# Dodge uses a gas powered generator to charge the EV battery for long range **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834 "2024-10-30T13:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/1 "2024-10-30T13:35:01Z")
You can’t make this stuff up… The new Dodge, sorry the new Ram 1500 PHEV is not a PHEV in the traditional way, yes it is an EV with a gas engine but the gas engine only runs the generator to charge the EV battery… Wait WHAT??? Us gas heads have been making that joke for years now… You know, strap a gas generator on top of your EV push mower… I mean, what’s next, strap a Big diesel generator in the bed and get 2000 miles of towing?? _Unlike the majority of plug-in hybrids, the Ramcharger’s **gasoline engine is only used to make electricity rather than directly power the wheels too**. The Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 under the hood powers a generator that can be used to power the truck or recharge the 70.8-kWh battery, which is huge compared with typical PHEV batteries._ _Ram estimates a full charge will provide 145 miles of pure electric driving range,_ 690 est total range… [https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45734742/2025-ram-1500-ramcharger-revealed/](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45734742/2025-ram-1500-ramcharger-revealed/) ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/2 "2024-10-30T14:22:06Z")
This is how diesel electric locomotives have been built since they were first developed… except for the batteries. This is also how the 1900 Lohner-Porsche Mixte (yes, THAT Porsche!) was built. It eliminated the transmission and drive axles by using an ICE to run a generator. It used 4 big wheel-motors to drive an AWD, ICE-Hybrid auto. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/9/c/9c5f5888b27fc7ff86968c30eb8ca3423209f695.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/3 "2024-10-30T14:23:22Z")
I think cars like the Chevy Volt have been doing this for a while, actually. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/4 "2024-10-30T14:26:37Z")
This is also how the Accord Hybrid works, except at freeway speeds. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/5 "2024-10-30T14:57:40Z")
I think the point has been missed here… The point is, it is being sold as a long range EV, not a hybrid nor a plug in hybrid… Yes I know how hybrid systems work (basically), I was hybrid certified years ago… The whole point of an EV is NO fuel required… lol Just call it what it is, a plug in hybrid… Yes I know it also says PHEV, but that is still not an EV… ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/6 "2024-10-30T15:10:27Z")
The Chevy Volt was called an EV… it wasn’t. It had an engine integrated with a transmission and electric motor. It would not run on the ICE only because they did not want to violate a Toyota patent (that Toyota got sued for…) and so GM could call it an EV. The Ram is a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle so PHEV, not an EV. Both are marketing BS ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/7 "2024-10-30T15:30:38Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > did not want to violate a Toyota patent (that Toyota gof sued for… Toyota was sued for using Alex Severinsky’s high voltage hybrid design, and he won. Toyota had to pay royalties for thir Prius cars to him. Is that the patent you mean? > **[This Man Fought Toyota For Stealing His Hybrid Tech And Won - Jalopnik](https://www.jalopnik.com/this-man-fought-toyota-for-stealing-his-hybrid-tech-and-5592533/)** > > Alex Severinsky, a Soviet emigrant who began his career developing antitank-warfare instrumentation, patented a system for powering gas-electric hybrids in 1994. Toyota used his system for the Prius without permission or payment. Until this week. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/8 "2024-10-30T15:31:19Z")
> [@davesmopar](#): > > The point is, it is being sold as a long range EV, not a hybrid nor a plug in hybrid ?? The article talks about it (the ‘Ramcharger’) as a PHEV, not an EV. It also mentions the full EV ‘Ram 1500 REV’ which is not yet out. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/9 "2024-10-30T15:31:56Z")
While it wasn’t AWD, the US-made Owen Magnetic automobile (1915-1922) used essentially the same type of motive power. > **[Owen Magnetic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Magnetic)** > > The Owen Magnetic was a pioneering American brand of hybrid electric luxury automobile manufactured between 1915 and 1922. Car models of the brand were notable for their use of an electromagnetic transmission and were early examples of an electric series hybrid drivetrain. The manufacture of the car was sponsored by R.M. Owen & Company of New York, New York. The car was built in New York City in 1915, in Cleveland, Ohio, between 1916 and 1919 and finally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1920 Th... ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/10 "2024-10-30T15:35:41Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Is that the patent you mean? Yes, that is the patent I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/11 "2024-10-30T15:36:18Z")
BMW has offered a range extender in the i3 for more than ten years, 0.6L 2-cylinder gasoline engine. California and others require auto manufactures to transition to EV and PHEV cars and trucks: 35% sales for model year 2026. How do we get there? The Lexus SUV has an optimal driving range of 196 miles, nobody wants a pickup truck with that short of driving range. I don’t think anyone wants an overly complicated pickup or off-road SUV; this is more government engineering. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/12 "2024-10-30T15:37:15Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > [Owen Magnetic - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Magnetic) Jay Leno owns one and did a video on it. [![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/d/6/d64e1bd6feeb22378b5c3480d0d4319747ae5e3c.jpeg "Hybrid From 1916: The Owen Magnetic - Jay Leno's Garage") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYQ2PiX_Z9o) ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/13 "2024-10-30T15:39:30Z")
Here’s what Ram call it: “Built with both a range-defying battery plus generator, the All-New 2025 Ramcharger is a Range-Extended Electric Truck that was built to break all the rules.” So they don’t call it an EV or a PHEV, exactly. It has about the biggest PHEV battery I’ve seen, 90 KW-Hr, and longest battery-only range, about 200 miles. But it’s still a PHEV. That 3.6 L V6 is a substantial generator. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/14 "2024-10-30T16:15:59Z")
Mazda seems to be headed in essentially the same direction with their rotary-powered hybrids: > **[Mazda’s Unique Rotary Reborn As Hybrid](https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2024/02/06/will-mazda-continue-to-make-rotary-engine-powered-cars/)** > > Mazda’s legendary rotary engine has been officially reborn, but not quite in the way you might think. This is the future of the rotary. ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/15 "2024-10-30T16:48:34Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Mazda seems to be headed in essentially the same direction with their rotary-powered hybrids: Yes but unfortunately the MX-30 REV will not be available for us stateside. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/16 "2024-10-30T20:20:30Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > Both are marketing BS I think that pretty much sums it up… lol I still think if you add a gas powered generator to charge the battery in a , lets say, a Tesla Model3, that it can not longer be called an EV, now it is a Hybrid or a I guess more accurately a PHEV … Maybe it is just my twisted mind… See, this is why I try to stay out of most High Voltage battery stuff… 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/17 "2024-10-30T20:45:51Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Mazda seems to be headed in essentially the same direction with their rotary-powered hybrids: As much as I love the benefits of the rotary… and I wrote a research paper on it in 8th or 9th grade, I lost that love after completing engineering school. It is a essentially a 2 cycle engine with poor efficiency and a LOT of combustion sealing area. Plays heck with NO2 emissions and extra HC from the oil burning. Hard to make compression (for greater efficiency) with it, too. I think Mazda’s whipping a dead horse. 4 stroke ICEs are seeing 40% efficiency while F1 race engines have reached 50%. I can’t see a rotary getting there. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/18 "2024-10-30T21:14:39Z")
Yeah, I’ve wondered why they want to use the inefficient rotary for a high-efficiency vehicle. Must be the small size. RX-7 mpgs: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/0/8/0861e532ba251e244ca00365acfc8bc5f39323f5.png) Mustang 4.9/5.0 V8 mpgs: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/2/6/26d9d210b89da013bd20b6720edfba2786c27e3c.png) ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/dodge-uses-a-gas-powered-generator-to-charge-the-ev-battery-for-long-range/197834/19 "2024-10-30T22:19:06Z")
I think that there are supposed to be some improvements to rotary engines’ limitations when they run at a constant speed most of the time. I’m pretty sure I read that theory a few years ago.