With the recent drop in temperature, consumers who are considering purchasing an electric vehicle are increasingly concerned. One of the most important factors when choosing an electric vehicle is the range it can travel on a single charge. According to the industry and the Ministry of Environment’s pollution-free car integrated website on the 22nd, it was found that the driving distance of an electric vehicle at room temperature and low temperature during a single charge shows a big difference for each vehicle model. The Ministry of Environment measures the mileage of electric vehicles at room temperature (about 25 degrees) and low temperature (about -7 degrees below zero), respectively, and checks the low-temperature range by operating the heater as much as possible.
As a result of the measurement, it was found that the car with the smallest reduction in mileage at low temperatures compared to room temperature among electric vehicles sold in Korea was Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle ‘EV6’ with a heat pump system applied. Based on the EV6 long-range two-wheel drive (19-inch wheels) model, the driving distance at room temperature was 483 km, but the driving distance at low temperature was 446 km, which was the highest with 92% efficiency compared to room temperature.
On the other hand, the ‘IONIQ 5’, which came out as Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car, was 85% more efficient than the EV6 at room temperature. The most popular Tesla’s entry-level electric sedan ‘Model 3’ had an efficiency of 83%, and the Mercedes-Benz electric sports utility vehicle ‘EQA’ released this summer was 81%. The small electric SUV ‘Volt EUV’ released by GM Korea in August lasted 403 km at room temperature and 279 km at low temperature, showing that the efficiency compared to room temperature was only 69%.
As if to prove its stable mileage, the EV6 is attracting attention as it was listed in the Guinness Book of Records earlier this month as an ‘electric car that crossed the United States with the shortest charging time’.
The reason electric vehicle mileage decreases in winter is because most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries. Lithium ions charge and discharge between the positive and negative electrodes, and since the lithium ions travel through a liquid electrolyte, the electrolyte hardens when the temperature drops. As a result, lithium ion movement becomes slow, internal resistance increases, and battery performance deteriorates. In particular, unlike internal combustion locomotives that use engine heat to operate a heater, electric vehicles use batteries to operate the heater, so the mileage is reduced as much as the heater is operated. A Kia official said, “The car with the heat pump system is evaluated to have an effect of improving the mileage by 20% compared to the model without the heat pump system.”
The Ministry of Environment recently gave an administrative notice of the ‘partial revision of the electric vehicle supply target evaluation regulations’. The low-temperature single-charging distance, which was set at 65-70% of the mileage for a single charge at room temperature, is expected to increase to 65-75% in 2022-2023 and 70-80% from 2024. This means that starting next year, automakers will have to increase their cold-charging range in order to receive the subsidy.
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