Gas-Assisted EVs Could Ease Range Anxiety

Carmakers think they've found a workaround for America's EV hesitancy: Stick a gas engine back in, but only as a backup. Hyundai, Ford, and Jeep-maker Stellantis are prepping "extended-range electric vehicles"—battery-powered cars and trucks that drive like EVs but carry a gasoline engine that serves solely as an onboard generator. Stellantis plans to launch an EREV Jeep Grand Wagoneer and a Ram 1500 pickup promising up to roughly 690 miles of total range, the Wall Street Journal reports; Hyundai and its Genesis brand are eyeing about 600 miles with upcoming SUVs.

The idea is to have consumers' range anxiety and charging hassles solved without giving up electric driving. The obstacles are that consumers have largely shrugged at plug-in hybrids, and analysts say these more complex vehicles will demand higher prices, as well as a crash course in how they work. Inside EVs has a rundown of 10 of the new vehicles headed for the US market here.