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Full article: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1145723_scout-ev-erev-phev-plug-in-hybrid-tech-deep-dive
Excerpt:
Scout: Trailblazing EV range-extender layout
From an engineering standpoint, the elephant in the room is that, among Volkswagen Group’s core passenger vehicle brands—VW, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley, plus Seat, Škoda, and Cupra—Scout is trailblazing. There is no current body-on-frame SUV and there’s never been an EV with a range extender.
“It’s of course an opportunity,” said Huhnke. The CTO underscored that it’s the first body-on-frame vehicle in the group, the first model with the ladder-frame concept, and the first such vehicle with an EREV propulsion system (a plug-in series hybrid system, to be dubbed Harvester). “Everything has been developed as a unit—platform—which has the opportunity as a flexible platform to be scaled, maybe, in the future,” he said.
“Our IP has been generated in-house,” said Huhnke, about the EREV system, referring to it as another core competence for Scout. So the engine, the generator motor, and other components will come from elsewhere in the VW Group, Huhnke verified, while Scout is managing it all in a unified system.
“The operational strategy, it’s completely ours,” he elaborated. “We cannot build an engine ourselves, but the range extender itself is so charming; you’re using a BEV architecture underneath and just carrying a kind of DC charging system with you.”
Huhnke didn’t give any hints about what engine, or type of engine, might be used here from the vast VW Group parts bin. But addressing a potential sore point—ask some former BMW i3 REx owners—he assured that drivers would have the “full performance of the system” whether using the battery or constantly charging from the range extender. Based on cutaways shown by Scout Motors, the range extender will be small, and will mount not under the hood but at the rear of the vehicle, behind the rear axle and under the cargo floor—an approach that will maintain the frunk but hopefully not impinge on off-road angles.
Why does Scout EV peg 350 miles of range?
Why did Scout decide that 350 miles is enough for the BEV, while Rivian, for instance, pushes to 410 or 420 miles and the Chevy Silverado EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ push it out to 460 miles?
Put bluntly, it may be close to the limitations of what fits within the ladder frame. But Scout also didn’t want to be seen in the same company as models like the GMC Hummer EV, Huhnke let on. It’s a matter of keeping weight under control—which is what the EREV version achieves.
Cramming in more batteries, Huhnke explained, would be detrimental. “You can increase the driving range by adding more and more capacity into the battery, and that’s increasing the weight drastically,” he said. “Or it’s maxed out by the existing space of the ladder frame.”
Huhnke said that the EREV version—which Scout CEO Scott Keogh recently said more customers were ordering because of range anxiety—will deliver an electric driving range of around 150 miles, then an additional 350 miles with the range-extender. “So in total, 500 miles, that should be sufficient; it’s a trade off in between the weight equation and the capacity of the battery.”
Rest of the article: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1145723_scout-ev-erev-phev-plug-in-hybrid-tech-deep-dive
Excerpt:
Scout: Trailblazing EV range-extender layout
From an engineering standpoint, the elephant in the room is that, among Volkswagen Group’s core passenger vehicle brands—VW, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley, plus Seat, Škoda, and Cupra—Scout is trailblazing. There is no current body-on-frame SUV and there’s never been an EV with a range extender.
“It’s of course an opportunity,” said Huhnke. The CTO underscored that it’s the first body-on-frame vehicle in the group, the first model with the ladder-frame concept, and the first such vehicle with an EREV propulsion system (a plug-in series hybrid system, to be dubbed Harvester). “Everything has been developed as a unit—platform—which has the opportunity as a flexible platform to be scaled, maybe, in the future,” he said.
“Our IP has been generated in-house,” said Huhnke, about the EREV system, referring to it as another core competence for Scout. So the engine, the generator motor, and other components will come from elsewhere in the VW Group, Huhnke verified, while Scout is managing it all in a unified system.
“The operational strategy, it’s completely ours,” he elaborated. “We cannot build an engine ourselves, but the range extender itself is so charming; you’re using a BEV architecture underneath and just carrying a kind of DC charging system with you.”
Huhnke didn’t give any hints about what engine, or type of engine, might be used here from the vast VW Group parts bin. But addressing a potential sore point—ask some former BMW i3 REx owners—he assured that drivers would have the “full performance of the system” whether using the battery or constantly charging from the range extender. Based on cutaways shown by Scout Motors, the range extender will be small, and will mount not under the hood but at the rear of the vehicle, behind the rear axle and under the cargo floor—an approach that will maintain the frunk but hopefully not impinge on off-road angles.
Why does Scout EV peg 350 miles of range?
Why did Scout decide that 350 miles is enough for the BEV, while Rivian, for instance, pushes to 410 or 420 miles and the Chevy Silverado EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ push it out to 460 miles?
Put bluntly, it may be close to the limitations of what fits within the ladder frame. But Scout also didn’t want to be seen in the same company as models like the GMC Hummer EV, Huhnke let on. It’s a matter of keeping weight under control—which is what the EREV version achieves.
Cramming in more batteries, Huhnke explained, would be detrimental. “You can increase the driving range by adding more and more capacity into the battery, and that’s increasing the weight drastically,” he said. “Or it’s maxed out by the existing space of the ladder frame.”
Huhnke said that the EREV version—which Scout CEO Scott Keogh recently said more customers were ordering because of range anxiety—will deliver an electric driving range of around 150 miles, then an additional 350 miles with the range-extender. “So in total, 500 miles, that should be sufficient; it’s a trade off in between the weight equation and the capacity of the battery.”
Rest of the article: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1145723_scout-ev-erev-phev-plug-in-hybrid-tech-deep-dive
