Electric vehicle batteries are a lot like people, in one important respect: They’re most comfortable in temperatures around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
When the weather gets much colder or hotter than that, a battery works less efficiently. It has to work harder, too, to keep the vehicle’s cabin comfortable for its equally picky human occupants.
The result? Electric vehicles can’t drive as far or as efficiently in extremely hot or cold weather.
AAA has been testing exactly how big an effect temperatures have on modern EV batteries. In its latest research, shared exclusively with NPR, it found that hot temperatures reduced range by an average of 8.5%. Cold weather cut vehicles’ range by a whopping 39%.
People often forget that ICE vehicles suffer from range reduction from the cold as well: ICE vehicles are up to 20% less efficient in the cold.
I haven’t found that hot temperatures reduce the range of my EV, other than turning on the air conditioning. After all, most modern EVs have temperature regulation systems for the batteries to prevent these kinds of problems. I lose about 10 to 20 miles off my range by running the AC. I’m sure something similar happens in a gas powered vehicle, it’s just that you don’t have a guess-o-meter on the dashboard in a gas car showing you the immediate impact.
The nice thing about EVs, is you can pre-cool or preheat the cabin while they are plugged into the wall if you’re worried about it. In colder climates you can also pre-heat the battery while the car is still plugged in.
https://recharged.com/articles/ev-preconditioning-in-winter-explained/
I wouldn’t trust anything from AAA. 39% loss in cold is straight up false unless you’re talking like -20F. These tests have been done many many times by more respectable orgs and they usually get around 20%
39% loss in cold is straight up false unless you’re talking like -20F.
My guess is that this number may be possibly accurate for cars without a thermal management system for the battery. In the USA, this would be exactly one car model and even of those there are years where it would be fine: the Nissan Leaf.
The Leaf came out in 2010 and has been air cooled until just this year in 2026. Some models had a battery heater though, but not all. I could see for a model without a heater and extreme cold the 39% range suppression. However, since its only one car, putting that 39% number is disingenuous because it suggest its more widespread when it isn’t.
The model 3 is approximately 50kWH standard range. Roughly 221,000btu, which is roughly 7L of gasoline for about 300mi range estimated. Even cutting that range in half, it’s a lot of distance compared to a ICE.
The relative drop in range for an EV vs ICE is significantly dampened by the efficiency of each. The ICE is just so wasteful that it’s much more noticeable when the weather hit happens. It’s why drag coefficient and tyre friction matter much more in EVs.
The real issue is the comparative lack of charging stations and the duration of the refill. There are solutions being worked on now.
Those of us who like to road-trip and camp have real anxiety about range and charge availability.
Nemesis!
… Due to my handle? 😄
