At the new 2025 Lincoln Navigator‘s Monterey Car Week debut, we had the opportunity to catch up with Ford CEO Jim Farley and a couple of top Ford executives. Hot topics of conversation included Chinese EVs, of course, but also extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) and their suitability for the Chinese and possibly, U.S. markets. As Farley noted in our conversation, among Chinese electrified auto makers, only BYD and Li Auto are profitable, on the strength of diverse powertrain offerings, including hybrids, PHEVs, and EREVs.
While Farley gave no specific guidance in our conversation, he did advise us to “watch out for more news coming soon.” Perhaps he meant the subsequent announcement by Ford on its pivot away from a large, three-row battery-electric SUV in favor of a platform of hybrid-powertrain SUVs.
Ford already makes hybrid and electric trucks (Maverick and F-150 Lightning), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUVs (Escape), so could EREV technology be coming to future three-row SUVs such as the Explorer and Expedition nameplates as well as the F-series truck family? Possibly, says Sam Abuelsamid, principal research investigator for Guidehouse Insights. Abuelsamid speculates that EREV technology would be a great fit for Ford’s F-series platforms, including Super Duty. And this aligns Ford’s announcement in June 2024 that it plans to manufacture Super Duty trucks with “multi-energy technology” at its Oakville, Ontario plant.
What Is an EREV, and How Does It Differ from PHEV Tech?
So, what’s the difference between an EREV and, say, the plug-in hybrids you see everywhere today? A plug-in hybrid is basically a normal gas-electric hybrid with uprated electric bits capable of propelling the car along using only the motor and battery for relatively short distances (compared to, say, full-on EVs) but farther than a non-plug-in hybrid might be capable of. When the battery is depleted, the gas engine rejoins the party, and the car operates like a conventional hybrid; but then you can plug it in again, charge the battery, and drive on electrons alone again until the EV-only range runs its course. Today’s best PHEVs are capable of up to 40 to 50 miles of range, though most fall in the 15 to 30 mile zone. An extended-range EV is different—it’s fundamentally an electric car, one that you still plug in to charge, but with an internal-combustion engine onboard that can act as a generator, producing enough electricity to extend the driving range beyond that afforded by the battery’s capacity alone.
The allure of EREVs is that they can be engineered with smaller, cheaper batteries sized to handle normal everyday commuting or hauling duties, with the range extender kicking in to cover those very occasional longer trips or heavier loads. They make even more sense in larger vehicles, which have plenty of space for, essentially, two powertrains on board and already weigh a lot. Plus, trucks have vastly broader performance envelopes than bubble cars, so pure-electric versions require heavy and costly battery packs to deliver even so-so range even when towing; diminishing returns are a concern, too, as the heavier you make a truck, the more payload and towing is compromised. EREVs allow for much more reasonably sized batteries to cover most driving tasks, and a gas engine to cover more energy-intensive ones such as dragging a tall, square camping trailer over a long distance, or towing a heavy trailer up a very long grade. You can even up your output and capability with a higher performance engine/generator setup, rather than just more and more batteries.