Horse Powertrain lets drivers fuel up their EVs

As automakers around the globe recalibrate their electric vehicle strategies amid cooling demand, Horse Powertrain is positioning itself as a timely solution. The Renault Group and Geely joint venture, with additional backing from Saudi oil giant Aramco, has unveiled a novel hybrid powertrain explicitly designed for retrofitting into battery-electric vehicles. 

The Future Hybrid Concept aims to offer carmakers a cost-effective way to diversify their offerings without overhauling existing EV platforms or production lines.

All-in-one solution

Set for its public debut at Auto Shanghai 2025, the system integrates a small internal combustion engine, electric motor, transmission, and all necessary power electronics into a compact unit that replaces an EV’s front drive module. 

Horse Powertrain claims the unit bolts directly onto a car’s subframe, so modifications to the vehicle’s architecture remain minimal. This drop-in approach must allow carmakers to assemble electric and hybrid variants of the same model on a single production line, significantly reducing complexity and investment.

This powertrain is designed to be flexible. It operates either as a parallel hybrid—providing direct propulsion to the wheels—or as a range extender, generating electricity to charge the battery. 

That flexibility is further stretched as the Future Hybrid Concept can run on various fuels, including gasoline, E85 ethanol blends, methanol, and synthetic fuel.

As CEO of Horse Powertrain, Matias Giannini puts it: “The automotive industry spent over a decade betting on battery-electric vehicles as the singular route to carbon neutrality, but we are now in a world where markets and regulations differ widely. Our Future Hybrid Concept gives OEMs a practical tool to offer powertrain diversity without significant re-engineering.”

A new trend?

Horse Powertrain isn’t the only one rethinking the possibility of all-electric architectures and converting them to fossil-fuel drivelines. Fiat, for instance, is reportedly developing a hybrid version of its 500e, adapting its electric city car with an internal combustion option to buoy sales.

Similarly, Porsche’s engineers are investigating how to retrofit their battery-powered platforms with ICE engines to help restore the slower-than-expected demand. Hyundai is also looking into this possibility. 

Horse Powertrain has existed only since 2024 but remains shy of the typical start-up profile. The company boasts 17 manufacturing plants and five R&D centers across three continents, leveraging Renault and Geely’s combined heritage of 125 years. 

Their hybrid system reflects this experience, integrating mechanical components and advanced power electronics, including a controller, inverter, DC-to-DC converter, onboard charger, and an optional 800-volt charging booster. This allows the system to support both hybrid functions and fast charging capabilities.

With EV sales plateauing in some regions and governments softening earlier EV mandates, Horse Powertrain’s hybrid solution could offer automakers the breathing room they need.

Whether this concept becomes a widespread fix or a transitional technology remains to be seen. Still, the race toward carbon neutrality won’t follow a single path as more and more carmakers are turning to range extender vehicles (EREVs) as a smoother path toward full electrification.