- The Roewe D7 DMH was driven 1,372 miles (2,208 km) on a single tank of gas and a full battery charge.
- The model earned a spot in the Guinness World Records for the longest range among PHEVs.
- The route included crossing a desert and climbing a mountain, proving the powertrain’s efficiency.
Chinese automakers have stepped up the game in terms of PHEVs and EREVs, promising impressive figures for their combined range. The SAIC-owned Roewe took a step further, achieving a Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered by a PHEV without refueling or recharging – a staggering 2,208 km (1,372 miles).
The record-breaking model is the Roewe D7 DMH, the plug-in hybrid version of the midsize sedan, introduced in China in 2023. A production-spec vehicle covered 2,208 km (1,372 miles) in four days, passing from the cities of Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Turpan, and Urumqi.
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Interestingly, the route was neither flat nor limited to smooth tarmac roads in ideal temperature conditions as you would normally expect from an efficiency-focused record run. Instead, the Roewe D7 DMH was driven on gravel, dirt, snow, ice, and wet tarmac, with a 1,600 m (5,249 feet) altitude difference, and temperatures as low as -8°C (17.6°F).
Footage uploaded on Weibo shows the electrified sedan crossing parts of the Gobi desert, and climbing mountains before reaching its destination. The fuel cap and the charging port were covered by stickers throughout the journey. Furthermore, the VIN was checked by officials, to make sure it was the same car that started and finished the test.
The plug-in hybrid powertrain of the Roewe D7 DMH comprises a naturally-aspirated 1.5-liter gasoline engine producing 110 hp (82 kW / 112 PS), and an electric motor generating 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS). The ICE has an advertised thermal efficiency of over 43% and is connected to the coaxial P1 drive unit.
The official numbers suggest that the PHEV has a combined range of 1,400 km (870 miles), including the EV-only range of 125 km (78 miles). This means that the record run was 808 km (547 miles) over the claimed figures, proving that an experienced driver can make a huge difference in how far one can travel on a single tank of gasoline. Overall, the average fuel consumption of the test was 2.49 lt/100km (94.5 MPG).
It remains to be seen if a rival automaker will challenge Roewe’s record. Judging from the specs of existing production models, the next record-breaking PHEV will most likely originate from China.
