EV achieves its greatest range in interurban circuits, according to LeasePlan EV Efficiency Benchmark

Electric vehicles achieves its greater ranges in interurban circuits (250 km), followed by urban roads (232 km) and highways (213 km), according to LeasePlan’s Electric Vehicle Efficiency Benchmark. The report also reveals that the current EV’s range is sufficient for the habitual use of a high percentage of the Spanish population.

The report aims to demonstrate to what extent the electric vehicle is already an accessible technology and a viable mobility alternative for a wide variety of drivers in Spain. The study concludes that "the most efficient route in terms of autonomy for electric vehicles is the interurban". The reason is that, in interurban journeys, speeds are not high and, therefore, aerodynamic resistance does not have a great influence. Therefore, along the way, there is a greater regeneration of energy.

The EV Efficiency Benchmark has been carried out by professional monitors of LeasePlan Spain Driving School. A series of real field tests have been carried out on the latest available generations of five electric vehicle models: Renault ZOE, BMW i3, Hyundai Ionic, VW e-Golf and Nissan Leaf. The aim was to analyse the real range of these vehicles in three different scenarios: urban, interurban and highway. In total, 54 journeys have been made, which means 2,250 kilometres.

In order to achieve maximum objectivity in the results, the same driving pattern has been used on all routes: constant and unaltered, avoiding the efficient or sporting modes provided by the vehicles. Given that the tests have been carried out in winter, the temperature factor is not a determining factor in the analysis.

David Henche, Director of Marketing and Communication at LeasePlan Spain, pointed out that "in order to draw conclusions, the study does not take as a reference the consumption data (kw/h) of the vehicles used for the tests but focuses on the obtained ranges". Henche explains that "consumption is a variable factor according to the users’ driving habits, and yet the autonomy offered by the on-board computer of each vehicle is better adjusted to the real tested autonomy”.

It has been identified that the recharging times in conventional plugs used during the tests have been very high. Therefore, if the use of the electric vehicle is going to be daily, practically exhausting the battery, it will be essential to have an installation and a fast charger that reduces waiting times and guarantees maximum mobility for the driver. **

Efficient driving** Although it is not the main indicator of the study, it should be noted that the differences in consumption between using, or not using, an efficient mode in an EV can be between 5 and 10%. In electric cars that allow different levels of energy recovery to be selected, the difference is greater.

"In the journey where more energy is regenerated is in the interurban roads, as it is where more speed variations occur for longer. Using efficient modes on motorways hardly affects the autonomy, if traffic is fluid there is hardly any regeneration of energy", explains Henche.

In EVs that have several efficient driving modes, using the most extreme of them has multiple limitations, since it turns off the air conditioning and reduces the maximum available speed.

Also, the differences in consumption between having activated, or not, the air conditioning varies between 5 and 20%. This depends on the average speed and the interior temperature of the car - the higher the temperature, the shorter the range. In cities, unlike highways, it is where the use of air conditioning has the greatest impact on the final consumption of the electric vehicle. The effect of the air-conditioning consumption on the final consumption of the car is less the faster it is driven.

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EV type of drivers in Spain Based on the data obtained in the field tests, LeasePlan has identified a series of drivers profiles open to use an EV in their day to day, depending on the type of road they frequent, the mileage and their lifestyle. Thanks to this extensive analysis, LeasePlan aims a high percentage of Spanish people to reflect themselves in one of these profiles and know how viable an EV is for them according to their habits and mobility needs.

Thus, by analysing the mobility habits and needs of the drivers of an EV, on interurban roads and under a daily driving assumption of around 40 kilometres, an average range of 250 kilometres would be reached.

On urban routes, it can be seen that, travelling around 26 kilometres a day, the average range is 232 kilometres.

Finally, the driver of an EV travelling on a highway and travelling a little less than 60 kilometres a day can reach an average range of 213 km.

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A real mobility alternative** LeasePlan is 100% committed to the incorporation of the electric vehicle (EV) into the Spanish car fleet, and the EV is already a real mobility alternative in more and more European countries.

Proof of this commitment, LeasePlan joined in 2017 the global initiative EV100, championed by The Climate Group, aimed at accelerating the transition to electric vehicles in companies and encourage the necessary investment in infrastructures to achieve this end. EV100 member companies have committed to emitting zero emissions into the atmosphere through their activity by 2030. In this line, LeasePlan is already working to increase its customers' awareness of low-emission vehicles and thus encourage the adoption of this type of car in corporate fleets. In order to set an example to its customers, the company intends to transform its entire fleet of employees' vehicles into electric vehicles in 2021.