Renault’s ‘Horse’ Wants To Turn EVs Into Hybrids

• Horse Powertrain has a drop-in solution for manufacturers who want to turn EVs into hybrids.
• The all-in-one power unit includes a gas engine, an electric motor and a transmission.
• It is designed to replace the front drive unit on an all-electric car.

Even as electric vehicle sales continue to grow—notably in the United States and China,—some automakers are toning down their ambitions. The problem is that hundreds of millions of dollars have already been invested in the development of new EV-specific platforms. Shoehorning a gas engine into an EV not designed for it would take some serious finessing and a good chunk of cash, all in the hope that a hybrid would sell better than an EV.

Now, there’s an interesting solution from Horse Powertrain, a company that’s jointly owned by Renault Group, Geely and petrochemical giant Aramco. We’ve all heard of companies that retrofit EV powertrains into gas-powered vehicles, but Horse does the exact opposite with its new Future Hybrid Concept.

Set for an official reveal at this year’s Auto Shanghai show, the all-in-one system is comprised of a combustion engine, an electric motor and a transmission. It’s designed to replace the front drive unit of an EV and can burn all sorts of fuels, including gasoline, ethanol flex fuels, pure methanol or modern synthetic fuels.

The idea is to reduce costs as much as possible. According to Horse, an EV and a hybrid that uses this powertrain could be assembled on the same line, which reduces complexity significantly. The unit bolts directly to the vehicle’s subframe and minimal modifications are required to make it work with the existing electrical architecture. Beyond that, you still need things like a gas tank and room for an exhaust system. But the foundation is there.

The powertrain can work as a range extender for the high-voltage battery that’s already in the car, while the integrated transmission can work on its own, providing power to the front wheels, or together with the electrically-powered rear axle for all-wheel drive. Fitted in an East-West orientation, the integrated power unit comes with all the necessary power electronics systems needed for a hybrid powertrain, including a controller, inverter, DC to DC converter and on-board charger.

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Source: Horse Powertrain

There’s also an 800-volt charging booster, so engineers’ imaginations can run wild with this thing. In theory, cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and facelifted Porsche Taycan could be retrofitted with Horse’s hybrid system. That’s highly unlikely, but smaller automakers with limited resources could give Horse a call to lend some help in transforming their upcoming affordable EVs into hybrids.

“Horse Powertrain is focused on solving the biggest problems facing automotive OEMs,” said Matias Giannini, the company’s CEO. “For over a decade, it looked like battery electric vehicles were the only path to net zero, and OEMs planned accordingly. However, we’re now shifting towards a technology-neutral world, with different markets and applications each pursuing their own sustainable mobility journey.”

“Our Future Hybrid Concept helps OEMs solve this problem,” Giannini added. “Through our innovation, we can deliver a full hybrid powertrain system that seamlessly integrates onto a battery electric vehicle platform. This compact, integrated powertrain concept allows OEMs to offer powertrain diversity with minimal disruption to the production process and resource expenditure.”

Horse Powertrain’s drop-in hybrid system is expected to be fitted to series production vehicles starting in 2028.