Longest Range Electric vehicles in India. What impact the Electric vehicle Range?

In this article, we will list all the longest range Electric vehicles in India and their Battery capacity, Range, Power output, Real world Range and Km/Kwh. The real-world range and Km/Kwh are calculated on basis of normal driving conditions. It may vary according to your driving conditions. Let’s first understand what impact the Electric vehicle Range. Also will list out some tips which can help you increase your driving range.

Electric vehicles are getting popular and getting affordable, comparatively speaking. Earlier we use to get Mahindra e2o for 8-10 lakhs with 110 Km of range, now we get Tata Tiago EV for nearly the same price but 2.5-3 times the Range. The electric vehicle range has increased over the past few years. And now we have a few good electric vehicles in India with the longest range. Even though the range has increased there are factors that impact your Electric vehicle range

What impact the Electric vehicle Range?

1. Battery Capacity

Electric vehicles which are on sale on the market have a big range of battery capacities starting from 19 Kw to 108 Kw. Some of these electric vehicles have low km/Kwh and higher battery and some vehicles have higher Km/Kwh and low battery. The density of lithium-ion batteries also makes a difference. For example, an EV which was produced 5 years ago having 50 kWh capacity, will have a lesser range than an EV produced today with a 50 kWh capacity. This is mainly due to the advancement in battery tech.

2. Driving Style

Some drivers have heavy feet, when they are driving, which is not only bad for electric vehicles but it also affects your petrol or diesel vehicles. I know it is tempting to feel the instant torque on the EV. But doing this reduces your range drastically. So driving with a light foot and maintaining the speed limit can give you more range.

3. Road Condition

Driving uphill consumes more energy than downhill. Driving 10 Km uphill will consume more energy than driving 10 km downhill. When driving downhill you should use regenerative braking, which maximises the energy that is put back into your battery pack.

4. Tire condition and pressure

Having the recommended tyre pressure is a must because if you drive with less air pressure, the rolling resistance will increase and the range decreases. Having high tyre pressure (more than recommended) is not safe for driving. Also, the tyre should be in good condition, as that also affects the overall drivability of your vehicle.

5. Use of AC

The use of Air conditioning causes a lot of reduction in your driving range, according to a study on Heating and Air Conditioning will reduce your range by 10-15%. It is similar to our ICE vehicles, so avoid the use of AC and heating to get the maximum range.

6. Weather condition

Too hot or cold weather also affects your driving range. In cold temperatures, the battery is cold and needs more energy to run your vehicle. In hot temperatures, the battery can go through an unwanted battery reaction. The best temperature to get maximum efficiency of an EV is 20-25° C.

7. Weight

Don’t haul unnecessary weights onto your EV. More weight requires more energy to pull around.

There are other factors also that affect the range. Even if you drive efficiently, you will lose range as the battery ages, just like any other electronic device.

Mercedes’s website has given a simulation to calculate the driving range of the Mercedes EQS

Just note that these factors also affect your petrol or diesel cars, but we do not focus much on that, because we can refill quickly, but in the case of EVs we need time to recharge our batteries, hence we talk about driving range. Anyways we should drive carefully and efficiently.

How to increase your EVs range?

Use Regenerative braking as much as possible, this helps put energy back into your battery
Use your EV in the city more than on open roads, as EVs are more efficient in city driving conditions unlike your ICE vehicle
Try to avoid Air conditioning and heating, because it eats into your range
Try to drive with smooth acceleration
Try to coast more when downhill to save up energy