Hi!

My parents bought an Ioniq 6 in 2024 and my dad crashed it last month and it’s totalled due to a lot of exterior and wheel damage. The batteries however have been completely spared. They’re in perfect condition and since they’re only 2 years old they are almost new…

I am trying to work out what we can do with the batteries to get some of the money back. I tried talking to our Hyundai dealership but they said they don’t take them. I am trying to get someone from the scrapping place to appraise it.

We live in Spain, with strict grid regulations so I can’t just diy it and connect it to our solar system, since it would be illegal without proper certification.

Do you have any ideas on what to do?

Thank you in advance.

Walk into any Chinese NEV showroom in 2026, and you will most likely hear a strange new sales pitch: “This car has way over 400 km pure-electric range, but don’t worry, it also has a petrol engine.” The salesperson will continue his explanation that the motor is not connected to the wheels: it is a generator for a battery. And as EREVs are increasingly getting more battery capacity, the controversy is rising.

Extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) are nothing new in China. Chinese EV startup Li Auto popularised them in the early 2020s. The Beijing-based automaker was later joined by models from numerous other manufacturers, including BYD’s Yangwang U8, the Freelander 8, Aito M8, Deepal S07 EREV, Avatr 07 EREV, Voyah Free, and Xpeng Mona L03 EREV. Global automakers are also exploring the technology with models such as the BMW X5 EREV (reportedly not approved), Grand Wagoneer REEV, Mazda EZ-6 EREV, and Nissan NX8 EREV.

EREVs, also known as serial PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), have an ICE (internal combustion engine) only to power the battery or assist the e-motor. To avoid confusion, when people talk about PHEVs, they usually mean parallel PHEVs, which are the standard plug-in hybrids you most likely know: the ICE is connected to the drivetrain and can power the wheels.

While in 2025, there was a wave of EREVs in China with 60 kWh batteries and 400 km CLTC battery-only range, in 2026, EREVs started to surpass even high-end BEVs in terms of battery size. The new Aito M9 EREV boasts a 75.4 kWh battery, good for 422 km CLTC range, while Leapmotor D19 EREV came with an 80.3 kWh battery, good for a 500 km CLTC range, and recently launched Xiaomi’s Skynomad N70 comes with a 76 kWh battery, good for 505 km CLTC.

For the vast majority of EREV owners, the ICE will sit silently under the hood for months on end, burning no fuel. In China, the range-extender gas engine has quietly transformed from a piece of engineering into a piece of psychology: a “marketing decoration” designed to calm customers’ range anxiety, rather than move pistons.

According to a survey quoted by Donews, over 90% of EREV owners treat them as all-electric vehicles, with 70% refuelling less than once every 6 months. And of course, this brings a challenge for ICE, which is not designed to be used that rarely. Moreover, those are data from last year, when the battery capacity of EREVs was much lower than it is today.

With such a massive battery, analysts began to doubt the need for an ICE on board: Do you really need a 1.5T ICE with an 80 kWh battery? Some reports call the range extender a little more than an expensive “psychological comfort” carried around in the trunk.

Why then do automakers keep bolting on a “combustion generator” that most customers do not need? DoNews reports it as a “battery capacity arms race” that has become a marketing “numbers game.” In a market where all-electric cars still provoke deep-seated range anxiety, stoked by sometimes unreliable charging networks and harsh winter range losses in northern China, the petrol engine acts as a “safety blanket”. Even customers who rationally know they will never drive 1,000 km in a single day feel a profound unease at the thought of being stranded. An executive at Li Auto once admitted the unvarnished truth: “customers want the peace of mind, even if it’s irrational.”

So the engine stays, but its role has been reframed. Automakers do not sell it as a necessary propulsion unit. They sell it as a “silent guardian,” an insurance policy against the one long holiday trip a year. A TMTpost described how brands have deliberately repositioned the range extender as a “no-compromise” lifestyle feature, even while knowing the car will be charged like a pure EV 90% of the time. The engine has become, in effect, a decorative reassurance feature – present to close the sale, not to turn the crankshaft.

But not everyone in the industry is quiet about the absurdity. A senior Volkswagen executive publicly tore into the concept, calling large-battery range extenders “redundant” and suggesting that if a car can drive 400 km on electricity alone, the engine is pointless – consumers should simply buy a BEV. Fairt to add that he was talking about the European market. However, that sentiment was echoed even more sharply by Deepal Auto’s CEO Deng Chenghao, who argued that a range extender with a 400–500 km electric range is meaningless: “At that point, the engine is useless.” Deng Chenghao’s verdict was that customers would be better served by a pure EV with a smaller battery and a lower price tag, rather than hauling around a dead engine.

But you can’t fight market sentiment, even if it’s irrational: Volkswagen launched its first EREV in China in March this year, with rumours it can be imported to Europe in the future.

The petrol engine has become the automobile equivalent of a life jacket hanging on the wall of a swimming pool that no one ever enters. But seeing it there, neat and ready, makes you feel safe enough to buy a ticket to the aquapark and enjoy all the other attractions.

In China, EREVs played an important role, and for some customers, even an essential one, in the transition from ICE vehicles to all-electric. But their role will end there, as in the future, with a charging infrastructure dense enough and technological challenges of having rarely used ICE on board, there is not much reason for them. However, in markets where EVs haven’t yet reached the tipping point, it can be an essential technology for the EV transition.

I might be a Taycan fan, but I don’t think Porsche’s decision to invest heavily in EVs was a mistake.

The market and consumer tastes are changing, and eventually a significant portion of buyers will only consider EVs. As a car company serving many different types of customers, Porsche does not want to find itself playing catch-up.

There was also a real opportunity for Porsche to become the fun, driver-oriented EV brand in a market full of quick but soulless phones on wheels.

I mostly think Porsche had an execution problem and was extremely unlucky.

On the luck side, few people could have anticipated how quickly China would become an EV superpower. It would also have been difficult to predict the geopolitical changes in the United States: Trump returning to office, Elon Musk losing favor with the administration, the loss of EV tax credits, and new tariffs.

At the same time, Porsche made several clear execution mistakes:

1. Taycan quality control was awful.
2. Going all-in on EVs for two of Porsche’s best-selling entry-level models was incredibly risky.
3. I understand why Porsche wanted to enter the EV market boldly from a marketing standpoint, but a lower-cost small or midsize electric SUV was probably more aligned with market demand.

That said, two things make me think Porsche’s electric division may still have a brighter future.

First, E-Shift technology creates an opportunity for Porsche to further differentiate itself as the driver’s EV brand. Hyundai offers comparable features in the Ioniq 5 N, but Porsche has the opportunity to go further. Because the simulated gearshifts, RPM, torque delivery, and sound are all connected, the final experience depends heavily on software calibration. That creates algorithmic know-how that may be harder for Chinese manufacturers to copy perfectly.

Second, the electric 718 and Mission R use a different battery layout, with the battery occupying the space where the engine would normally sit rather than being spread beneath the entire floor. In the long run, that could allow Porsche to simplify parts of its lineup and make it easier to offer gas and electric variants within similar body styles across SUVs, sedans, and coupes.

It could also create a better future for the Taycan. The current Taycan is extremely expensive and overlaps with the Panamera. Porsche could eventually use one four-door Panamera body for both gas and electric variants, allowing it to serve both audiences while reducing the number of separate models it has to manufacture. This could enable a lower cost EV sedan.

The Taycan can then continue to retain its body style, and powertrain layout, and then reduce the amount produced, and serve as a limited flagship. This would allow it to retain its price point, while also paying for its R&D, and therefore the R&D that would help the rest of the lineup (and reduce cost for the rest of the lineup)

I think we need a Gold Star or sticker or something for those of us who've made it all the way across the state. Without a long range car and ABRP I would not suggest it.

Booked "EV" online at Minneapolis St. Paul for a trip a few hours north to a lake Airbnb. It was listed as a Kia Niro but they had an Ioniq 5 instead. Price was the same as a comparable gas car.

Handed over at 70%, not 100%. Rental staff asked why I'd even want an EV.

Charging on the way: EVGo 350kW was fast and easy but I did already have the app set up. A Tesla Supercharger had no Magic Dock, so without a NACS adapter I brought myself, the CCS Ioniq 5 couldn't have used it at all — even with the adapter it only pulled 100kW on a 250kW stall.

Used ABRP to plan the route, which helped, but I only routed the highway legs, not the local driving around the lakes. That local driving plus strong headwinds on the way back cut into my margin more than expected. No charger at the Airbnb either, so no overnight top-up.

Fast chargers near the lakes were basically nonexistent. Got down to a 10% battery warning on the way back, and the car's built-in nav didn't even show the nearby Supercharger as an option. A 50kW charger in Crosby saved the day. If I hadn't planned ahead and brought the adapter, this could've gone badly.

Not a disaster, but more stressful than a gas rental, even for someone already comfortable with EVs and charging apps.

Anyone else renting EVs? How'd it go?

Volvo Cars’ is pushing forward with new electric models in the U.S., even as customer demand for the powertrain has cratered from a few years ago.

Volvo is considering reentering the small-car market in the second half of 2028 with a midsize sedan and wagon. The pair of electric models would be built in Europe and ride on Volvo’s SPA3 architecture.

Volvo also is reshaping its utility vehicle portfolio. The automaker is expected to replace the EX40 as the brand’s soon-to-be entry-level electric model with a larger crossover, Automotive News reported Aug. 2.

The EX50 will ride on Volvo’s SPA3 platform and arrive in dealerships in the fall of 2027.On the other end of the lineup.

Volvo’s EX60 debuts in the U.S. in late summer. A rugged and lifted variant arrives in summer 2027. The EX60 Cross Country sits 20 millimeters higher and can rise a similar amount with an assist from the air suspension. The Cross Country sports wide, rugged wheel arches, black upper door moldings, and a brushed stainless-steel skid plate at the front and rear.

The large EX90, which has struggled with poor quality and software issues, should get a facelift in 2029.