Flop for Electric Cars in Winter Range Test – This Much Disappeared

Yet another winter test of electric cars shows that the vehicles are anything but suited for a northern climate. In some cases, it’s so bad that up to half the range disappears in harsh cold.

In January, the world’s largest range test, El Prix, was carried out starting from the Norwegian capital Oslo and heading north. Initially, the plan was for 25 electric cars to be included in the test, but it ended up being 24 after Xpeng chose to withdraw because the washer nozzles on the G9 model had frozen.

Just like in previous similar tests, the results were staggering, with up to half the range lost. In addition, it’s a problem that seems to have worsened.

“Of the 24 electric cars, nine lost 40 percent of their range or more. We’ve never before had greater deviations from the official range, and never before have the deviations been so large on so many cars,” says Nils Sødal, senior communications advisor at NAF.

The worst result was for the Lucid Air, losing nearly 46 percent – the least bad was the Hyundai Inster at minus 29 percent.

The average deviation from the promised range in this year’s test was 38 percent compared to 18 percent last year, when the test was conducted in temperatures between minus six and plus eight degrees Celsius. This year, temperatures ranged from minus seven to minus 32 degrees Celsius.

Power Loss Towards the End

Several drivers in this year’s test noted a clear loss of power towards the end of the run, even though the battery displayed about ten percent charge remaining. At a noticeable loss of power, the cars were stopped for safety reasons.

According to Sødal, more safety precautions were needed in this year’s test than ever before. Bitter cold and the risk that several cars could end up stranded in unsuitable locations made it necessary.

Top ten worst (Facsimile Allt om Elbil):

Least bad:

Journalist Carl-Ingemar Perstad, known from the classic ‘Trafikmagasinet’, has taken a closer look at the test: