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The EV revolution has taken a huge hit since the failed US president brought his team of fossil fuel champions to Washington. Emissions rules? Gone. EV tax credits? Gone. Funding for EV chargers? Gone — although, most of it was later restored. EVs are now viewed as part of the “green new scam” touted by America’s Dear Leader and his jock-sniffing coterie of sycophants.
It’s not just the US that is affected. The malevolence against electric cars in the US has been a disaster for foreign automakers. Volkswagen this week announced it will furlough 160 employees at its ID.4 factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as demand for the car has evaporated. Although everyone in the industry expects EV sales to break records in September as buyers race to get their orders in before September 30, which is when the federal tax incentive ends, after that, sales of electric cars are expected to plummet, and how long will it be before Americans begin to embrace them again is a matter of intense speculation.
Canada Ditches EV Mandate
This week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rescinded a policy put in place by his predecessor that would require automakers in Canada to sell a certain percentage of electric cars beginning next year. According to Bloomberg, the move is designed to support domestic manufacturers whose business has been upended by the cockamamie tariff wars initiated by Washington.
Under the Trudeau plan, 20 percent of new cars sold in Canada in 2026 would need to be electric, rising to 100 percent by the end of 2035. “These targets were made up by the government, not based on any sound assessment of real market dynamics,” Brian Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, said in an interview in August.
An Engine For All Seasons
Credit: Horse Powertrain
So, what are manufacturers who have designed battery electric cars supposed to do now that the bloom is off the EV rose? Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Renault and Geely, says it has the answer — an ultra-compact engine and integrated generator it says can be retrofitted to any EV to help calm the fears of customers who are still freaked out by charging anxiety.
A year ago, Horse Powertrain introduced a compact electric motor that can be added to virtually any conventional car to boost its efficiency. Next week at the IAA auto show in Munich, if you stop by booth B40 in hall A2, you can see its latest creation.
That may seem like a stretch to most of us. The engine may be diminutive, but there are things like gas tanks and exhaust systems that need to be fitted as well. Horse Powertrain suggests those niggling issue can be overcome. Perhaps they can.
The company slyly suggests its C15 engine is small enough to fit into a briefcase. Actually, it measures 19.7 x 21.7 x 11 inches (50 x 55 x 28 cm). Perhaps briefcases are bigger in Europe and China than they are in the US, but give the company credit for some creative marketing. If you call it a suitcase engine, everyone will want to see it, which is pretty much the point of all marketing.
In a press release, the company says “the C15 integrates an engine, generator, and inverter into a unit compact enough to be fitted within existing battery electric vehicle (BEV) platforms with little to no modification. This allows OEMs to easily and efficiently convert a BEV platform into a range extended EV (REEV), allowing them to expand their product line-ups to meet local market demands.”
Matias Giannini, CEO of Horse Powertrain, said: “Range extended EVs are the fastest-growing powertrain category in many global markets. The Horse C15 range extender solution offers OEMs a straightforward and cost effective way to tap into this opportunity, and adapt their native BEV platforms into REEVs.
“We believe demand for REEVs will continue to grow. Horse C15 will play a critical role in this transition, as one of the market’s most efficient and flexible REEV solutions to date. It also underlines our commitment and ability to support OEMs in delivering a full range of EVs, hybrids, and combustion platforms.”
Credit: Horse Powertrain
The C15 has been designed for Euro 7 compliance, including China 7 and SULEV 20. It will be available in naturally aspirated form for B and C segment vehicles, with maximum engine power of up to 70 kW (93 hp). For larger D segment vehicles and commercial vehicles, the addition of a turbocharger increases power output up to 120 kW (161 hp).
The little engine is able to run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol flex fuels, and synthetic fuels. In all applications, the range extender maintains the charge level of the battery used to power the drive motor of an EV. By adding the C15 to an existing model, the manufacturer can elect to use a smaller battery, which could lower the price of the vehicle and make it more appealing to customers.
By definition, the C15 never powers the vehicle’s wheels directly, which allows it to operate as efficiently as possible to minimize fuel consumption and emissions, while keeping noise, vibration, and harshness to a minimum.
Splitting The Difference
Writing in New Atlas, C.C. Weiss summed up the Horse Powertrain phenomenon succinctly. “Horse has always struck us as a company just over the right side of the thin wire fence dividing genius from insanity. Had it debuted a couple of years earlier, when the automotive world had its head down toward going 110% all-in on electric vehicles, it would have struck us as a bit insane, or at least too little, too late.
“But having ramped up at a time when governments and automakers worldwide are rethinking those EV plans and timelines, it seems to be perfectly positioned for a renaissance in hybrid technology. For now, at least.”
We agree. The debate about hybrid, plug-in hybrid, series vs parallel, extended range, and battery electric cars has been raging for nearly 15 years. We confess that here at CleanTechnica, most of us have always laughed at manufacturers who couldn’t make up their minds about what direction the market — and government polices — were likely to go in the future, and so designed their platforms to accept a variety of powertrains.
We thought that was nuts because anyone with more than a 4th grade education could see that EVs were the future. By relying on such multi-dimensional chassis configurations, they are denying their customers some of the important benefits of an EV, such as more interior space for people and stuff, more “cab forward” designs, and worst of all — no frunk!
But as things have developed, the companies that allowed themselves such flexibility may be better positioned for the markets of today. Tomorrow can always take care of itself, we suppose.
It pains us to admit we might have gotten too far out over our skis when it comes to promoting the EV revolution and wishing the S curve would hurry up to work its magic. The biggest factor, of course, other than the whiplash of changes in policy, is that in many places — particularly in the US — EV prices are still significantly higher than they are for conventional cars. That has to change before the EV revolution becomes unstoppable.
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