South and West Wales drivers will suffer less than the north of Britain as winter sweeps in and cuts the mileage from their electric cars and vans.
Technical components distributor Distrelec estimates that the ideal climate for an EV is 21°C to get the most miles out of a single charge.
Comparatively, EVs tend to achieve more mileage in climates that are milder. Distrelec’s research found Truro to be the best city for EV owners in the UK this winter in terms of mileage, with an average range of 131 miles to the average temperature from October to March of 8°C.
Plymouth followed with a predicted 130-mile range on EVs, and then St Davids with 129.
Drivers in North Wales may be struggling to keep up their mileage range when temperatures fall.
See details of the 10 best cities, compared to their average annual temperatures below:
Getting the most out of your ev in winter |
During colder months, there’s a chance that vehicles that contain internal combustion engines won’t immediately start due to the gasoline dropping in temperature, and therefore evaporating slowly.
However, this isn‘t the case for EVs – these vehicles are designed to start up regardless, even if the surrounding temperatures significantly drop.
Nonetheless, while the cold may not affect the car starting, it can affect how long the car will run due to the impact the cold conditions will have on the batteries used to store electricity.
Distrelec said ev users can keep their range up by adopting some simple tips such as covering the vehicle when not in use, slowing down using eco-mode, keep tyres pumped up, don’t heat the whole cabin and if your vehicle has it, utilise regenerative braking to top up the charge on the move.
The top ten worst cities for evs in winter include seven in Scotland with Carlisle, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne also suffering in Northern England.