The problem with EV range figures

I see a troubling pattern emerging in how the most critical aspect of EVs – range – is discussed by companies and the media alike. These are problems that could have a significant negative effect on the way the public responds to electric vehicles if manufacturers don’t change the way they communicate expectations about range.

The basic problem is that when an EV is described, it usually has a single “range” number associated with it. For example, the Tesla Roadster has a range of 244 miles. When people talk about the range of a car that is planned in the future, they also offer a single number. For example, the media has reported that several car companies plan to come to market with EVs that have “100 mile range.”

Every time a single range figure is given, it should have about three asterisks next to it.

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Tdave said:

siry has already posted this himself on this forum.

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The E.P.A.’s letter was in response to a Sept. 10 proposal from Israel’s ETV Motors, which is working on battery technology as well as a hybrid concept that uses a micro-turbine to replenish an E.V.’s batteries....

ETV proposed that consumers be given three pieces of information: the E.V.’s all-electric range, its energy efficiency in electric mode (expressed in miles a 10 kilowatt-hours) and, for plug-in hybrids, its fuel efficiency when the internal-combustion engine kicks in.

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