Daniel Brandell is a Swede, a researcher in batteries, and he doesn't give much thought to the world's largest range test. He doesn't think the test can be used.
A Norwegian test of the range of electric cars is said to be the world's largest. The results of the test went around the world this week.
But according to Swedish researcher Daniel Brandell, one should be careful about putting just anything into such tests. He believes that the batteries in individual electric cars can also have a bad day.
That way, there is really nothing to catch up on, even though the cars drive the exact same route and under the same conditions.
He says this to the media outlet Carup.
– Are you supposed to believe a cancer researcher who said that he only fed his wife carrots for ten years and that she didn't get cancer from it and therefore everyone should do it? No one had believed it, says Daniel Brandell.
In fact, Brandell believes that the test is based more on chance than anything else, and that you can't know whether you will be able to get exactly the same result from exactly the same cars just two days later.
According to Brandell, why the cars differ so much from each other and their stated WLTP range is not about the batteries but more about the cars' software.
Furthermore, the Swedish researcher believes that it is easier to say something about how far an electric car can drive, the larger the battery.
– Why the results are so different may be because the software or the battery is actually just having a bad day, says Daniel Brandell.
The Norwegian test, which is carried out by the Norwegian answer to FDM and the media outlet Motor, is held twice a year. Once in the 'summer' and again under winter conditions.
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This year, according to the Norwegians, it was the Polestar 3 that had the longest range. Also longer than the range king, the Tesla Model 3. But according to the Swedish researcher, you shouldn't rely on that kind of thing.
And so we are back to the question of reported and real range. The WLTP standard, which replaced the NEDC in 2018, has long been criticized for being both too laboratory-like and designed exclusively for cars with combustion engines. So, something electric cars 'suffer' from.
