Hi, I'm Nicki Shields and welcome to Select Electric's guide to electric vehicle
range. Now here we're going to look at how far electric vehicles can go
on a single charge of battery and what you can do to extend that range, so first let's have a quick
recap of the different types of electric vehicles. First you've got battery electric vehicles or BEVs.
They are a hundred percent electric. These have large batteries and no internal combustion engine
at all. On a full charge they can generally travel between 130 and 300 miles. Next there are plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles or PHEVs. These have both medium-sized batteries and petrol or diesel
engines. They can travel between 20 and 40 miles on electric power depending on the model. Finally
there are conventional hybrid electric vehicles or HEVs with very small batteries driven mainly
by a petrol or diesel engine. They are electric only at low speeds and just for a few miles.
Now we're going to focus on BEVs here as both PHEVs and HEVs have an internal combustion
engine to fall back on if the battery runs out. When pure electric cars first came out let's be
honest the range was pretty poor and it gave rise to a phenomenon called range anxiety, the dreaded
worry that your battery might run flat before you reach your destination. Well fortunately the
majority of modern battery electric vehicles now have excellent range, typically between about 130
and 300 miles before they need to be recharged. Considering most people don't actually drive
more than about 20 miles a day on average, any EV available to lease today will meet most people's
daily driving needs. But what about longer trips in a fully electric vehicle. If you're traveling
further than your EV's range then you're going to need to charge during the journey.
Say your EV has a 50 kilowatt-hour battery pack that can go 200 miles on a single charge and we're
going from Edinburgh to Sheffield which is 250 miles. Now you could stop in Durham after 140 miles,
plug in your car to a rapid charger at a service station and after 30 minutes of stretching your
legs and walking around your battery should be up to 80 percent and that's going to give you another
160 miles of range. Now the distance from Durham to Sheffield is only 120 miles so you're going to
arrive at your destination with 40 miles left in the battery. You can charge up overnight and then
start the next day with a full battery. Now longer trips in an EV are doable and there is no need to
be anxious; you just need to plan ahead and work out where you're going to stop and charge. Using
a rapid charger will get extra miles into your vehicle quickly and avoid long unnecessary waits.
Now if you read about electric vehicles online you'll probably see that the range of the vehicle
is described as the WLTP range. WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test
Procedure - yeah quite a mouthful, but basically it's an independent organisation that estimates how far
every electric vehicle on the market will travel on a single charge of battery. However during
real-world driving electric cars often don't achieve their WLTP range. In practice, EV range
varies depending on a number of factors, so let's talk about the main five. First is
outside temperature. Because of a quirk of battery chemistry electric vehicles
actually go further in warm weather than when it's cold, so be prepared to lose a good percentage
of your range in winter. Second is cabin heating and cooling. Now if it's hot outside and you have
the AC on full blast your car's battery charge will drop more quickly and the same is true
when you heat the cabin up in winter - your battery takes a bit of a hit which will reduce the range.
Top tip though, cabin heating for most EVs can now be controlled via a smartphone app from the
comfort of your kitchen. On a cold morning simply heat up the car in advance and get
into a nice warm cabin. If your car's plugged in overnight, the electricity for preheating will
come from the grid so your EV driving range won't be affected. Third, speed. If you drive at 70 miles
an hour your battery will deplete faster than if you drive at 60 miles per hour and electric
vehicles are fairly heavy, so as you increase speed it takes a greater toll on the battery.
Fourth is the terrain. Electric vehicles love going downhill as range actually increases due to
regenerative braking, however driving an electric vehicle uphill has the reverse effect, so the range
is going to drop faster. Fifth is acceleration. Now if you think you're a Formula E driver and floor
the accelerator at every opportunity, then the battery is gonna run out of charge more quickly.
Smooth driving is the secret to long range in an EV. So let's summarise EV range: If you're in a
plug-in hybrid, a PHEV, a conventional hybrid, HEV, both of which have internal combustion engines,
then you don't need to worry about range, as the petrol or diesel engine
will kick in when the battery runs out. However in a fully electric car, a BEV, you should in general
have plenty of range for daily driving, but you do need to plan ahead for those longer trips and
charge up en route at a rapid charger, and do keep an eye on that official WLTP range in winter,
especially as your actual range will be less. Well hopefully that clears things up, but please do
get in touch with the Select Electric team if you have any range or car leasing questions in general.