First shown at the Beijing Auto Show 2026, the Horse D20 Methanol is intended for use in range-extended EVs (REEVs), where it acts as a reserve power source to recharge a vehicle’s battery. Outputting up to 105kW, the powertrain weighs 170kg and combines a motor, power electronics and a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
The engine is designed to run off 100% methanol fuel blends, and features a range of cutting-edge technologies such as a 240mJ high-energy ignition system to enable ultra-lean burns of methanol in the engine cylinders.
Along with increasing fuel economy, these technologies also enable the engine to undertake pure-methanol cold starts from temperatures as low as -35°C. The NOx emissions comply with China’s CN6b standard of 35mg/kWh and the Euro 7 standard of 60mg/km.
The powertrain uses a new axial flux motor mounted directly on the engine’s crankshaft, serving as its generator. Unlike conventional radial flux motors, where the rotor sits inside a cylindrical stator, axial flux motors stack the rotor and stator as flat discs. The D20’s motor uses a yokeless design with two rotors surrounding a single stator.
Compared to a like-for-like radial flux motor, the new axial flux motor on the D20 Methanol is 46% shorter and can output 63% more kilowatts per unit of volume, enabling a range of packaging opportunities and efficiencies. The motor also boasts an extremely high electrical efficiency of 96.4%, leveraging solutions such as an embedded silicon carbide power module to minimize electrical losses.
In lab testing, the powertrain achieved a 47% fuel-to-energy conversion ratio, with 1kWh of electrical energy produced for every ~2.1kWh of methanol burned. As a result, the D20 Methanol can fully recharge a 40kWh EV battery with just 19.6L of fuel.
“The Horse D20 Methanol is one of our boldest statements of intent so far,” said Fortune Zhao, CTO of Horse Powertrain.
“Along with reflecting our commitment to alternative fuels via its central methanol engine, and offering a flexible mobility solution as a range extender powertrain, the Horse D20 Methanol is a staging ground for a range of cutting-edge technologies to deliver a powertrain of unparalleled compactness and efficiency. This can be seen in our use of an axial flux motor to achieve the necessary width and volumetric power density for the unit, marking one of the first uses of the technology in a mass-market automotive powertrain.”
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