Extended-range

The 2017 Paris Air Show begins two weeks from now, bringing a rash of new announcements at the bleeding edge of commercial aerospace. Foremost among them this year is a very credible, two-seat flying car.

Tesla may be working on an electric pickup truck, but it won't be the first to inject a little electric-guided design into the pickup market. At this week's ACT Expo, Ohio-based OEM Workhorse revealed what it's calling the first electric pickup truck designed for the fleet market.

Chinese startup Techrules showed two concept cars at last year's Geneva Motor Show. For this year's show, it totally shattered the mold and pulled the cloth off a car that looks very different. It's called the Ren, and it's the car that will bring Techrules' micro-turbine hybrid tech to life.

​Nissan has been one of the biggest proponents of electric power in the automotive world, but it's never offered a range-extender to regular consumers. That's set to change with the launch of the new e-Power drivetrain, which draws on a small petrol engine to charge the battery when range is low.

The MiTRE micro-turbine range-extender from British engineering solutions company Delta Motorsport is the latest product promising a solution to EV range anxiety that's lighter and more versatile than a piston engine hybrid drive.

Intelligent Energy has unveiled a fuel cell/battery range extender that could become standard equipment on third-party drones. Not only should it greatly increase how long the drone can go between recharges, but those recharges should only take a couple of minutes.

Chinese drone manufacturer Walkera has decided to go beyond the battery, teaming up with micro-generator producers at GenSmart to build a new hybrid powertrain for its QR 900 professional heavy lift hexacopter.

After receiving EPA certification, Fisker Automotive's Karma sedan Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle is finally available for U.S. retail customers.

The Cadillac Converj luxury coupe which made such a splash back in 2009 with its extended-range EV technology, is destined for production and will be named the Cadillac ELR.

Fisker Automotive has surpassed its US$1 billion funding goal and plans to have its Karma PHEV in dealer showrooms in May or June and will begin fulfilling its 3,000-some pre-orders from June or July.

Vauxhall's Flextreme GT/E uses a small petrol engine to extend the electric range to more than 300 miles and active shape shifting to reduce the drag co-efficient to just 0.22.

GM has announced that its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle is expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon. The figure is based on a new EPA methodology especially developed for plug-in electric vehicles.