Electric vehicle range can drop by almost 40% in extreme cold

Why electric vehicle range drops in winter

Electric vehicle range decreases in winter because the cabin needs heating. Sergey Pestrikov, an associate professor in the Department of Automobiles and Technological Machinery at Perm Polytechnic University, explained this in an interview with RT.

Range can fall by 15–20% in cold weather, with losses approaching 40% when temperatures drop below −20 to −25 °C. In freezing conditions, battery power is used not only to drive the vehicle but also to heat the cabin and other systems.

However, an electric vehicle has an advantage over a car with an internal combustion engine: it does not need to warm its engine up to operating temperature. Modern thermal management systems and heat pumps help reduce energy losses, but according to Pestrikov, they do not yet fully solve the problem.

When planning a winter trip, factor in the cold when estimating how far you can travel without recharging.