Horse launches C15 range extender for EVs

Horse Powertrain says it can make EVs into range extenders with a box little bigger than a briefcase - here's how

By Matt Bird / Wednesday, 3 September 2025 / Loading comments

It would be fair to say that nobody’s quite sure on the future of powertrains at the moment. Hedging all bets, inefficient though it probably seems, seems like the most sensible course of action. It’s certainly an approach that Horse Powertrain (the Renault/Geely/Aramco venture) is fully embracing with its new range extender tech, to be revealed at the IAA Mobility show. Maybe not the kind of powertrain solution to get you heart racing normally, but it’s interesting for the fact that Horse sees its new setup as suitable for EVs. The C15 ‘ultra compact range extender solution’ is intended as an EV conversion tool, requiring minimal modification to introduce extra miles to a battery powered car while retaining the benefits of electric drive. Horse says the C15 is ‘easily integrated with existing Electric Drive Units’. Which is certainly intriguing. The spirit of the BMW i3 lives on…

In a 500x550x275mm box lives a 1.5-litre four-pot, generator, cooling and exhaust; it’s sufficiently compact, reckons Horse, that it could live in the frunk of some EVs. The engine is 95hp strong for now, and intended for smaller vehicles, with a turbocharged 163hp version coming for larger applications. Both will be Euro 7 compliant.

As is the range extender way, the C15 never drives the wheels, instead keeping the high voltage battery topped up to power the motor. The engine is kept at its most efficient rpms to make the most of its contribution and minimise noise intrusion. The battery, which Horse believes could be made smaller in future with the contribution of tech like C15 (counter-intuitive though that sounds), can be replenished as a pure EV, or the range extender fuelled. Horse reckons that ‘with low-carbon fuels, this means that the cradle-to-grave footprint will be comparable to a BEV.’ Where the fuel tank goes isn’t clear for the moment.

And if you’re wondering why this might be a priority, over to Horse Powertrain CEO Matias Giannini: “Range extended EVs are the fastest-growing powertrain category in many global markets. The Horse C15 range extender solution offers OEMs a straightforward and cost-effective way to tap this opportunity, and adapt their native BEV platforms into REEVs (Range Extender Electric Vehicles). We believe demand for REEVs will continue to grow. Horse C15 will play a critical role in this transition, as one of the market’s most efficient and flexible REEV solutions to date. It also underlines our commitment and ability to support OEMs in delivering a full range of EVs, hybrids, and combustion platforms.” Maybe the Horse C15 is not the most thrilling of motor show debuts, but it seems unlikely to be the last we hear of it. Is it the future of electrification? Or a compromise too far? Over to you…