BEIJING: At Beijing Auto Show 2026, Horse Powertrain will unveil its X-Range C15 Direct Drive, which is an "all-in-one" hybrid powertrain that allows BEV (battery electric vehicle) platforms to serve as foundations for HEVs (hybrids), PHEVs (plug-in hybrids), and REEVs (range-extended electric vehicles).
Horse Powertrain has operations in Europe, China, and South America, and employs over 19,000 people across 18 plants and five R&D (research and development) centres.
Its 25 customers include Renault Group, Geely Auto, Volvo Cars, Proton, Nissan, and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
Horse Powertrain is headquartered in London, UK.
The ultra-compact X-Range C15 Direct Drive integrates a full hybrid powertrain – including a four-cylinder engine, transmission, power electronics, and an electric motor – into a single compact unit with a shared housing, designed to mount to the rear subframe enabling a double isolated installation for best NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness).
The X-Range C15 Direct Drive is designed as a compact "all-in-one" powertrain to replace the rear electric drive unit of an existing BEV platform.
It enables an automaker to use a single shared platform for their BEV, HEV, PHEV, and REEV lineups without any significant changes to vehicle design or production environments.
The new powertrain is the newest member of Horse Powertrain’s X-Range family – a toolkit for adding hybrid capability to dedicated BEV platforms, offering automakers the option to substitute the rear electric drive units of their vehicles.
It adds to the Horse F15 (an ‘all-in-one’ powertrain designed to substitute the front electric drive unit of a BEV platform) and Horse C15 (an ultra-compact engine and generator that acts as a range extender to existing powertrain) systems.
The X-Range C15 Direct Drive features a four-cylinder, 1.5-litre engine that can be installed in either a naturally aspirated configuration for lower-power applications such B- and C-segment vehicles, or with a turbocharger for larger D-segment vehicles and light commercial vehicles (LCVs).
The naturally aspirated engine can output up to 70kW, and the turbocharged engine can output 120kW.
The X-Range C15 Direct Drive contains the full suite of power electronics required for a hybrid powertrain, and is designed to integrate with supplementary systems like a DC/DC converter, an on-board charger, and an 800V charging booster.
Horse Powertrain CEO Matias Giannini said, “The X-Range family of powertrains is about reflecting today’s market realities, allowing automakers to pivot from BEVs to hybrids and range extenders on a single platform, quickly and at scale."
"The X-Range C15 Direct Drive is an ‘all-in-one’ powertrain, allowing BEV platforms to be converted to HEVs, PHEVs, and REEVs with little redesign or tooling changes required, dramatically reducing time-to-market, amortising BEV investments, and catering to the diverse array of mobility needs in today’s global market.”
