Volkswagen to extend its range with range-extender PHEVs for Europe
EV-lite range-extender technology could prolong the shelf-life of Volkswagen’s petrol engine offerings to 2030 and beyond
It was previously understood that the forthcoming, second-generation Volkswagen T-Roc would be the maker’s final internal combustion-engined (ICE) car. But stagnating EV demand means the company is now investigating the feasibility of bringing range-extender tech to the European market – allowing petrol-powered VWs to be sold well into the next decade.
Speaking at the 2025 Shanghai Motor Show, Volkswagen’s board member for sales and marketing, Martin Sander, told Auto Express that the company was investing in range-extending hybrid systems, and that he saw it as a “ladder” to electric cars.
When asked whether the T-Roc was still set to be VW’s final ICE car, Sander replied: “What is a combustion engine? Here in China we're going to have range extenders with possibly 250-300km (155 to 186 miles) of electric range, and the combustion engine on board is basically a generator to charge the battery.
“I think you will see combustion engines in our vehicles for a long period of time that have a different purpose,” he told us. “We believe that in Europe there will be room for a range extender on the way to a fully battery electric [vehicle].”
Kai Grunitz Volkswagen’s board member for technical development insisted that there were no weight or packaging compromises to be made, either: “No, [range extenders] are not as heavy as a fully battery electric vehicles; if you take a look at our ID.7, we've got over 80kWh batteries, and having a range extender would mean that you can reduce the battery to 30kWh.
“Here in China, we're putting [the petrol engine] at the front,” Grunitz told us. “But you could do it in a different way. It depends on the customer's demands. You need the same amount of space as in a plug-in hybrid, so it's not a huge difference.”
It isn’t clear at this stage which model might utilise the range-extender tech, but it’s likely the company would focus on larger vehicles and those currently less suited to being pure-electric. This could give models like the Touareg SUV a stay of execution, giving them a longer zero-emission range and the possibility of vastly improved efficiency – providing the user plugs them in.
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