The energy consumption of your battery isn't only affected by your mileage. There are other factors that can affect electric car range. In this article we'll tell you what they are and how can some be optimised.
Your EV's battery has a maximum range which is relative to its capacity. But this capacity declines over time. This decay can be significant depending on the make and model of your car.
The good news is that it can be delayed by avoiding daily use of fast charging or by avoiding, when possible, exposing the vehicle to hot or cold temperatures for too long.
Riding in hot or cold weather is a factor that affects your electric car range. Why? Because keeping the battery and the driver at an optimal temperature consumes energy.
The faster you drive, the more it affects your electric car range. This is due to the so-called "force of drag" which can be important depending on the aerodynamics of your vehicle. Note that this phenomenon is not linear: consumption accelerates as speed increases.
Fortunately, progress has been made on the design of electric vehicles, which are now more aerodynamic and therefore generate less drag. However, manufacturers are still optimising their designs.
Rolling resistance is an essential element for EVs. When your tyre rolls over a surface, friction is a resistance that requires energy to overcome. The greater the resistance, the more energy it takes and therefore affects the range of your electric car. That's why a tyre that is optimised to reduce this resistance can improve your EV range.
Electric cars have the particularity of being able to recover energy when braking thanks to the regenerative braking system. It works like a bicycle dynamo: the wheels turn the motor and the rotation of the motor recharges the battery.
But if the rolling resistance is high, the tyre absorbs some of this energy that should be transmitted to the battery to recharge it. Hence the importance for an EV to have tyres with optimised rolling resistance.
Thanks to many years of innovation, all of our tyre ranges are suitable for EV with an optimised rolling resistance. The choice of range should be made according to your use.
If you want to prioritise your electric car range, we have energy efficient tyres that are particularly adapted for this purpose: MICHELIN e.Primacy (which is a summer tyre) and MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV.
MICHELIN e.Primacy is an energy efficient tyre that improves electric car range
On an electric vehicle, abrasion (the emission of particles linked to the friction of the tyres on the road) is greater than with a combustion vehicle because it is heavier.
Choosing the right tyres for an EV is therefore of paramount importance to the environment. In addition to being optimised for rolling resistance and therefore preserving your electric car range, MICHELIN tyres are optimised to reduce abrasion.
According to the ADAC study of March 2022(1) which compares the abrasion of nearly one hundred tyres, MICHELIN obtained the best ranking on this environmental aspect with a 28% lower particle emission than the competing brands(2) while still offering a strong performance.
If choosing the right tyres can have a positive impact on your battery life and the environment, it also requires that they are kept at the correct tyre pressure. Indeed, it determines the performance for which they were designed and therefore help you improve electric car range.
This recommended pressure (indicated in the driver's door and sometimes in the fuel filler flap) allows an optimised rolling resistance, less abrasion, better safety and will make your tyre last longer.
Driving style is another factor that can affect energy consumption, even more so on an EV than on a combustion vehicle. Sporty driving, for example, will consume more energy.
Think about anticipating braking and using regenerative braking as much as possible instead of the brakes, in order to store as much energy as possible in the battery and extend electric car range.
The surface you ride on can also affect EV range. Obviously, driving in the mountains will have a greater impact on the battery than driving on a flat, straight road.
On a motorway, it is recommended not to drive too fast since speed, as explained above with the force of drag, accelerates the consumption of the battery. Your speed and the distance you can travel should be adjusted according to the distance to the next charging point.
LEGAL NOTICES
(1) Tyre abrasion: Wear and burden on the environment / ADAC e.V. | 81360 München / December 2021
(2) Internal calculation based on 2021 ADAC study, updated on March 2022. For all ranges tested, MICHELIN tyres lose an average of 95g/1000 kms compared to an average of 122,3g/1000kms for the premium competitors tested, i.e. 28% less.
