If you told a fleet manager that their trucks are going to lose 20% of their fuel just sitting in cold weather, they’d probably saw you cleanly in half with a laser beam stare.
If you told a driver that they would need to forego using the cabin heater inside their freezing electric truck and instead warm up with a heated steering wheel and seat, they may start looking for another job.
Laser beam stares and concerned drivers aside, the reality is that range loss in cold weather is stirring up serious concerns among EV users.
First up is the unavoidable and unfortunate reality of range depletion in an EV’s powertrain battery when subjected to cold weather. Norway, which has some very frigid winters along with the highest adoption rate of EVs among all nations, has plenty of data showing the impact of cold weather on EV batteries.
While sitting unplugged out in the cold an EV can lose up to 20% of its range, according to the Norwegian Automobile Federation.
In a statement regarding cold weather impact on its EVs, Ford writes in part that low temperatures can result in "a significant reduction in range, which is normal." (See their full statement at the end of this article).
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency has been engaged in cold weather commercial EV testing that runs the range from electric cargo vans to electric Class 8 regional haulers.
