The price and range of electric cars are two fundamental factors that influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. While electric vehicles offer numerous advantages in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency, the initial cost and the ability to travel considerably long distances without needing to recharge are critical aspects to consider.
Regarding autonomy, most of the examples with the DGT zero label offer ranges that range between 200 and 300 kilometers on a single charge. Some more advanced models with higher capacity batteries can even reach ranges greater than 400 or 500 kilometers on a single charge. Even in that case, this is insufficient autonomy to cope with traveling between Madrid and Barcelona in one go.
When planning electric car trips that require stops to recharge the battery, there are two aspects that are essential: efficient consumption and the ability to make quick recharges on a daily basis. To analyze which model of zero-emission car takes the least time to travel 1,000 kilometers, a group of specialists carried out an experiment at the French Mortefontaine circuit.
The test involved four compact generalist models with similar characteristics and prices, all equipped with batteries of more than 50 kW and a range of autonomy greater than 400 kilometers. The cars tested were the following: Citroën ë-C4 X, MG 4 Electric, Renault Mégane E-Tech and Volkswagen ID.3.
In order for the results to be as consistent as possible, a guideline was established that the drivers of the four cars had to strictly follow during the two days that the test lasted on the circuit.
Every 100 kilometers, drivers recorded the average consumption. In total, they had to make five stops to recharge the batteries, alternating between 50 kW and 100 kW charging stations, which explains the different charging times.
The final result placed the Citroën ë-C4 In total, 11 hours and 57 minutes: 8 h 52′ driving time and 3 h 05′ charging time. The other cars obtained the following results: MG 4 Electric, 13 h 04′ (9 h 05′ driving and 3 h 59′ charging); Renault Mégane, 12 h 11′ (8 h 53′ driving and 3 h 28′ loading); and E-Tech and Volkswagen ID.3, 12 h 24′ (8 h 58′ driving and 3 h 26′ charging).
The test result shows that instead of constantly carrying a heavy and expensive battery, it is more advantageous to have an optimized battery that charges quickly, as is the case with the Citroën ë-C4 and brief ones that cover long stops with distances with much longer stops. This is explained by the charge curve, which decreases as the battery level increases.
The test also revealed that charging is faster at the beginning than at the end of the recharge. It takes longer to charge the battery from 80% to 100% than from 0% to 80%. Therefore, according to the data analyzed by Stellantis, for a long trip, it is more efficient to make several short charging stops to benefit from the higher charging power and reduce the charging cost.