NAF, the Norwegian answer to FDM, now says that electric car owners should expect their cars to lose between 20 and 30 percent of their range in winter.
A new study reveals that 6 out of 10 electric car owners experience a significant drop in range when temperatures drop. As much as 20 percent or more of the promised range can disappear in the winter cold.
– The cold is not the friend of the electric car battery. The cars are already driving noticeably shorter distances, while the thermometer is on the plus side, says Nils Sodal, senior communications advisor at NAF.
The organization writes this in a press release .
The study, which is part of NAF's latest electric car monitor, shows that almost every tenth electric car owner experiences a decrease in range of 40 percent or more during the winter months.
This is confirmed by NAF and Motors' extensive testing of electric cars under both summer and winter conditions.
– Our tests show that even in moderate winter temperatures there are cars that lose more than 20 percent of their range.
And the range gets shorter the colder it gets, says Sodal.
Range loss variation
The test results show a significant variation in range loss between different car models. Some electric cars lose only 4 percent of range, while others lose up to 36 percent.
– Based on what we have found in our large electric car test, our advice is that you should expect to drive 20 to 30 percent shorter with your electric car in normal winter temperatures than you do in the heat of summer.
– In our winter test, we consider a 20 percent or less loss of range to be a good result. Many of the cars have somewhere between 10 and 20 percent range loss, says Nils Sodal.
El Prix – The world's largest electric car test
NAF and Motor continue their extensive testing of electric cars with the upcoming El Prix. 24 new electric cars will be tested for range and charging speed in this sixth winter test.
However, the fact that winter eats up a lot of range is not an isolated Norwegian phenomenon. Here in Norway, where winters are generally milder, the lower temperatures also bother electric cars.
Both Ford and Toyota owners have complained that they are nowhere near as far as the car manufacturers promise them. Speaking to Finans, a Toyota bZ4x owner even called his car 'miserable' in the winter.
And this even though he had explained and told the Toyota dealer several times that he wanted to use the car in the winter. For example, for trips on a skiing holiday in Sweden. Read more about it here .
