EREVs Use Gasoline, & Are A Step Backward Compared To All-Electric Vehicles

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Depending on what online sources you look at, Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) may be an emerging trend in China. This vehicle type is one that has an electric motor (or two) with a large battery pack and an onboard gasoline-powered generator that provides electricity to ‘extend’ the range. To be strict about it, it actually uses a dirty fossil fuel to create that extra electricity. The battery might have been first charged with electricity from clean sources such as solar power or wind power, or it might have been a blend of electricity from clean sources and a dirty source such as electricity from a coal power plant. It’s worth pointing out that the ‘extra’ range of an EREV is from dirty electricity, so people don’t get confused about that.

So, is an EREV really an ‘extended range’ EV or is it actually, in the simplest terms, more or less similar to a hybrid? The technology differs from that of a hybrid, but it does still use fossil fuel. The point of having fully electric vehicles is that they don’t use gasoline or diesel at all. An EREV produces toxic air pollution that harms human health and the planet. 

So, in that sense EREVs are an outdated technology and compared to full battery-electric vehicles they are a step backward. To illustrate the point, imagine a fully electric vehicle such as a Tesla Model Y pulling a trailer with a gas or diesel generator and a fuel tank to ‘extend’ the range. It would defeat the purpose of using a fully electric vehicle which is to utilize no gasoline or diesel. (Fully electric vehicles are more energy-efficient as well.)

Make no mistake, China has air pollution problems. About one million human deaths per year in China are caused by outdoor air pollution and exhaust from gas and diesel powered vehicles contribute to those deaths. 

Exhaust from vehicles that use fossil fuels contains particulate matter. Particulate matter can cause a large number of human diseases. In no particular order, some of them are: stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma  and respiratory infections. Exposure to air pollution can also depress immune function in humans. “Our study shows that pollutants in our environment have a direct and detrimental effect on the human immune system, and specifically the immune organs that are associated with the respiratory tract.”

People who have depressed immune function can and do get sick more often. We all just went through the Covid-19 pandemic that killed millions of people. Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of getting Covid-19. “Long-term exposure to air pollution is more frequently positively associated with increased COVID-19 cases and deaths compared to short-term exposure.” People with preexisting medical conditions are more vulnerable to air pollution impacts.

China’s yearly air pollution fatalities may increase. The general population is getting older, and older people are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of air pollution. Because of the aging population and the overproduction of toxic air pollution, annual air pollution deaths in China may increase somewhere from 116,000 to 181,000 a year in the years 2030 to 2060.

It should be obvious to anyone that in China there is quite an urgency to eliminate the use of fossil fuels because they create harmful air pollution when combusted. Of course, fossil fuels also contribute to climate change, which has many negative impacts as well. Disastrous oil spills happen on a regular basis too.

Purchasing an EREV supports all sorts of harm to people and the planet.

In addition to harming and causing premature deaths among the elderly, children are also vulnerable.

“Air pollution in China claims the lives of up to 64,000 unborn children every year, according to a recent study.”

It’s not only China. Outdoor air pollution worldwide causes an estimated 700,000 child deaths each year. Outdoor air pollution has also caused millions of premature deaths in India and will continue to do so.

EREVs extend the use of gasoline, which is a fossil fuel. They also extend severe climate change impacts, illness and premature deaths from toxic air pollution, oil spills that take many years to be cleaned up – if they are ever cleaned up  – and wasting the opportunities to choose sustainable transportation options.

The solution is fully battery-electric vehicles that do not have an ‘extender’ which utilizes gasoline.

Some auto manufacturers may claim the electric range of their EREV is about 100 to 150 miles and the ‘extender’, meaning gasoline-powered generator, range is another 500 miles.

However, the average daily commute distance in China is less than 30 miles. In the US, it’s about 42 miles; in the UK it is less than 24 miles. So, it is not at all necessary to have the ability to drive 600 miles or more at once. Furthermore, there are many all-electric vehicles that have plenty of range and the number of public EV chargers is growing steadily. Many fully electric vehicles have been driven on road trips of over 1,000 miles or more.

One disadvantage of an EREV compared to a full battery-electric vehicle is that the EREV technology is more complex and may cost more to repair and maintain.“The challenge with PHEVs and EREV (models) remains that they’re complicated and costly because you’re engineering two propulsion systems, and you still have tailpipe emissions,” said Jim Cain, a GM spokesman.

In the US, we have already had EREV technology in the form of the Chevy Volt and the BMW i3. While the new EREV might have improved technology, some people seem to be getting confused. It doesn’t matter if there are improvements because EREVs use gasoline which is a fossil fuel that is associated with a great number of severe problems. 

Combining gas and electric technology in a car was first done a very long time ago, in 1899. (It could also be 1901, depending on the source.) Whether the technology is hybrid, plug-in hybrid or EREV doesn’t matter, it’s the use of gasoline that is relevant.

Some macho men might claim they need a truck such as the Dodge RamCharger, which has an electric propulsion system combined with a gasoline-powered generator to make electricity, because electric pickup trucks can’t tow. The Chevy Silverado EV, Sierra EV, Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, and Ford Lightning can tow, and tow well.

In the US, nearly all driving trips are less than 50 miles. The average towing session is considerably less than that. All the fully electric pickup trucks can cover average towing sessions and with ease.

Another issue with EREVs is that they appear to be a solution to something that is not even a real problem. Range anxiety was more real when fully electric vehicles were first introduced, such as the initial Nissan Leaf that got about 80 miles of range. Today, however, there are many EVs that have 250 to 300 miles of range. Some models have even more, so range anxiety is no longer an issue like it was back then. Also, 12 years ago, when range anxiety was more relevant, there were far fewer public EV chargers. Today, EV chargers are far more available and there are fast chargers.

EREVs are not the solution they appear to be. Gasoline causes so much damage, and yet in the EREV technology it seems like a solution. For human health and for the planet it actually is much more of a culprit. Gasoline is also not a failsafe option in EREVs. Consider that even fully gasoline-powered vehicles run out of gas with regularity.

“According to a recent AAA survey, 24 million (11 percent) of American drivers continue to drive after the low fuel warning light turns on. Drivers who attempt to stretch a tank of gas too far could end up stranded like 135,473 Automobile Club of Southern California members did last year.  AAA cautions drivers that allowing their cars to run out of fuel can not only put them in a potentially dangerous situation, but also could result in costly repairs.”

EREV technology seems to exploit consumer ignorance and emotion, as if EREVs can’t run out of gasoline to generate electricity to run their electric motors. EREVs are fully capable of running out of gasoline, just like gas and diesel-powered vehicles. 

What happens when an EREV’s gasoline generator malfunctions or stops working altogether? The range would be decreased, not extended.

Another EREV consideration is more of a question. Gasoline is flammable and explosive. Is it a good idea to have a tank full of gasoline in a vehicle that also has a large battery pack?

This article started out referencing the fact that outdoor air pollution makes many people sick each year and contributes to an unacceptably high number of premature human deaths. In doing so, it doesn’t point out all the impacts of climate change. A new study indicated that the cost of extreme weather events was about two trillion dollars in the last decade. Again, EREVs use gasoline and are part of the problem.

US oil tycoons try to influence election outcomes and public policy in their own economic interest to make themselves richer and to protect their businesses. Allegedly, the oil and gas industry, at least in the US, has ties to white supremacy. Buying a vehicle that uses gasoline in an ‘extender’ supports many destructive and harmful activities.

China imports most of its crude oil from foreign sources, including from Russia. Doing so is quite costly and sends a lot of money outside the country. One source says it is the largest importer of crude oil. So, how much does importing all that oil cost? Oh, only over $300 billion dollars per year.

Unfortunately, or tragically, gasoline problems and issues don’t stop there. There are also petro dictators. Nearly one million people have been injured or killed in the war in the Ukraine. Remember when Republican John McCain called Russia a ‘gas station masquerading as a country’? Russia’s wealth from fossil fuels has played a role in the war in the Ukraine.

Vehicles that use gasoline or diesel are not solutions. They are the problems. EREVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids delay the transition to healthier sustainable transportation and a more geopolitically stable world.