Electric car range is one of the most important EV considerations. If you are looking at a new EV, or planning a DIY project, the range of your ride will be of prime importance. The reason to factor in range
is vital. If you want an EV for practical, long distance, relaxed travel, forget it.
No BEV on the market today is suitable for much tourist or long range business travel. If you need to cover long stretches, you need a gas or diesel engine. That may be changing in certain regions installing large charge station networks. However, for commuting in urban areas, the situation is reversed.
Most new electric cars on the market today have enough range to meet the needs of the majority of commuters now. The UK agency, CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators), recently completed a 147,000-mile, year-long study of 25 Mitsubishi and Smart electric cars, and concluded that the cars can now meet practical urban transport needs with their current battery packs and ranges. A similar test has verified the BMW Mini E as meeting 80% of commuter needs.
Driver Trips - the Facts on Commuting
There is a lot of discussion regarding commute, travel, and trip needs. There seems to be an equal amount of confusion. The facts (chart below) show that most one way trips are actually less than 40 miles! This does not include those long vacation trips across the mountains, which are few and far between in reality.
In the USA for instance, facts show that in the past 10 years, the average one-way commute is actually 12 miles or less. This is an average of hundreds of small and large communities and cities, so your commute may vary considerably. However, the fact is that many, many commutes can be made in currently available electric cars.
Driver Trips - the Facts on Household Trips
The US Federal Highway Administration has studied household travel and found out that over 1/2 of all household drives in the country are from 1 to 10 miles. In terms of total miles driven, it is around 1/3 of total miles drive. Either way, every EV on the market can cover around 1/3 of miles driven in the country.
At the other end of the scale, trips of over 100 miles make up just 15% of total miles driven. People seem to worry a lot about the 15% however. That is why it is called Range "Anxiety."
Anxiety is just that, worry over feelings, not facts.
Driver Trips - the Perception
So if most driver trips could be made in an EV, why are people shy to try? Neglecting price for a moment, it appears that people's perceptions about required range do not exactly match the facts about how far they are actually driving.
The EV charger company Aerovironment looked into driver perceptions of range and found that most drivers were only willing to cover one-half the distance of the range in their vehicles. This matches the conventional car driver practice of never letting the tank drop below 1/2 full. Drivers seem to need to keep a large reserve of range on tap.
In a similar test, Aeroviroment provided a single fast charger well inside the range of the test car. However, most drivers hardly ventured more than 10 miles from the charger, even when provided with a 93 mile range! This must have something more to do with human nature than common sense.
That is why they call it range anxiety. Anxiety is not always reality. Electric car range while limited, may also be affected by perceptions. Check the facts.
AAA to the Rescue
In the USA, the triple A has the first program in North America to rescue stranded EV drivers. Drivers out of range can get a 15 minute boost to sent them on their way. AAA traveling trucks offer Level 2 and 3 charges to stranded motorists in 6 different metro areas: Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco Bay Area; Los Angeles; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Tampa Bay, Florida.
