Are Manufacturers Exaggerating EV Range by up to 30%?
Are vehicle manufacturers deliberately exaggerating the range of their latest electric models by up to 30%? Leading to unnecessary range anxiety amongst drivers.
Well, that’s the view from EV leasing and fleet management specialist Fleet Evolution. They believe that more accurate pure electric range figures would lead to company drivers making better-informed choices and suffering less range anxiety.
Andrew Leech is the managing director at Fleet Evolution. The company was one of the early adopters of electric vehicles; their forward order banks now comprise 90% of EVs.
Andrew comments:
“As with the petrol and diesel models that went before them, vehicle manufacturers are willfully over-stating the ranges of their electric models, presumably to try and attract more buyers.
“But in our experience, when drivers find that the actual range is not in line with the published figures, it can have the opposite effect.
He continued: “Running out of battery charge is not quite the same as getting low on petrol or diesel as charging is less straightforward than simply popping into a filling station and topping up, and it can lead to some anxious moments for drivers.
“Although the charging picture is slowly improving, this country still needs many more charging points to reach full capacity. So, having an accurate picture of your electric range is vitally important for journey planning,” he added.
Leech said that some of the worst culprits were luxury manufacturers such as Jaguar, Mercedes and Tesla, while Korean carmakers Kia and Hyundai published some of the most accurate ranges.
He cited the example of a Jaguar I-Pace, which he has as his own company car.
“The I-Pace has a manufacturer stated range of 292 miles. I took my I-Pace on a business trip between Manchester and Hull. There was a combination of motorways and urban roads. In real-world conditions, I was unable to travel more than 230 miles between charges. That is the best performance I have ever achieved in that model,” he said.
“This is by no means an isolated example, and we see a similar picture with different models from different manufacturers across the board,” he added.
Leech said that when range performance issues were raised with the relevant dealer supplying the vehicle they were referred back to the manufacturer – who then referred the matter back to the dealer.
“We see this merry-go-round time and again with no one taking responsibility and either side blaming each other,” he said.
What Does He Suggest?
He suggested that, rather than give a single electric mileage range figure for each new model, manufacturers broke this down into two categories: for motorway driving and for urban driving. This gives a more realistic picture of the actual range that is achievable.
“By breaking down the electric range in this way, we would have a clearer picture as the capacity for city miles is a lot higher for an EV than it is for motorway driving,” said Leech.
On The Plus Side
Leech said there were increasing numbers of new electric models coming onto the market with very practical ranges that worked well for many company drivers, especially as more became aware that they did not require huge electric ranges in the first instance.
“Many drivers now realise that they rarely travel 200 electric miles in one journey. Actually, the typical commute is less than 50 miles a day. So, an EV with an effective range of around 100 miles is suitable 90% of the time. That is with careful journey planning and daily charging.
“For the other 10%, for example, going on holiday when more luggage and equipment may need to be carried, we are providing our drivers with larger, conventionally powered vehicles for short periods to supplement their regular EV usage,” he said.
If manufacturers stopped exaggerating the range and gave a more realistic look into electric range, would you go electric? Get your guide to the electric revolution below!