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I haven't really looked to hard, but does a hybrid exist that's battery first and then has an ICE to fall back on for charging the battery / supplying electricity to the electric motors?

All I want is to be able to have an electric car, that if I'm in a real jam and need to run it on petrol I can fill up a 20 litre tank and make a few hours of driving, even if it's in 'limp home mode' until I can get a charge again. My range anxiety is real! The Australian outback is big.




Nissan's e-Power line is exactly that. The ICE only exist to charge the battery and is not connected to the drive train. I think they call these "series hybrid"?


> does a hybrid exist that's battery first and then has an ICE to fall back on

That's what PHEVs are (Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles).

Relevant to the article, those include the (Toyota) RAV4 prime and Prius prime. I think the one I see the most is the Chevy Volt, which unfortunately is discontinued, but seemed like a good PHEV.


It's called a range extender. The BMW i3 REX and Chevy Volt / Opel Ampera are the biggest examples of it. Both are still in use and very popular.


The Honda Accord hybrid gas engine has 3 modes. It can power the wheels, power the generator to drive the electric motor and it can charge the battery.


Basically all PHEVs work this way.




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