this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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Electric Vehicles

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You Need Way Less EV Range Than You Think: Study (insideevs.com)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Data from thousands of EVs shows the average daily driving distance is a small percentage of the EPA range of most EVs.

For years, range anxiety has been a major barrier to wider EV adoption in the U.S. It's a common fear: imagine being in the middle of nowhere, with 5% juice remaining in your battery, and nowhere to charge. A nightmare nobody ever wants to experience, right? But a new study proves that in the real world, that's a highly improbable scenario.

After analyzing information from 18,000 EVs across all 50 U.S. states, battery health and data start-up Recurrent found something we sort of knew but took for granted. The average distance Americans cover daily constitutes only a small percentage of what EVs are capable of covering thanks to modern-day battery and powertrain systems.

The study revealed that depending on the state, the average daily driving distance for EVs was between 20 and 45 miles, consuming only 8 to 16% of a battery’s EPA-rated range. Most EVs on sale today in the U.S. offer around 250 miles of range, and many models are capable of covering over 300 miles.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I think the main problem with the article is that, yes, most days we only need range for short distances, that's where those numbers come from. But occasionally we have an appointment in the next city that's over a hundred kilometers away and we don't have time to charge the because we need to return with the same mileage. Like if we want to visit granny in a village a few hundred kilometers away with no charging spot anyway near.

So we don't need hundreds of kilometers of range every day. But we need it occasionally.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

@sic_1 @unmagical talking to EV drivers, they have a different way of thinking about range and charging. They are aware of the limitations and just plan around them and it’s no big deal most of the time. There is usually a power point somewhere to charge.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

EV driver here. I'd be happy to have a changing point available wherever I go but so far it's been a coin flip. Either occupied, broken, torn down or a different plug type. And if I finally get one, the login and payment process is painfully bad and takes 10 to 15 minutes to get going. If it works at all.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Good for them. Until I can get a full charge from zero in 5 minutes, EVs are not an acceptable replacement for most people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

@hightrix it is a transition which will take time and not everyone will want to move at the same pace. As this is part of the economic transition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there will no doubt be policies, incentives and penalties to facilitate the change. During the process there will be a heap technological change so what’s in market 10 years from now may well charge in 5 minutes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Sounds good! I’ll check back with EVs in 10 years.