BEV Range Patterns by Vehicle Class: Charted

Comparing Driving Ranges of Cars, SUVs, Pickups

It comes to pass when talking about electric cars – their miles-per-charge fluctuates greatly depending on efficiency and vigor of the battery.

The Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office recently released a fascinating graph that provides some important insights on the three foremost types of vehicles: cars, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. This comparison offers deeper knowledge about the options that are available.

This chart displays the Environmental Protection Agency’s Combined range of all model-year 2022 battery-powered electric cars (BEVs).

Electric vehicles (EVs) classified as cars possess the largest array of driving range options, ranging from 100 to 520 miles. This is unsurprising, as it is the earliest and most extensive class. There exist a few starting models, featuring an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated range of about 100 miles; alongside aFew highly extended-range models boasting almost 400-500 miles; in addition to a massive breadth of options boasting 200-350 miles of range.

Regarding SUVs, the variety of models is minimal and the distances that can be traveled are more limited – ranging between 180-350 miles usually. This might have a seemingly logical basis – reaching 400-500 miles is likely more expensive due to their increased energy consumption compared to cars. The same can be said for ranges below 100-150 miles, as there likely wouldn’t be much demand for them.

The pickup selection available in the 2022 model year was limited, and the selection of driving range options is even more restricted in comparison to that of SUVs. As an electric truck must be prepared to take on a variety of tasks, its range may be significantly diminished when towing or transporting, thus we anticipate the ranges to be higher (though, there could be a specific niche for certain fleets when a range of less than 250 miles is suitable).

It will certainly be captivating to observe how this diagram transforms in the impending years. The epicenter of gravity for each vehicle class unveils to us what fabricators deem is the appropriate offer for the sector, though it does not unavoidably signify that this is whatever customers wish.

In an earlier survey, it was revealed that a large portion of business comes from expansive designs. This implies producers will likely change over time and a lean towards these types of products can be witnessed.

Source: energy.gov