The 80.3 degree battery and pure electric range of 500 kilometers, you read it right. These are not the parameters of a pure electric car, but the battery and range data of the new flagship model D19 extended range version of Zero Run. At present, the batteries of extended range vehicles are becoming larger and larger, and the pure electric range is approaching that of pure electric vehicles. However, as batteries grow larger, they inevitably come at higher prices. Can extended range cars still be affordable?

Range extender that cannot be started

A pure electric car carrying an oil burning power bank "is the understanding many people have of extended range vehicles. However, nowadays extended range cars even think that car owners don't need a "power bank". The new generation of Zhiji LS6, which was launched in September this year, has an extended range version with a battery capacity of 66 degrees and a pure electric range of up to 450 kilometers. For example, Xiaopeng, who announced last year that it would enter the extended range track, will also have a pure electric range of 450 kilometers for the extended range X9.

However, some car companies are still not satisfied with the pure electric range of the "four letter head". The Zero Run D19 simply increases the battery capacity to over 80 degrees, and the pure electric range can reach 500 kilometers. No amount of pure electric car can reach this number. In addition, models such as the Deep Blue S09, Haobo HL Extended Range Edition, Zunjie S800 Extended Range Edition, and Zhijie R7 Extended Range Edition all have a maximum pure electric range of over 300 kilometers, with the Zunjie S800 Extended Range Edition even reaching a maximum pure electric range of 400 kilometers.

Why do extended range vehicles with fuel tanks and range extenders have to "roll up" battery capacity and pure electric range? Regarding this, NIO Chairman and CEO Li Bin once pointed out bluntly: "The battery pack of the range extender is getting bigger and bigger, not to further reduce the startup of the range extender. Originally, you could use it five or six times a year, but now you may only use it once or twice a year. It seems not cost-effective to carry hundreds of kilograms of things every day while driving." The implication is, "The range extender battery is getting bigger and bigger, why not just buy pure electric?" Perhaps it is not that car owners do not want to buy pure electric cars, but they have seen too many range anxiety caused by pure electric cars, which gives range extender cars a special living space in China. Nowadays, with the increasing range of pure electric vehicles, reducing the use of range extenders can help car owners avoid facing the disadvantages of range extenders themselves. "Driving range extenders as pure electric vehicles" has become a unique phenomenon in China's new energy market.

Are extended range cars really getting more expensive?

Who will bear the cost of larger batteries and longer pure electric range when wool comes from sheep? Obviously, it will ultimately be reflected in the price of the extended range new car. When Ideal first launched its range extender, it relied on lower overall manufacturing costs - after all, compared to the high price of power batteries at the time, range extenders were a more cost-effective solution. However, nowadays, extended range models equipped with "ultra fast charging+large battery+long range" even cost more than some pure electric models in the same class, which means that extended range may gradually become a "high-end configuration". These extended range new cars with pure electric range of several hundred kilometers are generally priced at over 200000 yuan and have entered the high-end camp.

To establish a foothold in the mid to high end market, car companies also have their own anxieties. After all, the high-end market price is there, and no one wants their new car to have obvious shortcomings. It is best to "have both", and "ultra fast charging+large battery+long range" is the best choice.

However, in the first three quarters of this year, the cumulative retail share of extended range vehicles accounted for less than 10% of the entire new energy market, and they are still a "niche" product in the new energy market. The more they sell, the more expensive they become, which may not be a good thing. Is it really the right path for extended range vehicles to move towards "pure electrification"?