So I've been working on this idea for a few years now and I want to get an idea of its feasibility. So the large mine truck use a diesel generator to run electric motors. I want to do the same with the ranger. Put a small 1.8l diesel and attach it to a big alternator to charge up a battery to run the electric motors. Mpg would be really high considering diesel has enough torque at low rpm to turn a massive 500-600 amp alternator and it would idle most of the time at about 500 rpm when it's needed. The idea would be to put electric wheels to maintain the 4x4 and the use some of the open space under the bed or under the cab to house a battery kinda like the one out of a tesla. With all the traditional drive train removed there would be space for a fairy large battery system or keep it small and rely more on the diesel engine for constant power It would close the gap between having an electric vehicle and all the torque while maintains a very large range. Just want to get peoples thoughts on if it would be effective enough in extending your range and would it fit in the ranger chasis.

 

This is used in many different industries, trains, and ships, also larger specific use vehicles, like the "mine truck"
Downsizing it to work on passenger vehicles is were the numbers start to not make sense, even city buses are getting too small to use the "hybrid systems" concept, the one you are referring to

You are kind of describing a non-plugin hybrid
This was the first and best step(in my opinion) to bridge the gap for people where RANGE is an issue, 80% of people rarely exceed 150-200miles a day in regular driving needs, so all electric can work for them, and plug it in over night

In North America "we" never really took to Diesel, they were slow and smelled different, lol
But with turbo-charged diesels they got some "pep" and some like the better MPG, VW's TDIs made some converts here
But if you go to ANY gas station, there will be 10 gasoline pumps to 1 diesel pump, so...........................they really didn't catch on that well

But in any case, you don't need to reinvent the wheel what you are thinking about has been around for awhile, in different models with different drive trains

The problem with 4 electric motors is control, obviously all 4 have to be driven at the same speed, the controllers for electric motors are EXPENSIVE, and for good reason, lol
The HIGH AMPs needed to run an electric motor has always been an issue, the contacts to turn the motors on and OFF like to WELD themselves together, FULL THROTTLE NO OFF, no control, happened alot in the first days of electric golf carts, lol

When you do controllers X 4 it will get expensive, the computers to run these are just as complex it not more than current engine computers
And then there is the Charging computers as well, can't use a simple "alternator" setup or you WILL blow up battery packs

Look at what Ford did with the new Hybrid Ranger, 40+ MPG and 300 mile range, actually gets BETTER MPG in city driving, lol

In any case, yes running a diesel at a set RPM(it would have to be higher than idle, for the AMPs needed) to drive a generator to power the electric wheels and charge the battery pack will work

But one big problem with "hybrids", even though I like them, is you still have an "engine" and all its issues, and you also have an electric motor/battery pack, with all its issues
So while you get the best of both...............with that comes the worst of both