Many car brands have spent the last decade working on finding ways to integrate new electric powertrains into their existing lineups. After all, electric cars are the future, right? Well, the market has had something different to say about that. With the demand for electric cars slowing compared to the segment’s booming growth just a couple of years ago, car brands that have invested billions into their EV lineups are being sent back to the drawing board to accommodate shifting buyer demands, as many owners still avoid buying electric cars.
Now, instead of finding a way to make gas-powered cars more “modern,” Horse Powertrain – a 50:50 joint venture between Renault and the Chinese giant Geely – has come up with a simple way to make electric cars run on gas. It’s the same company that builds engines for the Mercedes-Benz CLA, and they’re revealing the Future Hybrid Concept at next week’s Shanghai Auto Show. One of the major backers of the project is Aramco – yes, the Saudi oil company – which has a lot more strategic stake in keeping the combustion engine alive than us ordinary piston-loving gearheads.
At first, it seems like the technology would take us backwards, but for many buyers, hybrid powertrains are a better option than all-out electric cars – something Toyota has been preaching for years.
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A Gas Engine As A Solution To EV Adoption?
Key Facts:
- combines an engine, motor, and transmission all into one compact units
- requires minimal changes and tweaks to fit into existing EVs
- designed to replace front-mounted electric motors in EVs
- can use a variety of different fuels, including synthetic
- production slated to start in 2028
Aside from keeping combustion engines alive for a while longer, the concept could prove incredibly useful to car brands that have existing full-EV lineups and now have trouble moving them off the lots. The innovative little engine cleverly solves this problem of changing customer demand “with minimal disruption to production process and resource expenditure.” In other words, brands should theoretically have no problem integrating these engines into their existing EV platforms to create hybrid cars and sell more cars, faster.
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The Future Hybrid Concept Is A Full Plug-And-Play Package For Carmakers
Horse Powertrain’s Future Hybrid Concept includes a gas engine, electric motor, and transmission all packed into one small modular package that mounts directly onto the vehicle’s subframe. According to Horse Powertrain, it’s designed to make an EV into a hybrid with just a few tweaks and will work pretty much anywhere in the world without retooling factories or designing entirely new platforms. It could allow brands to build hybrids and EVs on the same line, cutting costs and maximizing profits while their EV production ramps up.
According to Horse Powertrain, this small ICE system is designed to replace front-mounted electric motors and will support everything from gasoline to E85, M100 methanol, and even synthetic fuels. Horse expects to start production on these engines by 2028. We don’t yet know how much power these hybrid powertrains will make as the brand prepares to reveal more information next week. But the big takeaway is clear: gas engines are still in the game, and the most innovative car tech still relies on burning dead dinosaurs.
