Horse has signed its first agreement to produce Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) engines for the Lecar 459 Hybrid.
With an expected launch in 2026, the Lecar 459 Hybrid is the first vehicle from the Brazilian EV brand, which is to introduce a new range of affordable EVs targeted at domestic audiences. Horse will supply Lecar with 12,000 units per annum of its 1.0-liter 3-cylinder HR10 engines with the option to supply more as demand goes up. The HR10 engines are tuned to run on low-emission gasoline and ethanol flex fuels, making them ideal for the Brazilian market.
The HR10 will be used as the combustion engine within the Lecar 459 Hybrid’s Range Extender powertrain. Matias Giannini, chief executive officer at Horse Powertrain, said, “For Lecar this agreement allows them the opportunity to leverage Horse’s proven HR10 engine for a passenger EREV, following the HR10’s successful deployment in Range Extender solutions for light commercial vehicles.”
The combustion engine of an EREV (the HR10, in this case) never directly drives the vehicle’s wheels, instead, it charges the vehicle’s battery via an electric generator. This allows the combustion engine to run at its highest-efficiency state, minimizing fuel consumption and emissions. When the battery is fully charged, the engine will shut off.
The battery can also be charged like other EVs, using a charger. When used with low-carbon fuels, such as the flex fuels popular in Brazil, the carbon footprint of the EREV becomes comparable to an equivalent long-range EV.
Horse’s HR10 engine develops up to 85kW of power and 200Nm of torque thanks to its direct fuel injection, double overhead camshafts and turbocharger. Produced at its plant in Curitiba, Brazil, the HR10 is currently used in Horse’s range extender solution for light commercial vehicles.
Flávio Figueiredo Assis, founder and chief executive officer at Lecar, said, “Horse is the ideal partner for us – along with being a world-class supplier of industry-leading combustion engines, Horse’s production footprint in Brazil is in perfect alignment with Lecar’s vision to revolutionize the Brazilian car market with domestically produced solutions.”