How Long Does an Electric Car Battery Last?
To plan for any trip, you should be aware of the driving range of your electric vehicle, and learn how much range you can add with a single charging hour.
What Is the Driving Range for Your Vehicle?
Whether you are trying to do a road trip around Australia or want to use your EV for daily work trips, it is important to be aware of the driving range of your vehicle. This is a metric that defines the maximum distance that you can drive with a single battery charge.
EV technology has improved a lot in the last 5 years, allowing manufacturers to increase the range installed in most vehicles released on the market. On average, the driving range for EVs ranges from 160 to 480 kilometers.
In the past, limited battery size and low EV efficiency caused range anxiety for many EV drivers, however, this has been a problem of the past. Nowadays, EV drivers all over the world are going on long road trips with no range of anxiety whatsoever.
How Is the Driving Range Estimated for Your Vehicle?
Many factors affect the driving range of an EV. These include external temperature, auxiliary systems powered by the vehicle (such as AC, infotainment system), and more, but you can estimate the driving range for your vehicle just by considering the battery capacity and EV efficiency, using the following equation:
While Equation 1 provides a rough estimate of the driving range, this is more than enough to plan your day-to-day.
EV Efficiency
EV manufacturers determine the efficiency of an EV using a series of tests like the SAE J1634. The SAE J1634 tests the performance of Battery EVs (BEVs) on different driving cycles and environmental conditions, determining the estimated efficiency in kilowatt-hours per kilometer (kWh/km).
The efficiency of an EV is limited by the efficiency at which the electric engine converts electric energy into kinetic energy, but other design factors have to be considered. The average efficiency for EVs goes from 0.166 kWh/km up to 0.175 kWh/km.
Battery Capacity
The size of an EV battery determines the amount of electric energy stored in it - this limits the expected driving range for EVs. The average EV battery features a capacity of 40 kWh, but modern options go up to 100 kWh or more. With Equation 1, we can calculate the driving range for these batteries and the previously mentioned efficiencies, getting the following results:
How Far Can the Most Popular EVs in Australia Go on a Single Charge?
Australia is constantly including new and more innovative EVs in the market, promoting the EV uptake. The following list includes the 10 most popular EVs (BEVs and Plug-In Hybrids) in the country and their EV driving range:
- Tesla Model 3 – 491 km
- Tesla Model Y – 455 km
- MG HS – 52 km
- Hyundai Kona – 305 km
- Polestar 2 – 470 km
- Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross – 56 km
- Volvo XC40 Electric – 450
- Hyundai Ioniq – 311 km
- Mercedes-Benz EQA – 480 km
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 430 km
How Many KMs Can You Extend on Your EV with One Hour of Battery Charge?
Learning about the added range with a single hour of EV charging is great for situations where you have limited time before heading back to the road. The following table illustrates the added range with a single hour of EV charging, using EV chargers like the single-phase 7.2 kW Ocular LTE and the three-phase 22 kW Zappi EV charger on the three most popular EVs in the list:
To estimate the maximum added range by charging your EV an hour or two, you should consider the maximum charging capacity of the installed on-board EV charger on your EV. This component limits the maximum AC charging speed. In the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3, this charger limits the speed to 11 kW, while for the MG HS the speed is limited to 3.6 kW.
How Long Does It Take to Fully Charge Your EV Battery?
Fully charging an EV battery takes longer than an hour, but by using the right charger this can easily be done overnight or in just a few hours. The best way to charge an EV at home is using Level 2 EV chargers with the right power rate.
Other great EV chargers available in Australia are the 22 kW Tesla Gen 3 and the 7.2 kW Wallbox Pulsar Plus. In this section, we calculate the estimated charging time for the Tesla Model Y, the Tesla Model 3, and the Hyundai Kona by using these two chargers.
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Carlos is an Electrical Engineer with a background in solar PV designs for residential and commercial projects as well as power systems development. Carlos is a fan of new green technologies and electric cars, and is a technical writer for papers, articles and research in topics related to sustainability and the electric vehicle industry.
