The effect of cold weather conditions on the range of electric cars has been among the issues that users have been paying attention to for a long time. An extensive test study carried out by the Chinese press revealed how vehicles from different manufacturers perform at low temperatures. While the results show that it is more difficult for electric vehicles to reach official range values in cold weather, they also reveal that there are remarkable differences between brands.
A total of 45 popular models were evaluated within the scope of the test. The vehicles were used in a temperature range of 8 to 10 degrees. Maximum regenerative braking was activated on all vehicles, while the air conditioning system was set to 25 degrees in economic mode. In addition, all-season tires and economical driving mode were used. Measurements were carried out in three different scenarios. In the first stage, a 100-kilometer ride was made at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour, representing urban conditions. In the second stage, a 100-kilometer route was followed at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. In the last part, a total of 153 kilometers of highway driving was carried out at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Although the 8 to 10 degree range is not considered a very harsh winter condition, it offered an adequate environment to observe the impact of the temperature drop on the range. In particular, the efficiency differences in systems such as battery management and heat pumps from different manufacturers were seen more clearly in this test.
BMW i3 was the most successful model of the test
According to the results, the BMW i3 eDrive 35L model was at the top of the list. The vehicle reached a real usage range of 424 kilometers, preserving 80.5 percent of the official range value. Ford Mustang Mach-E GT followed BMW with a protection rate of 79.7 percent. In third place is Nio ET5, with a performance of 79.0 percent.
Looking at the upper part of the ranking, where fully electric models are located, it is seen that most of the vehicles can maintain 70 to 80 percent of their official range. On the other hand, losses reached higher levels in some models. Volvo XC40 and Arcfox αS HI were at the bottom of the list, losing range of approximately 40 percent. This shows how decisive battery temperature management and energy efficiency issues are in real use.
Test results also revealed the effect of speed change. There were no major differences in energy consumption when driving between 30 kilometers and 60 kilometers per hour. The main reason for this is that the energy spent to heat the vehicle’s cabin at low speeds has a significant share in the total consumption. Since the increase in aerodynamic drag was limited in this speed range, consumption values remained close to each other.
On the other hand, highway driving resulted in more challenging results for all models. In tests conducted at a constant speed of 100 kilometers per hour, almost all vehicles consumed more than 20 kWh of energy per 100 kilometers. At this point, the BMW i3 came to the fore again and attracted attention with its consumption value of 18.8 kWh per 100 kilometers. Range losses have become more visible as increasing air resistance at high speeds significantly increases the energy consumption of electric vehicles.
On the rechargeable hybrid (PHEV) and range extender electric vehicles (EREV) side, an average range preservation rate of around 70 percent was achieved in electric mode. The results reveal that low temperatures affect not only fully electric vehicles but also other powertrain systems that use electrical energy.
However, it should not be forgotten that the test was carried out in relatively mild conditions of 8 to 10 degrees. In regions where temperatures drop below zero, range losses may increase to higher levels. In particular, factors such as battery chemistry, heat pump use, pre-conditioning systems and driving style directly affect actual usage results. Therefore, electric vehicle users need to take seasonal conditions into account when evaluating official range values. Test results show that the differences between the cold weather performance of different manufacturers are still evident today.