Neil Winton is a Senior Contributor for Forbes, writing about the automotive industry in general and EVs in particular. The views expressed are his own. He was previously the European correspondent for Reuters, wrote the European Perspective column for the Detroit News and contributed to the Wall Street Journal.
If you’ve just taken delivery of a new electric car, get ready for some nasty surprises. The dealer would have taken you for a test drive and you would have been very impressed with its luxurious serenity.
You would have entered the highway and experienced its fabulous performance, more like an Italian supercar than a simple ordinary SUV.
You would have been impressed by the specification. If, for example, it were a new Hyundai Ioniq 6, you would be told that the range was 384 miles and the car would accelerate to 60 mph from rest in less than five seconds and continue at 115 miles per hour. Although the price was around £55,000, what’s not to like?
But it won’t take long for some unpleasant surprises to emerge. The deal will likely include a home charger, and in a few days you’ll be plugging it in. This is where passion begins to crumble. You’ve left your car charging overnight for the cheapest electricity rate and see the available range the next day when “fully charged”. It says 270 miles, not 384 miles. Where did the other 114 miles go you ask?
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2023 Honda: Ny1
HONDA
A little downhill, after the wind
The answer will not amuse you. The dealer will have mumbled something about official figures and WLTP. This stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure. All electric vehicles sold in Europe are rated by WLTPhave been evaluated BY WLTP despite this fact theoretical computer data never come close to real-world results. Cynics might say that WLTP stands for Slightly Downhill, After Wind (SDFW) in some obscure European language.
Then leave for a business meeting. It’s 300 miles off the highway. You settle for long-distance cruising at an indicated speed of 80 mph, just like the rest of the traffic. After an hour you look at the remaining range indicator and 120 miles have already been done. That’s because this car at highway speeds loses nearly 40 percent of its promised range. If you start with 100 miles, at these speeds it will get you about 60 miles. This is because of the physics of electric cars versus diesel engines. At high revs and high but legal speeds, the electric motor is strained to produce extra power. At these speeds, a rotary diesel will settle into a relaxed, powerful low-speed ride.
Peter Wells, Professor of Business and Sustainability at Cardiff Business School said so.
Range Falls Of A Cliff
“The road drops off a cliff at high speed. For an electric car, the extra energy required from 60 mph to 75 mph is staggering and practically doubles the energy consumption to get all that air off the road,” Wells said.
It’s not just the Ioniq 6. This scenario is typical of all EVs. You’ve probably heard the radio commercials for the new Honda e:Ny1, which claims a range of 256 miles, but in reality averaged about 162 miles per charge for me. Its highway performance was slightly better with only a 27 percent penalty at the promised top speed limit, but that translates into a highway range of just 118 miles.
You will be aware of the threat from new Chinese EVs. They are very impressive technically with high quality and competitive prices. But on the highway they are the worst performers, with the Polestar 2 (made by China’s Geely) dropping 59 percent of its promised range, the BYD ATTO 3 61 percent and the BYD Seal 66 percent.
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6
HYUNDAI
Excluding Tesla
There is one obvious standout and that is Tesla. The Model 3 and Model Y offer 360 miles and 331 miles of battery capacity respectively, and after a charge they’ll give you just that. But on the highway the same EV vs ICE rules apply and the Model 3 has a 30 percent penalty and the Model Y 45 percent. The latter is an SUV and has a much higher profile adding wind resistance.
How come this is news to you? After all, the media regularly write reviews about these vehicles. Why didn’t they inform the public? Automakers provide bare statistics and the car launch process doesn’t make it easy for the media to examine the data in detail. The range is often described as “up to” a large number. However, some reviews were written after journalists borrowed the cars for a week. There’s no excuse for this process not to reveal more details, but most journalists probably don’t have chargers at home. Battery and range details not tested.
The automaker’s range claims don’t make it clear that the data was generated at an average speed of perhaps 55 mph. There’s never a hint that fast highway cruising will destroy the range. There’s never a hint that when you recharge the battery, it can never come close to the WLTP claim.
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Neil Winton is a Senior Contributor for Forbes, writing about the automotive industry in general and EVs in particular
SUPPLY
Step up to the plate
Automakers need to step up to the plate.
Manufacturers should make it clear that the range claim is based on an average of 55 mph, the fast lane cruise penalty is (say) 50 percent and the battery often won’t even come close to WLTP.
Happy EV motoring.