“A power bank for new energy vehicles”, “making all electric cars free from range anxiety” and “giving electric cars many options for charging”. "China Business News" reporters noticed that on some social platforms, some accounts posted advertisements that "can add range extenders to pure electric vehicles", triggering heated discussions. One account posted a slogan in the video, "No loss of installation, no impact on warranty or annual review," in an attempt to dispel all car owners' concerns about legality and after-sales service.
The reason why such an advertisement can trigger discussions is that it accurately hits the pain points of a group of old car owners. A person from a vehicle research and development company pointed out to reporters that the batch of new energy vehicles around 2018 had an initial nominal range of 200-300 kilometers. After four or five years of use, the battery decays, resulting in a serious reduction in actual battery life and the loss of long-distance travel capabilities. This type of car falls into the dilemma of "no price to sell and useless to keep".
It is this "a pity to abandon" situation that has prompted some car owners to want to extend the cruising range through modification. However, is this seemingly reasonable "remedial" solution really as "harmless" and "compliant" as advertised? The reporter interviewed many industry insiders and learned that this not only violated the legal "red line", but also posed safety risks.
Personnel from the above-mentioned vehicle R&D company pointedly pointed out that changing the original electrical system of the vehicle is illegal modification. Leaving aside the law, from a technical point of view, this kind of modification is also full of hidden dangers.
An automotive engineering technician who has been working for many years pointed out to reporters that adding a range extender to a pure electric vehicle has three hidden dangers: First, changing the original electrical structure of the vehicle can easily interfere with the normal operation of the original battery management system (BMS); second, the thermal management logic is disrupted, leading to an increased risk of thermal runaway of the battery and posing a hidden danger of spontaneous combustion; third, the battery pack placed in the trunk lacks original manufacturer-level collision protection. In the event of a rear-end collision, it will pose a direct threat to the life safety of the occupants.
Battery life anxiety spawns modification business
The "portable power bank" range extender produced by some car modification companies is actually a complex device including an engine, generator, and controller, weighing dozens or even hundreds of kilograms.
At present, the common range-extended engines on the market have power ranging from 3 to 10kW. Its low-voltage generators are mainly divided into 48V, 60V, and 72V specifications. The output is AC voltage, which needs to be rectified by a rectifier bridge before it can be converted into DC power for vehicle use.
When the reporter called a modification company as a car owner, the other staff quoted a price of 7,000 yuan for a minivan (purely electric) with a 10kW range extender, which can increase the battery life by 100 kilometers.
This company is just a microcosm. The reporter noticed that there are a lot of such modification companies. They often acquire customers through social platforms, shoot short videos to attract traffic, and use "lossless installation" and "double battery life" as selling points to attract car owners in need. To acquire customers online, the entire transaction process is completed offline, without leaving a written contract, and the warranty is only based on verbal promises or simple receipts.
When a reporter asked about the safety of modifications, the person endorsed the product with its length of operation and past performance, saying that its product comes with "high-voltage protection" and provides a one-year warranty. But when the reporter further inquired about the warranty details, the other party revealed that the so-called warranty was only "repair without replacement."
Industry insiders told reporters that most of these small workshop-style modification companies are "one shot and another place". Even if quality problems arise later, it will be difficult for consumers to protect their rights.
What is even more alarming is that when the reporter clearly informed the vehicle that it was used for operations, the merchant did not mention the risks such as stricter annual inspections of operating vehicles, supervision by the transportation department, and illegal modifications that may affect operating qualifications. He only said: "If you can't pass the annual inspection, you can ask a scalper to do it for you."
In fact, "scalper agents" are becoming increasingly impractical under new technology detection methods. According to the "New Energy Vehicle Operation Safety Performance Inspection Regulations" implemented on March 1, 2025, the safety charging inspection and electrical safety inspection of power batteries will become required inspection items. Especially for operating new energy vehicles, the temperature and voltage of the power battery during the charging and discharging processes will be strictly monitored. With the upgrade of annual inspection technology, OBD data inspection has replaced the previous simple appearance inspection, and any modifications that change the original electrical structure will be more easily captured by smart devices.
There are many hidden dangers behind the modification
However, this seemingly targeted solution is facing safety challenges. An online ride-hailing driver expressed his resistance to this "remedial" measure to reporters: "I studied this plan but gave up later, mainly because I was afraid of spontaneous combustion."
His concerns are not unique - when safety is sacrificed in pursuit of battery life, is this modification an "upgrade" or a "ticking time bomb"?
Some analysts pointed out that privately installed range extenders generally lack original factory-level cooling, heat insulation and collision protection designs. The high temperature generated during operation will not only accelerate the aging of the surrounding wiring harness and bake the power battery pack, but more fatally, once the fuel pipeline leaks, the dispersed oil mist can easily be ignited by high-temperature components, causing the vehicle to explode in an instant.
"Even if the original car manufacturer does this, if an additional fuel system is added, the probability of problems will increase." People from the above-mentioned vehicle R&D company said bluntly, "The coupling between different systems is very complicated."
In his opinion, the power, thermal management, and electronic control of the original model have gone through countless rounds of calibration and testing. Privately connecting to a power generation system may not only interfere with the original battery management system, but may even cause hidden dangers in thermal management - this is the underlying logic of the "risk of spontaneous combustion" that the online ride-hailing driver was worried about.
"The risk of this kind of modification is not alarmist." The above-mentioned engineering and technical personnel pointed out, "The first is interference at the electrical control level. The privately connected power generation system will change the original electrical structure, interfere with the precise control of the original battery management system, and cause confusion in the charging and discharging logic. Secondly, there is the risk of loss of control at the thermal management level. After the original factory's carefully calibrated thermal management logic is disrupted, the battery will The pool cannot work in the optimal temperature range, which can lead to a decrease in efficiency or thermal runaway. Finally, there are hidden dangers in terms of collision safety. Range extenders added on the market are often placed in the trunk or under the car, and have neither original structural protection nor crash testing. In the event of a rear-end collision, the risk of extrusion, short circuit, and fire will increase exponentially, directly threatening the safety of the occupants. "
Illegal modification, insurance refuses to compensate
Installing a range extender on a pure electric vehicle not only poses serious safety risks, but also violates laws and regulations. According to Article 16 of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, no unit or individual may change the registered structure, structure or characteristics of a motor vehicle without authorization.
"This kind of installation of a range extender in the trunk is illegal modification because it changes the original electrical system of the vehicle. This is a very obvious change in the structure of the vehicle." said a person from the vehicle research and development company mentioned above.
Not only that, if the vehicle is illegally modified and the vehicle is involved in an accident, the insurance company will have reasons to refuse compensation. In the comment area below a video promoting a range extender, a netizen’s reminder received a lot of likes: “If you install a range extender without permission, your insurance will not pay if something goes wrong with your vehicle.”
This is not alarmist. According to the terms of car insurance, insurance companies usually set up exemption clauses for situations where "vehicle modifications cause a significant increase in the degree of danger." Pure electric vehicles are privately equipped with fuel power generation systems, which not only changes the power structure, but also introduces open flames and oil circuits. In the event of an accident, insurance companies have every reason to refuse compensation. This means that the "battery life savior" that a car owner spends several thousand yuan to install may instantly reset the entire vehicle's warranty to zero.
On the one hand, there are the attractive promises of "non-destructive retrofitting" and "passing annual inspection" in advertisements, and on the other hand, there are three insurmountable red lines of law, technology and insurance. How can old car owners relieve their battery life anxiety? Should modifications in the gray area be allowed to grow wildly, or can more formal solutions emerge? This is not only a confusion for consumers, but also a question before the industry and supervision.