Tesla Hit By Range Claims, But Still Beats Most Other EVs

Reuters revealed some disturbing range and service problems at Tesla but Elon Musk’s electric vehicles still perform much better than most in terms of battery capacity and long-range cruising, according to WintonsWorld data.

But the results of 27 electric car reviews over a couple of years in Europe show that as a group they are simply not yet ready for prime time.

One day electric cars surely will match or beat combustion ones. The trouble is that’s not the case currently. Manufacturers must change direction quickly and produce small, cheap, practical electric vehicles that would sell without subsidies. The European Union is trying to force its citizens into electric cars, effectively making them pay more for something that does less.

And prices are steep. Yes, you can buy a Dacia Spring, made in China for this Renault value subsidiary for close to £20,000 after tax ($25,000), but most prices start at around £30,000 ($38,500). That includes cars like the little Fiat 500e. There’s no sign yet of any entry-level cars to replace combustion models like the Ford Ka, Citroen C1, Peugeot 108, SEAT Mii, and Renault Twingo. As Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has said, if only the rich can afford to drive around in cars, there will be political consequences.

The data, based on my personal experience and observations, shows battery capacity is relentlessly overblown (with some honorable exceptions, including Teslas 3 and Y, Kia Soul, MG, ORA Funky Cat) while all fail the high (but legal) speed long-range cruise test.

Manufacturers won’t discuss the problem. The media lets them off the hook. But at higher speeds, electric vehicles run into the laws of physics. Professor of Business and Sustainability at Cardiff Business School put it this way in an interview earlier this year.

“Range falls off a cliff at high speed. For an electric car, the extra energy required getting from 60 mph to 75 mph is astonishing and virtually doubles energy consumption to move all that air out of the way,” Wells said.

In Britain, the motorway speed limit is 70 mph, meaning something close to an indicated 80 mph is the norm to avoid speeding fines. The legal limit typically is just over 80 mph in the rest of Europe so the problem is worse. Electric cars’ battery capacity is decimated at these speeds. Cynics will say watch out for governments determined to foist EVs on their citizens imposing a 55 mph (88 km/h) limit. To save the planet, of course.

High-speed incompetence means that all these high-priced new electric vehicles are really just unaffordable city cars because they cannot compete with internal combustion engines (ICE) in this important aspect. Even my highway cruise-leading Tesla 3 and Y only managed 239 and 180 miles at high speed, despite battery capacity of 341 miles and 328 miles. The rest were pretty hopeless.

For instance, a £90,000 Audi e-tron claimed battery range of 241 miles, but only managed an average of 180 miles from my home ChargePoint. Its highway cruise penalty was 23% for a motorway range of 135.4 miles. (If 100 miles of range was theoretically available in a car rated at 50%, only 50 miles would be delivered at fast highway cruising speeds). A cheap diesel could manage probably 400 miles at one go. Once speed hits about 65 mph range dives alarmingly. (The Y performs worse than the 3 probably because of its SUV height and therefore a lack of smoothness through the air).

The Audi test was a couple of years ago, but the latest vehicles haven’t made much progress. A Chinese BYD ATTO3 had a highway penalty of 61.1% for a range of just under 160 miles. A Citroen e-C4’s battery claim of 221 miles was almost on the money, but it was hopeless on the highway for a range of only 90 miles. The Toyota bZ4X, just now hitting the market here in Europe, claims a battery range of 312 miles, only managed an average of 243 miles when I plugged it in, has a highway penalty of 45% and a range of 134 miles. No doubt around town though it would easily manage 243 miles.

My data exaggerates real-world capability because most manufacturers insist that users should only fill to 80% of capacity for long-term battery health. That’s another fifth gone. And no one sensible would stay on the motorway with less than a promise of 50 miles of range. The data doesn’t consider the losses from heat or cold.

The good news is that once you accept that the maximum range often doesn’t come close to the claimed figure, at least if you drive the car on urban or rural roads or don’t go much over 55 mph the offered range will be attainable, and even a little more if the regenerative braking works well, and most do.

But this doesn’t necessarily bode ill for the electric car revolution. It just means the automotive industry has launched it in the wrong direction. Current technology can’t mimic all the best attributes of an ICE car, as my data makes clear. The choice is not made any easier because the utopian legislators of the European Parliament have decreed that by 2035 the technology winner will be electric. Period. New ICE vehicles will be banned. Because the technology is not ready, as the rules tighten, consumers are faced with the unenviable option of buying something that costs much more than their ICE vehicle but isn’t up the job. Much better to have allowed the industry to develop the technology.

“What is clear is that electrification is a technology chosen by politicians, not by industry,” Stellantis’s Tavares has said.

Despite these shortcomings, electric mobility conferences around the western world echo with exuberance for the coming brave new world of electric cars.

A recent report for the International Council on Clean Transportation pointed to a glowing future for electric mobility. In an email response, the ICCT said battery technology and EV engineering continue to improve and it expects prices to continue decreasing over the medium to long term. As more manufacturers enter the EV marketplace, diversity in prices and utility will increase choice for consumers.

Additionally, as more diverse EVs enter the market, they’ll become more available and affordable to low-income households, according to the ICCT.

Meanwhile, investment researcher Jefferies said in its monthly report sales of EVs in the EU will increase this year to 2.1 million from 1.6 million last year, accelerate to 4.7 million by 2025 and 9.2 million by 2030. That would represent a market share of 16.9% in 2023 and 68.1% in 2030.

These are massive ambitions and much needs to happen in a short time.

Here’s one thing the industry could do; concentrate on what electric power does best, and at least for the short-term make little, practical electric runabouts. Think of a sophisticated, turbocharged golf cart with windows. Or a Wuling Bingo from China, improved to meet EU safety standards. A range of 75 miles and maximum speed of 60 mph would be adequate for most motoring needs – the daily commute, school run or shopping.

Range anxiety would be eliminated because long journeys would never be attempted. Because of home charging, a hugely expensive network wouldn’t be required. Smaller batteries could be recharged from home without an expensive charger.

The current move to make EVs as good as ICE ones means ever bigger, heavier batteries, more consumption of scarce minerals, and burgeoning CO2 in the manufacturing process, surely negating the whole process.

The little 2+2 EV would cost say £10,000 ($13,000) after tax. It would not need subsidies and would sell like the proverbial hot-cakes. The electric revolution would be up and running.