We already knew electric vehicles don’t do so well when it gets really cold outside. Well, apparently they don’t really like extreme heat either. According to Automotive News, the recent heat wave across much of the Southern and Western U.S. has brought their range issue to the forefront.
A Seattle-based EV battery and range analytics company called Recurrent has reportedly tested thousands of vehicles in various weather conditions. It found that many vehicles experienced “significant declines” in their range as temperatures rose. Some apparently suffered a 31 percent drop when temps got about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That is less than ideal. At cooler temperatures, the outlet reports that the range loss wasn’t as high. There was an average of 5 percent reduction at 90 degrees and 2.8 percent at 80, so it’s definitely not linear.