Why Automakers Are Putting Gas Engines Back Into Electric Vehicles
The gasoline engine was supposed to disappear from the American automobile. Instead, automakers are finding a new job for it.
Ford is developing an extended-range F-150 Lightning that will use electric motors to drive the truck but a gasoline-powered generator to provide additional electricity. Hyundai is preparing an EREV version of the Santa Fe for 2027, while Stellantis has developed a platform for full-size trucks and SUVs that can use either a battery-electric or range-extended powertrain. Even Scout Motors, the Volkswagen-backed American automaker preparing its first two vehicles, says more than 85 percent of its reservations are currently for its gasoline-assisted Harvester powertrain.
It sounds like a contradiction, especially after years of automakers telling buyers that the future of the car is electric. But there is a fairly straightforward reason for this change, and it has a lot to do with what Americans expect their trucks and SUVs to do.
An EREV Is Still Driven By Electricity
The term EREV, or Extended Range Electric Vehicle, can make the technology sound more complicated than it is. An EREV is primarily an electric vehicle. Its battery supplies energy to electric motors, which drive the wheels. The difference is that there is also a gasoline engine onboard, but instead of mechanically driving the wheels, it operates a generator that supplies electricity to the vehicle when the battery needs it.
Ford's next-generation F-150 Lightning is a good example. The company says the truck will be propelled entirely by electric motors, with a generator providing enough additional energy to give it an estimated range of more than 700 miles. Ford is also positioning the setup as a solution for long-distance towing, where charging stops can become a much bigger inconvenience than they are during an ordinary commute.
So while an EREV still carries an internal-combustion engine, the driving experience is intended to remain that of an EV. The gasoline engine is effectively there as a backup source of electricity. That distinction becomes particularly interesting when the vehicle is a full-size pickup.
Electric Trucks Have A Different Range Problem
An electric sedan that spends most of its time commuting has a fairly predictable routine. It can be charged overnight, driven to work and plugged in again at home. A pickup truck has a more demanding life.
Put a trailer behind an electric truck and energy consumption rises considerably. Add passengers, cargo and a long highway journey, and the battery has to work much harder. The problem isn't necessarily that the truck doesn't have enough range for everyday driving. It is that the owner may want to use it in circumstances where range can become much less predictable.
That's exactly the problem Ford says it is trying to address with the next F-150 Lightning EREV. The company says its new truck will retain electric propulsion while offering more than 700 miles of estimated range and the ability to tow long distances without relying entirely on public charging.
Stellantis has taken a similar approach with its STLA Frame architecture, which was developed for full-size, body-on-frame trucks and SUVs. The platform can accommodate a battery-electric powertrain as well as a range-extender system, with Stellantis targeting up to 500 miles of BEV range or up to 690 miles with the REEV setup. The company specifically says the range-extender configuration is intended to help vehicles haul and tow heavy loads over long distances.
This is where the EREV starts to make more sense. Automakers aren't necessarily questioning whether electric motors are capable of powering a truck. They are questioning whether a battery alone is always the most practical way to provide the energy that a truck may need.
Why Not Just Use A Bigger Battery?
The obvious solution to range is to add more battery capacity. But that comes with its own set of problems. Batteries are heavy, expensive and physically large. A full-size truck already needs to carry a substantial amount of metal, suspension hardware, passengers, cargo and, in many cases, a trailer. Adding an enormous battery to cover every possible long-distance use case can push weight and cost even higher.
Stellantis' STLA Frame illustrates the scale involved. The platform can accommodate battery packs ranging from 159 kWh to more than 200 kWh, yet the company still sees a role for a range-extender configuration.
The alternative is to use a smaller battery for most driving and keep a gasoline generator available for the situations that demand more energy. That could be particularly useful for American buyers who charge at home and do the majority of their daily driving electrically but occasionally take long road trips, tow trailers or head into places where charging infrastructure is limited. The vehicle doesn't need to carry enough battery for its most demanding trip every day of the year.
Scout Motors Is Already Seeing Demand For It
One of the clearest signs that automakers see potential in this technology is coming from a company that hasn't even delivered its first vehicle yet. Scout Motors was established in 2022 as an independent American automaker backed by Volkswagen Group. The company is developing the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup, both of which are being designed specifically for the U.S. market. Scout says the vehicles will be engineered in Michigan and manufactured at a new facility in Blythewood, South Carolina.
Both models will be offered with an all-electric powertrain or Scout's Harvester range extender. The company says more than 85 percent of its reservations, as of March 2026, are for the Harvester configuration, and it plans to begin production with the EREV version to match that demand.
Reservations aren't sales, and the vehicles won't reach customers until 2028. Still, the figure is notable because Scout is targeting precisely the type of buyer for whom range and charging flexibility can matter most: someone shopping for a rugged, body-on-frame SUV or pickup that can be used for towing, hauling and off-road driving.
Scout's decision to prioritize the range-extender version suggests that at least some prospective buyers don't necessarily want to choose between an EV and a gasoline vehicle. They want an electric vehicle that doesn't force them to plan their entire trip around the battery. The EREV push isn't limited to pickups and off-road vehicles. Hyundai says its first EREV models will arrive in the first half of 2027, with the Santa Fe EREV targeting more than 600 miles of total range. The model will be built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, giving the technology a direct connection to one of the company's most important U.S. markets. The Santa Fe is particularly interesting because its use case is more familiar. It isn't primarily a work truck. It is the sort of three-row family SUV that might spend most of its time commuting, taking children to school and running errands before being asked to cover several hundred miles on a family vacation. For that buyer, an EREV offers a fairly simple proposition. Use electricity for everyday driving and home charging, but keep the gasoline generator available when a long journey makes charging inconvenient. It isn't necessarily the ideal solution for everyone. A driver with easy access to charging and a predictable daily commute may be better served by a conventional BEV. An EREV adds an engine, fuel system and additional mechanical complexity that a battery-only EV doesn't need. But that isn't really the point. For years, electrification was presented as a relatively straightforward transition from gasoline engines to batteries and electric motors. The reality is proving more complicated, particularly in America. The country's appetite for large pickups and SUVs means automakers have to electrify vehicles that are heavy, powerful and frequently used for towing or long-distance travel. The requirements are very different from those of a compact EV used primarily for commuting. That is why Ford is adding an EREV to the F-150 Lightning, Stellantis has developed STLA Frame around multiple powertrain options and Hyundai is bringing the technology to the Santa Fe. They aren't abandoning battery-electric vehicles. They are adding another way of using electric propulsion. And perhaps that is the more important story here. The gasoline engine isn't really making a comeback. In an EREV, it has been demoted from the thing that moves the vehicle to the thing that keeps it moving when the battery alone isn't enough. For automakers trying to electrify America's biggest vehicles, that may turn out to be a much more useful role for the internal-combustion engine than the one it has played for the last century.Hyundai Is Taking The Same Idea To Family SUVs
The U.S. Market May Be Why EREVs Are Back