Volvo Adds 1000km to EV's Range

Current electric vehicles have one major problem – range. Most electric vehicles available today top out at about 160km, while many internal combustion-powered cars have a range of 480km or more. The hot fix to the problem right now is to use an extra engine to boost range. The Chevrolet Volt does this and is technology that has been used in trains for awhile. 

Now, Volvo is experimenting with adding range extenders in several different configurations. It has developed three concepts to find the best way to use range extenders. Technical concept I is a Volvo C30 with a series-connected Range Extender. It has a three-cylinder petrol engine mounted under the floor to provide power to its 111hp electric motor. The petrol engine has a 40 liter fuel tank and adds 1000 km to the 110km range that the electric motor already allows. 

Technical concept II is probably the most interesting from a performance perspective. In this configuration, the Volvo C30 gets a parallel-connected range extender. The three-cylinder petrol engine is  mounted in the rear and also gets a turbocharger to make 190hp. This engine exclusively powers the rear wheels, while the electric motor is mounted in the front to power the front wheels. It makes 300hp, accelerates to 100km/h in less than six seconds and has a range of about 1075km. 

Finally, technical concept III also uses a parallel-connected range extender but all of it is mounted in the front of a Volvo V60. Both engines power the front wheels, and the petrol engine recharges the battery pack when necessary. The petrol engine is only activated above 50km/h. Volvo claims with this setup the car would have a range of over 1050km. 

"Battery cost and size mean that all-electric cars still have a relatively limited operating range. With the Range Extender, the electric car has its effective range increased by a thousand kilometres - yet with carbon dioxide emissions below or way below 50 g/km. These three projects allow us to evaluate the Range Extender's various possibilities. As with the C30 Electric and V60 Plug-in Hybrid, the goal is to make the cars exceptionally CO2-lean without compromising on customer requirements such as comfort, driving pleasure and practicality,” said Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at the Volvo Car Corporation.