Riich M1-EV to launch soon
Riich M1
Chery’s Riich sub brand is on the verge of launching its own pure electric hatchback into the Chinese market place within the next few months. The M1 is Chery’s first mass produced electric vehicle and was on show at last years Shanghai Auto Show for the first time, the Riich M1 EV is well equipped with E-ABS and airbags and EPS.
Chery is one of the few automakers that can develop its own battery management system and batteries, which might potentially make it cheaper than other EV’s that buy in their batteries elsewhere.
The M1-EV will coem with a range extender that will be able to give the M1 a range boost to make it home, although exactly how this range extender works is still unclear.
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A “range extender”??? Never heard of this one, but it sounds like a good idea to me! I’m completely guessing here, but maybe it is similar to something like the reserve tank on most motorcycles. Since many motorbikes don’t have a gas gauge on the instrument panel, the reserve tank (activated by flipping a switch when the engine starts to sputter due to the main tank running out of gas) lets the rider know he has about 20-30 miles left before he REALLY runs out of gas! What if this “range extender” is simply a extra back up battery that you can turn on with a key or a switch when the main batteries get below say…….5% of power? The back would be good for 10 miles or less – enough to get most people home I would think. Another idea might be a “power limiter” that forces the car to not exceed 40-50 km/h when the batteries start to get low……which would extend the range of the car as a result. Any other ideas out there??
The range extender was made known before. It is a small light-weight Wankel engine that generates just enough power to run the electric drive motor to bring you back home or to the nearest charging station. Bright idea ???
Ok, I remember reading about the Wankel engine idea……..my question therefore is – would this be considered a HYBRID car, or still a pure electric car with a “tiny back up gas option range extender only when absolutely needed”???
I guess technically it’s still a pure electric because the Wankel would only be powering the electric engine, not the car itself. Nevertheless, a interesting idea.
jon, it depends on how you look at the function of that little engine. Since the main driving power is from the battery and electric motor all the time, then it should be regarded as EV instead of hybrid like Prius. The Wankel engine just acts as a backup when you are stranded. However I got an interesting question. If the Wankel engine is not running occasionally, are you sure it will start when needed urgently?
That’s where the “back-up starter battery charge extender” comes into play……:)
Just as with the Volt, the current debate about what qualifies as pure electric will continue.
I would think that Chery’s “extender” would have to be pure electric. Perhaps drawing energy from rooftop solar cells.
Jon my 55 VW Beetle also had a lever on the lower inside of the firewall. It would toggle a lower positioned fuel pick up in the tank.
@ joninchina
We got it all wrong here. The range extender is similar to Chevy Volt that can run for another 400-500km. Wow, that means it is a hybrid except if you choose to run it as an EV, you have to recharge it regularly. If you want to make a longer trip, you can depend on the gas engine solely.