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more and more domestic automobile companies are beginning to abandon the single pure electric route and join the ranks of extended-range electric vehicles.

according to 36kr,xpeng motorsthe first extended-range vehicle is under full developmentthe prototype car is the current flagship model of xiaopeng, the g9, which is positioned as a large suv.mass production is expected in the second half of 2025。

range-extended models were once ignored by car companies with an engineering mindset because of their simple structure and inability to achieve more driving modes. however, with the ongoing price war, the growth rate of pure electric models has slowed down due to their difficulty in significantly reducing battery costs and the ever-present anxiety of recharging.

in contrast, extended-range models have many advantages, such as their internal combustion engines always running in the high-efficiency range, the elimination of transmission mechanisms, potential for price reduction, and improved small battery fast charging technology. their sales and market share have begun to rise significantly.

in china, as many models of ideal and hongmeng intelligent driving have long occupied the forefront of new energy sales, and the trend of extended-range growth being higher than pure electric and plug-in hybrid, many other automobile companies have also begun to refocus their attention on this previously unpopular technology route.

data from the china passenger car association show that in the new energy vehicle market in august this year, pure electric vehicles still accounted for the majority of wholesale sales of 592,000 units, but the growth rate was only 6.6% year-on-year. the broad plug-in hybrid market has seen an explosion, with narrow plug-in hybrid and extended-range models recording year-on-year growth of 84% and 109% respectively, accounting for 44% of the overall new energy market. in the same period last year, this figure was only 31%.

after further combing through the data, it was found that since april this year, the sales volume and market share of extended-range models in the new energy market have begun to increase rapidly. from april to august, the year-on-year growth of extended-range models was as low as 64% and as high as 115%, respectively, and it showed a continuous upward trend.

zeekr also recently announced that it will add extended-range products in the future. similar to xpeng, zeekr's hybrid system will also be installed on a flagship large suv, which is expected to be unveiled/launched next year.

among the new forces with the highest sales, only nio has not yet revealed any news about the layout of extended-range models. ideal, hongmeng intelligent driving, leapmotor, zeekr, xpeng and nezha have all confirmed or started selling extended-range models.

among traditional automobile companies, avita's parent company changan (and its subsidiaries deep blue, qiyuan and some commercial vehicles), dongfeng (its subsidiaries lantu, yipai and mengshi), saic (im) and gac (aion) have all deployed extended-range technology and vehicle models.

although byd, the leader in new energy, mainly sells plug-in hybrid and pure electric models, its flagship suv model u8 is a four-motor extended-range model. in addition, baic and chery also have extended-range product layouts in different market segments. among traditional automobile companies, only great wall motors has not yet entered the extended-range product market.

this trend has actually caused some joint venture auto companies to change their thinking.executive vice president, sales and marketingfu qiang revealed that the companywill be inmediumdeveloping extended-range products in the high-end market。

this is in stark contrast to volkswagen's previous attitude. four years ago, stephan wöllenstein, then ceo of volkswagen passenger cars china, blasted extended-range technology, saying it was outdated and had limited development potential.