Have you considered reading my comments? I didn't say it didn't exist before. I said it was the standard. Looking at a bunch of current PHEV models:
- Ford Kuga PHEV: 28-41 miles
- Mazda CX-60: 39 miles
- Volkswagen Tiguan PHEV: 30 miles
- Kia Niro PHEV: 33 miles
- Toyota RAV4 PHEV - 46 miles
- BMW Model 3: 32-36 miles
This whole thread started with me suggesting it needed a different moniker because it was so different to the rest of the market.
You yourself called the BMW I3 an range extended EV. Why does that deserve a different name but not a Prius with a much extended range?
A plug-in hybrid works differently. It has an engine as well as electric motors, a gearbox to make that all work together, a diff, etc.
A range extended EV doesn't have a gearbox or a diff. Just a generator attached to the battery. So they drop all that complexity and weight.
I always thought they were a brilliant design in that sense, as far back as 2010ish when the Chevy Volt was announced. I'm surprised they haven't caught on more vs hybrids.
Then you have something like the Nissan E-power range which also uses a generator attached to the engine. However, they have a very small hybrid type battery without the ability to plug in.
That is another type of car, yes. Do you understand the point of "range extended" now, though? Plug in and range extended aren't to do with how far they go on electric. They're to do with how the car works.
Your "now" implies that I didn't know before. That isn't the case.
A plug-in hybrid would hardy fit the definition if it had a 1kwh battery more typical of a conventional hybrid but with the technical ability to plug it in. No more so than the ability to run an old fashioned manual petrol on the starter motor for a few meters made those hybrids. Usain Bolt and a marathon runner both use their legs to move but they are hardly equivalent.
You yourself called the BMW I3 an range extended EV. Why does that deserve a different name but not a Prius with a much extended range?