric vehicle was that the electric vehicle at that time had a short battery life, so he added an engine for charging, so it became the world's first series hybrid electric vehicle, and also became the world's first extended-range electric vehicle. He equipped all four wheels with in-wheel motors on this car, so that the car has electric four-wheel drive, and the top speed can reach 56 km/h, which was still very "fierce" more than 100 years ago.
As for why the extended-range electric vehicles did not continue and expand the scale at that time, it was because the battery technology at that time was relatively backward, the battery energy density was too small, and the longer battery life required a larger battery pack, which was indeed cumbersome to put on the car. Therefore, in the technical background at that time, it was better to use the engine to generate electricity to charge the battery or drive the electric motor, which was similar to "taking off your pants and farting", and it was better to use the internal combustion engine to drive it directly.
So for a long time, extended-range electric vehicles have not entered people's field of vision on a large scale. Until more than 100 years later, with the advent of the new energy era, battery technology is becoming more and more mature but not perfect, and extended-range electric vehicles have begun to become popular with the characteristics of refueling and charging. The representative brands of domestic extended-range electric vehicles mainly include Ideal, AITO, Deep Blue, etc. Do you think the extended-range electric vehicle is the best choice for new energy vehicles at present?
