I was born by a river. When I was young, to get from one side to the other, we had to take a boat. In the 1990s, plans were made to build a bridge. Before the bridge was completed, a pontoon bridge was constructed to facilitate the transportation of goods. A year later, the boats were gone, and so was the pontoon bridge, replaced by a magnificent highway bridge.

Some time ago, I went on a self-drive trip to Hulunbuir with a friend. He drove a range-extended vehicle and confidently told me it was great because there was no range anxiety, and when charging stations weren't available, he could use gasoline. However, over the next few days, I noticed something strange—he was always looking for charging stations. With a range of only 200 kilometers, he was reluctant to use gasoline, and finding a charging station became an obsession. Meanwhile, those of us driving BEVs would plug in while eating or sleeping and then drive freely. Inner Mongolia has abundant and cheap electricity resources.

When you connect these two stories, an interesting correlation emerges: What is a transitional solution, and what is the ultimate solution?

This is the fascinating topic between range extenders and BEVs—who is transitional, and who is ultimate.

There was a time when, if a family wanted to buy a large three-row new energy vehicle, a range extender was the inevitable choice. However, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) in 2026 shows that BEV sales reached 28,498 units, while range-extended sales were 15,305 units. BEV large three-row SUVs have firmly secured the top spot in sales across all energy forms, outpacing range-extended models for eight consecutive months, with the gap widening.

During this change, 4C and 5C fast charging have become widespread nationwide, and NIO's battery-swapping network even extends all the way to the Everest Base Camp. The range concerns that once worried BEV users are no longer an issue. On a trip from Beijing to Shanghai, only one stop for charging is needed, and the charging time is just enough to sit down and have a cup of coffee.

In the meantime, businesses and capital are also quick to sense these changes. Many automakers that once focused solely on range-extended large vehicles are now desperately shifting their focus to BEV platforms.

Everyone knows that BEVs are the future. While BEVs may seem like a technological shift, they actually represent a change in lifestyle.

1. Solutions Follow Variables

It can be said that large three-row BEVs are comprehensively replacing large three-row range-extended vehicles, marking a profound structural evolution in the era of 2026.

Many people who bought large SUVs in previous years were actually held hostage by the old notion that 'large three-row vehicles can only be range-extended.'

During the transition period three years ago, most automakers, limited by R&D funding and time, rushed into the range-extended track (sector), leading to an oversupply of range-extended large vehicles on the market. At the time, everyone generally believed that having a gasoline tank eliminated charging anxiety.

On the river in my hometown, if people never wanted to build a bridge, boats would be the ultimate solution. But once the idea of building a bridge arose, boats became an auxiliary solution, and the pontoon bridge a transitional one. This is very much like the relationship between fuel vehicles, range-extended vehicles, and BEVs in today's automotive circle.

Let's look at some data. As of April 2026, official data from the National Energy Administration shows that China has a total of 21.955 million charging piles, a 47.4% year-on-year increase, including 4.907 million public piles. Over 98% of highway service areas are equipped with 71,500 charging piles, and 19 provinces have achieved charging facility coverage in every township. Additionally, there are over 6,000 battery-swapping stations nationwide, with NIO operating 3,795 and CATL 1,470.

Data from CAAM Data Research shows that since September 2025, in the large three-row SUV market, BEV sales have consistently surpassed those of range-extended models. In April, BEV sales reached 28,498 units, plug-in hybrids 22,353 units, fuel vehicles 17,731 units, and range-extended models only 15,305 units. After the launch of the NIO ES8 last year, it became a phenomenal product in the industry, securing the top spot for large SUVs and vehicles priced over 400,000 RMB for multiple consecutive months. The persistent gap between BEVs and range-extended models proves that a structural and irreversible trend has emerged in the market.

Behind these numbers lies a process where pain points are eliminated by technology and infrastructure, and efficiency is redefined.

What is the most valuable thing for high-end large three-row SUV users? Undoubtedly, it's efficiency—time. These users don't want to waste time charging or searching for charging stations, which is why range extenders were once their preference. But today, the dual solutions of fast charging and battery swapping have perfectly addressed this efficiency pain point.

A similar story is unfolding in the large five-seater market. With the launch of BEV large five-seater products like the L80 and Tesla Model Y, the spatial advantages and uncompromised travel experience of engine-free vehicles are becoming everyday options for more and more families.

On the 27th of this week, another flagship large three-row BEV SUV—the NIO ES9—will officially launch. Clearly, NIO sees the certainty of this market segment. This will undoubtedly further accelerate the market's shift from range extenders to BEVs.

2. The Purity of BEVs

The debate between range extenders and BEVs may seem to revolve around range anxiety, but in reality, with today's dual support of charging and battery-swapping networks, range is no longer a topic worth discussing. The more core factor behind BEVs surpassing range-extended models is 'experience.'

People are increasingly drawn to a pure driving experience. An interesting phenomenon is the popularity of the term 'enrichment' on social media—originally used in zoology to refer to improving environmental conditions to enhance animal welfare. Now, it has become a way many people actively enrich their lives. People are no longer just blindly busy for survival; instead, they are persistence (persistently) seeking small, refined fresh experiences to nourish their spiritual worlds.

Let's first talk about the 'enrichment' that comes from powertrain-induced auditory and tactile sensations.

Today's younger generation is tired of the KPI-driven lifestyle where everything is result-oriented, and even rest is calculated and tracked.

In their social circles, new terms like JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) are becoming popular. Everyone longs for an elegant disconnection, pursuing high-quality mental downtime and self-pleasing experiences.

In this mindset, the garage is no longer a refuge to escape reality after turning off the engine, and the smart cockpit is far from a mobile side office for overtime work. Instead, it has become a tech-enabled meditation chamber where new-era car owners actively cut off external noise.

After a day of business strategizing, stepping out of the company, closing the car door, and turning on their playlist, they can immediately enter another world. BEV models eliminate concerns about engine shutdown or exhaust poisoning, allowing seats to be adjusted to the most comfortable angle. Even if they don't listen to music and just zone out for 20 minutes, it's about 'pleasing the truest self.'

However, such a refined state of mind often cannot tolerate any rough interruptions.

This is why many who seek relaxation ultimately grow tired of range-extended large vehicles. In moments when you want to lie down quietly or chat with friends, the heavy range extender inexplicably kicks in as soon as the battery level drops slightly, given that the pure electric range of range-extended vehicles is generally around 200 kilometers.

A friend of mine complained: 'When that thing starts, the sudden increase in cabin noise and the rough vibrations through the steering wheel make me feel like the world is collapsing.' This tension, accompanied by the smell of gasoline, instantly yanks people out of the elegant mindset expected in a high-end vehicle.

3. Structural Enrichment

In fact, for most high-end users, purity is a crucial driving need, especially the structural changes brought by BEVs.

The structure of BEVs can maximize 'spatial enrichment.'

Without the traditional complex transmission and driveshaft, the BEV architecture frees up luxurious cabin space. The second and third-row seating layouts are astonishingly flexible. With one-touch folding, the interior instantly transforms into a mobile luxury café or a panoramic private relaxation terrace. Children can doodle in the back row, while elders stretch out comfortably in the second row. No one needs to sacrifice their experience for 'family travel'—everyone can relax in their own space.

What changes along with this is 'physical enrichment.' As the car glides silently along mountain roads, the zero vibration, zero exhaust, and ultra-quiet experience of electric propulsion turn long-distance travel into an ultimate sensory therapy. Turning off all work groups, activating full-vehicle seat massages, the nerves stretched tight in the office building are already healed before reaching the resort.

This transformation is not an isolated case. Whether it's the new ES8, which has become a benchmark for high-end large vehicles, or the upcoming NIO ES9, both define the new mainstream of 2026 with this uncompromising physical and spiritual 'dual enrichment.'

True self-pleasure should never involve any compromise or calculation. It should be like the masterstroke brought by the BEV architecture—the front trunk space that is only possible after completely removing the engine, something range-extended models can never achieve.

The front trunk of the native BEV-architectured ES9 not only offers a lavish capacity of over 216 liters with a lower opening but also comes standard with an elegantly designed electric switch. It can neatly accommodate a full set of high-end tennis bags horizontally, or a mother's spare high heels, a child's drawing board, and a picnic mat.

Tennis enthusiasts, in particular, will feel this deeply. In crowded underground parking lots at malls or tennis courts, traditional trunks are often blocked by walls, making it difficult to retrieve bags. With a one-touch electric front trunk, an entire set of tennis bags and clothing can be neatly removed horizontally, leaving the trunk as a clean emergency space.

Every seemingly small convenience like this subtly eliminates travel anxiety. Such convenience is even more common in supermarket scenarios, where large bags and small packages can be handled without worrying about tight parking spaces, without being drained by trivialities or calculating energy consumption. This dignity and ease of having margin anytime, anywhere are the highest form of relaxation in the eyes of the new generation.

Relaxation is the core of this technological revolution from range extenders to BEVs. Car owners no longer need to constantly switch between gasoline and electricity to save fuel or endure the maintenance risks and costs of overlapping technologies. Instead, they can embrace the quietness and larger space that BEVs offer.

The world always works this way: When there's a highway bridge to cross a river, why would people still need boats or pontoon bridges?