EV Range Explained: What the EPA Number Means

EPA range is the approximate number of miles an electric vehicle can travel in combined city and highway driving on a full charge, before it must be recharged. It comes from a laboratory test that is adjusted to reflect real-world driving, and it is the number printed on the EPA label. Your own range will move up or down with weather, speed, load and how you drive.

Key takeaways

• The label’s range is described by the EPA as approximate, with city and highway results weighted 55% and 45%.
• EPA tests drive the vehicle in repeated cycles until the battery is depleted, then adjust the result for real-world factors.
• Cold weather is one of the biggest in-use effects: fueleconomy.gov says range can drop by 41% in typical cold conditions.
• Range and efficiency are different: range depends on the battery’s usable energy and on kWh per 100 miles.

How the label range is produced

EPA testing runs an EV through repeated laboratory drives on city and highway cycles until the battery is depleted. The results are then adjusted to account for real-world factors. EPA documents describe a factor of 0.7 applied to the test parameters, including range, and say most EVs use that approach or an equivalent one. Label values combine city and highway ranges weighted at 55% and 45%.

The label itself states that the range is the approximate number of miles the vehicle can travel in combined city and highway driving before the vehicle must be recharged, when fully charged. See how the EPA tests fuel economy for the test cycles.

The relationship between range, battery and efficiency

Range is roughly the usable energy in the battery divided by the energy used per mile. A more efficient vehicle (fewer kWh per 100 miles) goes farther on the same battery. See kWh per 100 miles and EV efficiency. Because label efficiency and label range come from the same adjusted test, they are consistent with each other for a given vehicle.

What shortens range in real use

fueleconomy.gov lists reasons for lower fuel economy in cold weather that apply to electric vehicles too: cabin heating, denser cold air that raises aerodynamic drag, lower tire pressure and reduced battery performance. It states that EV fuel economy can drop roughly 39% in mixed city and highway driving and range can drop by 41% in typical cold conditions of about 20 degrees F.

The Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office adds two causes in a program record on cold-weather battery-electric performance. First, climate control uses more power as the ambient temperature falls. Second, low temperatures reduce the efficiency of chemical reactions in the battery, lowering usable capacity, an effect that is more pronounced at 0 degrees F and colder. The same record says an onboard battery heater reduces that effect and that heat pumps are 3 to 4 times as efficient as resistance heating, which means less range loss. Preheating while plugged in and using seat warmers instead of the cabin heater are listed as ways to protect range.

Other factors include highway speed, towing or roof cargo, tire pressure, hills and aggressive acceleration. fueleconomy.gov’s general guidance on speed, weight and tires for gasoline vehicles carries over in principle; see how to lower your fuel costs.

Range versus charging speed

Range says how far you can go; charging says how fast you can add it back. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), Level 1 charging adds approximately 5 miles of range per hour, Level 2 approximately 25 miles per hour and DC fast charging approximately 100 to 200 or more miles per 30 minutes. These are rules of thumb, and actual rates depend on the vehicle and the equipment. Costs and the practical differences between home and public charging are in home vs public EV charging costs.

Range for plug-in hybrids

A plug-in hybrid also has an all-electric range, shown on the EPA label as the approximate miles that can be traveled when fully charged before the gasoline engine is needed. Because it has an engine as backup, its total range is a different question. See how plug-in hybrids are rated and hybrid vs plug-in hybrid vs EV.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have a range figure too, with a different refueling pattern; see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles basics.

Using range numbers sensibly

• Use label range to compare vehicles under identical conditions, the same job the MPG label does; see real-world MPG vs the EPA label.
• Think about your longest regular day, then ask how much margin cold weather or highway speeds would remove.
• Compare vehicles on EV vs gas calculator for cost, and browse electric models in our EV section.